Evanston Summer Meals Program Recognized by U.S.

The City’s Summer Meals program was recognized in May as one of three recipients by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Turnip the Beet awards. Nominations were evaluated on a wide range of nutrition and meal quality criteria.

The Turnip the Beet award program recognizes Summer Meals sponsors who are working hard to serve nutritious and appealing meals during the summer months. In 2017, for the first time, the ETHS Nutrition Services Department supplied nine Evanston summer camps with breakfast, lunch and snack options.

The Illinois State Board of Education administers the federally funded Summer Food Service Program and the Seamless Summer Option. These programs are designed to help fight hunger during the summer months and rely on sites across the state to increase access to healthy meals.