Northampton schools’ nutrition department honored with ‘Terrific Tray’ award

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.
Photo credit: Northampton Public Schools / DESE

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 has been awarded this year thanks to its new field pea fritter meal, which was developed by CommonWealth Kitchen with peas grown in Maine, accompanied by carrots grown in Hadley, apples from New York, lettuce from Shirley, tzatziki and allergen-free hummus.

CommonWealth Kitchen is a nonprofit food-business incubator located in Dorchester focused on building an inclusive, equitable and sustainable food economy.

“Congratulations to Northampton Public Schools on being named this year’s Terrific Tray of the Year winner, and thank you to all of the school nutrition professionals across Massachusetts who work every day to keep students healthy and ready to learn,” said Gov. Maura Healey.

Massachusetts is proud to have made universal free school meals permanent in our state, which helps students succeed in the classroom and also creates opportunities for local farmers. This recognition highlights the incredible partnerships that make nutritious, locally-sourced meals possible for children across our state.”

Healey and the state legislature made universal free school meals permanent in 2023. Since then, schools like Northampton’s have seen increased meal participation and reduced stigma around school meals, according to Healey, who added that greater financial stability has allowed schools to use fresher foods and get creative with their menus.

Northampton Public Schools Nutrition Director Mistelle Hannah said it was exciting for she and her team to be honored with this recognition, because it reflects the efforts they’ve made to improve district offerings.

“Northampton Public Schools Nutrition Department, we’ve been working really hard to increase our local purchasing and making sure there’s more fresh fruits and vegetables accessible to students every day in both breakfast and lunch, and just overall trying to improve the program over the past several years,” said Hannah. For this school year alone, according to Hannah, almost 30% of all district meal offerings were locally sourced, a huge increase from the less than 1% of locally sourced items offered in 2018.

Sponsored by DESE’s Office for Food and Nutrition Programs and Massachusetts Farm to School, the Terrific Tray competition invites school nutrition programs to submit a photo of visually-appealing, culturally-relevant menus that include foods sourced from regional farms, dairies and fisheries. Each month’s winner receives $2,500 from the Henry P. Kendall Foundation to reinvest in their school nutrition program and is featured on social media. The public votes on a winner from among the monthly honorees.

Hannah added that this was the first year the district got involved in the Terrifc Tray competition and it has been great to have their filed pea fritter dish highlighted. Members of Northampton’s school food service program, Freshampton, were presented with the Terrific Tray award at the statewide Healthy Kids, Healthy Programs Summit last month.

“On a state level, they’re really trying to highlight districts that are doing this type of work. That being sourcing locally, culturally relevant meals, things that are healthy, visually appealing, fresh, all those things,” Hannah said. “It’s a product that we really love. It’s a field pea fritter that is made in Massachusetts at the CommonWealth Kitchen. And then every day, we’re offering local carrots, local apples and local lettuce. We grow lettuce hydroponically … We felt very proud of that tray. Even though it kind of from [photo] perspective looks a little bland, its actually quite unique and its delicious, the kids love it.”

The tray was recognized by the state in November as that month’s winner, and this “Terrific Tray” 2026 honor was awarded to the district following a public vote on the monthly recognitions from the school year.

“I truly believe in that a healthy community is the start in trying to keep things as local as possible, and helping our local farmers and producers is definitely part of that healthy community aspect. As far as our journey, we’ve just been biting off really small chunks until we’ve gotten to where we’re at,” said Hannah.

In addition, DESE and Massachusetts Farm to School launched the Northeast Food for Schools Challenge, a statewide initiative that encourages schools to buy more regionally produced food and to participate in a new local food purchase tracking effort to track local food origins and enhance transparency of where school meal ingredients come from.

According to the state, during this school year, approximately 588,000 students ate lunch and 292,000 ate breakfast every day across the state. Over 12 million lunches and six million breakfasts were served each month.

“A huge congratulations to our incredible Freshampton team led by Mistelle Hannah,” said Northampton Superintendent Dr. Portia Bonner. “The team’s dedication to the Terrific Trays initiative ensures that healthy, locally sourced, and completely free school meals aren’t just a district goal — they’re a daily reality for our students. We remain committed to nourishing our community’s future, one fresh, delicious tray at a time.”

Freshampton is the team within the district’s nutrition department and was branded as such back in 2018 in an effort to help raise awareness of the farm to school efforts the district has been making. Hannah said that from their work, they have prioritized student input and feedback in tandem with connecting locally-sourced and nutritious food options to the district in a more accessible fashion.

“I always try to make sure it’s aware that it’s not just Mistelle Hannah doing this work; we have an amazing team called the Freshampton team because without a really proactive team that’s invested in their students, these things can’t happen,” said Hannah. “So, I think it’s important to give them the kudos as well for the work they do every day, because not a lot of times do the school lunch workers get those kudos they deserve.”