Salem Public Schools Food and Nutrition Services Earns Eos Foundation Healthy Start Award
Second honor of the year for SPS Food and Nutrition Services
SALEM (July 2, 2024) – The Salem Public Schools Department of Food and Nutrition Services, led by Director Irvelt Perrin and Assistant Director Michaela Short, was named a recipient of the Healthy Start Award from the Eos Foundation for its commitment to providing breakfast to students in each of Salem’s 11 schools.
View the 2024 recipients
The honor is the second over the 2023-24 academic year for the Department of Food and Nutrition Services, which was named a Massachusetts Wellness Champion by the Framingham State University John C. Stalker Institute of Food and Nutrition in March.
The Healthy Start Award is bestowed upon Massachusetts schools which consistently achieve school breakfast participation rates of 80 percent or higher. Honored school districts receive a $500 grant from the Eos Foundation.
Highlighting each of SPS’s schools, the in-classroom breakfast program at the Carlton Innovation School enjoyed a participation rate of more than 80 percent. Breakfast is also served in grab-and-go form as students arrive at SPS’s other schools, while late breakfast in the lobby has also gained popularity.
“We worked hard to increase the average daily participation rate for breakfast,” said Ms. Short. “We are a nutritional services program. We are committed to giving our students a healthy, nutritious meal to start the day.”
The honor is emblematic of the District’s 2023-26 Strategic Plan, particularly the core value of elevating learning. “We want to fuel our students from the second they walk into school so that they are ready to learn,” Ms. Short said.
The Eos Foundation supports systemic solutions aimed at nourishing children’s bodies, nurturing their minds, building family economic security, and achieving gender equity and diversity in leadership across society.
About Salem Public Schools
Salem Public Schools is an urban public school district in Salem, Massachusetts. Salem is a small, diverse city with a proud maritime and immigrant history. Our leaders and our teachers are all passionate about education and understand the urgency of improving student achievement with equity and social-emotional needs as the lens we view all of our work through. We respect and value the racial, cultural, and linguistic diversity of our students and their families, and have a strong commitment to the Salem community. Salem Public Schools staff serve all of our students, regardless of ability or language. Salem Public Schools enrolls approximately 4,000 students across its eleven schools.
