Skip to main content
California Department of Education Logo

Summer Meals Turnip the Beet Award Winners 2023

The California Department of Education Nutrition Services Division (NSD) would like to congratulate 13 California school districts for receiving a 2023 Turnip the Beet (TUB) Award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service. These schools were recognized for going above and beyond in their Summer Meal Programs (SMP) by offering nutrition education at their summer sites, providing nutritious meals based on local taste tests and local foods, and for using innovative marketing strategies to engage with their communities. This impressive national award is based on a wide range of nutrition and meal quality criteria in three levels: gold, silver, and bronze. The California winners include:

Fullerton School District – Gold Award

Goleta Union School District – Gold Award

Moreno Valley Unified School District – Gold Award

Ontario-Montclair School District Food & Nutrition Services – Gold Award

Rialto Unified School District – Gold Award

Santa Cruz City Schools Food Services Department – Gold Award

Yuba City Unified School District – Gold Award

Fallbrook Union Elementary School District Child Nutrition Services – Silver Award

Hesperia USD – Silver Award

Morongo Unified School District – Silver Award

San Ysidro Elementary School District – Silver Award

Taft City School District – Silver Award

Natomas Unified School District – Bronze Award

Turnip the Beet Award Program Details

For a complete list of the TUB award winners and the award program overview, please visit the USDA Summer Food Service Program Turnip the Beet webpage External link opens in new window or tab..

Turnip the Beet Award 2024 Nominations

Summer Meals Program operators and community partners interested in the Turnip the Beet Award nomination process for summer 2024, can access the 2024 nomination form online External link opens in new window or tab. (PDF).

Please note, additional communications with regards to the 2024 nomination process and the California submission deadline will be made available at a later date.

Contact Information

If you have any questions regarding this subject, please contact the Summer Nutrition Programs & Grants Unit by email at sfsp@cde.ca.gov.

Questions:   Nutrition Services Division | 800-952-5609
Last Reviewed: Tuesday, April 9, 2024
Related Content
  • Food Programs
    Child nutrition programs data and statistics, including county profiles, free and reduced price data, school meal nutrition analysis, and summer meal service sites.
  • Seamless Summer Option (SSO)
    Information about the federal Seamless Summer Option opportunity that allows public schools to combine features of the School Nutrition Programs and the Summer Food Service Program along with reduced paperwork requirements.
  • Summer Food Service Program Information
    Administrative and operational information and guidance for organizations that participate in the program.
  • Summer Meal Programs
    Federal meal programs for children from low-income areas during vacation and off-track periods.
  • Turnip the Beet Award Program
    Information about the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Turnip the Beet Award Program for summer meal program operators, including an overview of the program, how to apply, past awardees, and contact information.
Trending in Nutrition
Recently Posted in Nutrition

  • Update to Buy American Provision (added 21-Jun-2024)
    Rule finalizes regulations that strengthen the Buy American provision in the School Nutrition Programs. The Buy American provision requires school food authorities to purchase, to the maximum extent practicable, domestic commodities or products.
  • Summer Meal Excess Heat & Poor Air Quality Waiver (added 17-Jun-2024)
    The USDA has approved the use of two statewide waivers requested by the CDE for summer meal program operators in good standing to provide meals in a non-congregate setting due to excessive heat and/or poor air quality.
  • Webinar-Expanded Geographic Preference (added 10-Jun-2024)
    This web page provides registration information on the webinar titled Partners Webinar on the Expanded Geographic Preference Option in the Final Rule, provided by the USDA’s Farm to School Team.
  • South American Meat Inc. Recalls Frozen Raw Beef (added 06-Jun-2024)
    South American Meat Inc., recalled approximately 20,111 pounds of various eligible frozen raw beef products that were not presented to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service for import reinspection.
  • Farm to Summer Celebration Week 2024- Reminder (added 04-Jun-2024)
    The F2Summer Celebration Week is a recognition program for summer meal program operators that complete three elements: 1) Taste, 2) Teach, and 3) Connect during the designated week of June 17–21, 2024.