SUFFOLK, Va. – Suffolk Public Schools is one of 15 other school divisions in the Commonwealth to receive the Dorothy S. McAuliffe School Nutrition Award, presented by No Kid Hungry Virginia this week. 
According to Suffolk Public Schools, the Dorothy S. McAuliffe School Nutrition Award — first launched in 2017 — celebrates Virginia school divisions that have gone above and beyond by operating all available federal child nutrition programs and achieving exceptional participation in the school breakfast program.
The Dorothy S. McAuliffe School Nutrition Award is named in honor of former First Lady of Virginia Dorothy McAuliffe, in recognition of her efforts to end childhood hunger in the Commonwealth.
“Virginia has become a national model for ending childhood hunger because of the hard work and innovative approaches of this year’s School Nutrition Award recipients,” said Mrs. McAuliffe. “We’re thrilled to celebrate this year’s school districts for their ongoing commitment to making sure students can access the meals and other resources they need to succeed.”
To qualify for the award, school divisions met the following criteria:
- School Breakfast: At least 70% of students who qualify for free/reduced meals and eat school lunch are also eating school breakfast.
- Afterschool Meals: Division is sponsoring and serving meals/snacks through the At-Risk Afterschool Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), if eligible.
- Summer Meals: Division is sponsoring and serving summer meals through the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) or National School Lunch Program (NSLP) Seamless Summer Option (SSO), if eligible.
The goal of No Kid Hungry Virginia is to partner schools and districts to connect eligible kids to federal nutrition programs. Programs like Breakfast After the Bell, after-school meals and summer meals help feed kids throughout the school day and in the summertime, according to Suffolk Public Schools.
“Schools play a critical role in connecting children with the nutrition they need to fuel their bodies and their brains,” said Claire Mansfield, No Kid Hungry Virginia state director. “We’re excited to honor more schools this year. It’s thanks to strong public-private partnerships and commitments from community members, school leadership, teachers and school nutrition teams that we’ve been able to connect more schools – and students – with federal nutrition programs.”
Click here for more information on the No Kid Hungry program.
