SPS Food and Nutrition Services Receives ‘Turnip the Beet! Award’ for Outstanding 2024 Summer Meal Program
SPS honored among four Massachusetts schools, 199 schools nationwide to be recognized
SALEM (July 28, 2025) – Salem Public Schools Food and Nutrition Services was named among 199 nationwide recipients of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service’s Turnip the Beet Award, the USDA FNS announced Wednesday, July 16.
The Turnip the Beet Awards honored 2024 summer meal program sponsors who work to ensure that children are served high-quality meals that are appetizing, appealing, and nutritious during the summer months.
SPS Food and Nutrition Services, spearheaded by Program Director Michaela Short, and Operations Director Robby Arrmstrong ‘05, was nominated by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) Office of Food and Nutrition Programs.
“We’re grateful to be recognized by the USDA Food and Nutrition Services,” said Ms. Short. “Our priority here at SPS has always been to nourish the students of Salem Public Schools, and it’s the same priority for the summer. In the summer of 2024, we served 25,992 meals, and we’re on track to beat that figure this year.”
Since Salem’s 2025 Summer Eats began Monday, June 24, it has served more than 16,000 meals.
The Turnip the Beet! Awards are designated into gold, silver and bronze categories. SPS was among 91 schools to receive silver distinction while 86 school districts were among gold winners and 22 among the bronze recipients.
Other Bay State school districts recognized included Brockton, New Bedford, and Reading along with Gloucester-based food pantry, The Open Door, each of which earned silver distinction.
The Turnip the Beet! Awards were created to showcase schools and sponsors going above and beyond to ensure that children in their care are receiving high-quality meals that are both nutritious and appetizing. These awards are aligned with USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins’ priorities to create new opportunities to connect America’s farmers to nutrition assistance programs, infuse the federal nutrition programs with new energy and vision, and strengthen strategies to encourage healthy choices, healthy outcomes, and healthy families.
About Salem Public Schools
Salem Public Schools is an urban public school district in Salem, Massachusetts, a small, diverse city with a proud maritime and immigrant history. Our leaders and our teachers are passionate about education and understand the urgency of improving student achievement with equity and social-emotional needs as the lens through which we view our work. 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 unconditionally serves each of our 4,000 students across 11 schools regardless of ability or language.
