Northampton is the winner of the 2026 Terrific Tray of the Year award for its school lunch tray featuring the new field fritter developed by Commonwealth Kitchen with peas grown in Maine, accompanied by carrots grown in Hadley, apples from New York, lettuce from Shirley, and tzatziki and allergen-free hummus.

NORTHAMPTON — On the heels of the National School Lunch Program’s 80th anniversary, the Northampton Public Schools has been named winner of the state’s 2026 “Terrific Tray” award. The highlight goes to school districts that offer outstanding nutritious, locally-sourced free school meals with the help of federal and state support.

Northampton’s award-winning school lunch tray featured a new field fritter developed by Commonwealth Kitchen with peas grown in Maine. The tray also included carrots from Hadley, apples from New York, lettuce from Shirley and tzatziki and allergen-free hummus. The state emphasizes the support provided by federal and state programs in offering outstanding meals.

Massachusetts Farm to School and the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE)’s Office for Food and Nutrition Programs (FNP) is thrilled to host the fourth year of the Terrific Trays competition for Massachusetts School Nutrition Programs!

Falafel and Northampton Public Schools’ Mediterranean tray are two peas in a pod!

We’ll also learn more about the ways the Bay State is helping kids get closer to their foodways. It’s Mass. Farm to School Month and despite federal cuts, the state has thrown it’s support into this program that gets the products of local farms into public schools. We speak with special projects manager Abby Getman-Skillicorn and Northampton schools nutrition director Mistelle Hannah about the ways this program is ahead of its class.

Western Mass. school districts receive federal grant funding for healthy meal programs: Northampton Public Schools: $10,232

The public school meals system in the U.S. is complicated, and overseen by the federal government. I commend the Smith College students for trying to understand it and writing their article, “Fare Questions: Local school meals face healthy criticism,” published in the Gazette on March 15. But in an age of rampant misinformation, I want to provide our community with the most accurate information. Unfortunately, some facts were misrepresented and blame was misdirected. The Freshampton School Meals team works tirelessly to improve the school meals program, and we should be working together, as a community, for change.

Learn more about how the NPS School Nutrition Department (Freshampton) is benefitting from The Northeast Food For Schools Federal Grant Program

For our Hunger Awareness Week coverage, we visited JFK Middle School in Northampton to speak with the nutrition director for the district, Mistelle Hannah.

Northampton Public Schools | $9,366 ($36,164 FY24) Northampton, MA

Our team had the chance to visit two schools and to see (and taste!) the impact of Universal School Meals.

NORTHAMPTON, Mass. (WWLP) – Project Bread, the state’s leading anti-hunger organization, hosted legislators and school officials at JFK Middle School Tuesday.

Dec 26, 2024 — A pilot program to provide food for food-insecure Northampton schoolchildren on weekends

While school was out in July and August, communities across the Commonwealth ensured that children still had access to healthy foods by operating summer meal programs.

The 2022-23 Massachusetts Farm to School Institute included teams from Northampton, Salem, Westport Public Schools, and Worcester Head Start. Here are some reflections from the different Institute teams about their experiences and the many initiatives they were able to implement this year!