Team Nutrition
What is Team Nutrition?
Team Nutrition is an initiative of the USDA Food and Nutrition Service to support the Child Nutrition Programs through training and technical assistance for food service, nutrition education for children and their caregivers, and school and community support for healthy eating and physical activity. Team Nutrition is an integrated, behavior-based, comprehensive plan for promoting the nutritional health of the Nation’s school children. This plan involves schools, parents, and the community in efforts to continuously improve school meals and to promote the health and education of school children. Team Nutrition encourages kids to make the following healthy choices:
- Eat a variety of foods
- Eat more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains
- Eat lower fat foods more often
- Get your calcium-rich foods
- Be physically active
Team Nutrition has three behavior-focused strategies:
- Provide training and technical assistance to Child Nutrition food service professionals to enable them to prepare and serve nutritious meals that appeal to students.
- Promote nutrition curriculum and education in schools through multiple communication channels to reinforce positive nutrition messages and encourage students to make healthy food and physical activity choices as part of a healthy lifestyle.
- Build school and community support for creating healthy school environments that are conducive to healthy eating and physical activity.
2026 Innovate the Plate: Power Up with MyPlate Culinary Experience
Join the Innovate the Plate: Power Up with My Plate Culinary Experience! This contest allows individuals, FCCLA members, or teams of FCCLA members (students in grades 6-12) to demonstrate knowledge of food product development by creating an original recipe for one of the categories listed below and then testing the product through focus groups. Participants will demonstrate their nutrition and food preparation knowledge as they develop an original recipe. Applications due February 20, 2026; only 20 projects will be accepted.
Options for 2026 Innovate the Plate Competition (select 1):
- Beanstock – a bean-based recipe (hidden or obvious sources of beans) with at least 1/2 cups of beans
- Sports Nutrition – easy to grab and go recipes that busy students can easily pack
Participants must create a storyboard that highlights the process they used to create their recipe and prepare their dish in person at the state leadership conference on March 31st. The prepared dish will be sampled by two judges and other conference participants. The Nebraska Department of Education will provide the equipment necessary for you to prepare and cook the recipes.
For additional details, please refer to the Contest Overview & Instruction Document (link)
To apply, please complete the following application by February 20, 2026: Innovate the Plate – Application (link)
Contact Jessie Coffey at jessie.coffey@nebraska.gov or Miranda Bright at miranda.bright@nebraska.gov with questions.
Team Nutrition: MyPlate Mini-Grant Awardees
Congratulations to the following districts/schools on receiving a $2,000 mini grant, funded through a USDA Team Nutrition grant. Each school will work to increase nutrition knowledge among students in PreK-12th grade, support school wellness efforts, encourage participation in the USDA School Meals Programs (including the Afterschool Snack Program), and/or promote MyPlate messages.
- Bertrand Community School
- Bishop Neumann High School
- Brady Public Schools
- Centennial Public Schools
- Dorchester Public Schools
- Morrill Public Schools – Morrill High School
- North Bend Central Public Schools
- Ogallala Public School District – Prairie View Elementary
- Plainview Public Schools – Plainview Elementary School
- Saints Peter and Paul Catholic School
- Scottsbluff Public Schools – Roosevelt Elementary School
- Scribner-Snyder Community Schools
- Sutton Public Schools
- Tri County Public Schools – Tri County Jr./Sr. High
- Twin River Public Schools
- Walthill Public School
- Arnold Public Schools
- Dundy County Stratton Schools – Benkelman Elementary School
- Dundy County Stratton Schools – Dundy County High School
- Kenesaw Public Schools
- Leigh Community Schools – Leigh High School
- St. Peter Catholic School (Lincoln)
- St. Vincent de Paul Elementary School (Seward)
- Superior Public School
- Tri County Public Schools – Tri County Elementary
Team Nutrition Projects:
Team Nutrition Resources
Social Media Graphics
NDE is aware of the recent release of the 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs). We are currently awaiting additional guidance from USDA regarding the transition timeline for updating resources that include the MyPlate logo, key messages, and/or references to MyPlate tip sheets. NDE will revise materials as needed once that guidance is available; however, we anticipate that most updates will occur after the end of SY 2025–26. In the meantime, we encourage continued use of existing resources and recipes, which support overall healthy eating patterns.