Turnip the Beet Awards - 2024 Winners to be Announced Soon!
The Turnip the Beet Award recognizes outstanding summer meal program sponsors across the nation who work hard to offer high quality meals to children that are appetizing, appealing, and nutritious during the summer months. This year, 140 sponsors qualified for either a gold, silver, or bronze Turnip the Beet award. Congratulations to all! For more information visit the Turnip the Beet Website.
Wisconsin 2023 Award Winners
Gold Winners
• De Pere School Nutrition
• La Crosse Area Family YMCA
• North Crawford School District
• Stevens Point Area Public School District
Bronze Winner
• Green Bay Area Public Schools
Turnip the Beet! High Quality Summer Meals Award 2024
Summer meals are critical in the lives of millions of our nation’s youth, whose risk for food insecurity increases during the summer months when they no longer have access to the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the School Breakfast Program. Summer meal programs, including the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) and the Seamless Summer Option (SSO) within the NSLP, present the opportunity to help alleviate summertime food insecurity and positively impact children’s growth and development by offering nutritious meals and encouraging children to develop healthy habits at a young age. High quality summer meals provide daily energy, and help make sure children are healthy and ready to learn when they return to school in the fall. The Turnip the Beet Award was created to showcase sponsors who are going above and beyond to ensure that children in their care are receiving high-quality meals that are both nutritious and appetizing.
- One-page overview on Turnip the Beet (printable)
- Nomination form for program year 2024 - Submit to sfsp@dpi.wi.gov by September 13, 2024
Celebrate Cucumber Crunch
Celebrate summer by participating in the Cucumber Crunch! This is a simple, celebratory event to promote local foods and farm to summer. Pick any date this summer and have staff and children crunch into local cucumbers. If cucumbers are not available during your summer programming, choose another local, in-season fruit or vegetable to crunch! Make your Crunch count by registering your event!
Resources
Cucumber Crunch Stickers - We are now out of stickers! Please use the template to create your own.
Activities
- Crossword Puzzle
- Crossword Puzzle Answers and Resources
- Connect the Dots
- Easy Refrigerator Pickles Activity
- Food + Farm Exploration Center – Ag Readers and Lessons
- Living Necklace (use cucumber seeds)
- University of Wisconsin - Madison Division of Extension Harvest of the Month
- Wisconsin Grown and Raised Cucumber Fact Sheet
Videos
- Farm to School: Cucumbers (REAP Food Group)
- Learn about Cucumbers (REAP Food Group)
- What Are Pickles? The Science of Food! SciShow Kids
- The Magic School Bus – In a Pickle
Books
Local Sourcing Information: utilize the resources below to locate local farmers/producers who may be able to source for your Crunch.
- Wisconsin Local Food Database: Find Farmers - find a list of local food producers that sell to schools by location. Look for the Cucumber Crunch logo next to producers who grow cucumbers!
- REAP Farm Fresh Atlas - database to find local products, farmers' markets, CSAs and more.
- Wisconsin Berry & Vegetable Growers Association - find berry and vegetable growers and see what is in season.
- Wisconsin Farmers Market Association – locate farmers markets near you.
Recipes All recipes are scaled to serve approximately 50 students.
Promotion Share photos and videos of your Crunch in the following ways:
- Advertise your event on social media, using the following hashtags: #WICucumberCrunch #SummerMeals
- Send photos and videos of your Crunch to DPIFNS@dpi.wi.gov
- Producer Highlight Poster: Utilize this poster to share details about the farmer who supplied the local cucumbers or in-season produce for your event. Email brittany.zerbe@dpi.wi.gov to request printed copies of the poster.
Summer Meals Week - June 17-21, 2024
This week is Summer Meals Week, an important time to emphasize the Department of Public Instruction’s commitment to ensure children and teens have access to safe, nutritious meals when school lets out. Through the Summer Food Service Program, federal assistance is provided for state agencies and non-profit sponsors to help children in eligible high-need areas get the proper nutrition they need during the summer when schools are not in session.
Below are links to the proclamations from Governor Tony Evers and State Superintendent Jill Underly recognizing June 17 -21, 2024, as Summer Meals Week. These proclamations acknowledge the significant contributions of programs that provide nutritious and well-balanced meals and snacks as part of the Summer Meal programs.