Local school districts win healthy apple recipe honors

Fishers, N.Y. – Three New York school districts have proven that good-for-you foods can taste great and attract students, too. The districts recently took home top honors in a recipe contest by developing healthy school cafeteria recipes using New York state apples.

The recipe contest was hosted by New York Apple Association (NYAA), which represents the state’s apple growers. To reach school nutrition professionals, NYAA partnered with the New York School Nutrition Association, whose members include school nutrition personnel committed to student access to healthy meals.

“This contest was designed to demonstrate that healthy foods can taste great, too, especially when you add kid-favorite apples,” said NYAA Marketing Director Molly Zingler. “Our winners proved our thesis in spades, creating recipes that feature New York state apples in such delicious ways that schoolchildren will be gobbling them up.”

School districts from across the state submitted recipes that ranged across day parts including breakfast and lunch, and across meal parts from main courses to side dishes. First place winners received $1,000 in New York state apples for their school district; second place, $500, and third place $250.

The winning school districts, and their recipes, are:

  • Orange-Ulster BOCES, Goshen, for Apple and Cranberry Cornbread Stuffing;
  • Schalmont Central School District, Schnectady, for its Apple Festival Yogurt Parfait; and
  • Caledonia-Mumford Central School District, Caledonia, for Apple Peanut Butter Granola Wrap.

“Our staff continually look for ways to both introduce and present foods to the students that are good for them. This recognition of Tracy’s recipe confirms that we are moving in the right direction.” said Orange Ulster BOCES Director of Operations Mark Coleman. That organization’s recipe was developed and submitted by Goshen-based Cook/Manager Tracy Green Deserto.

Recipes will be posted to NYAA’s website for sharing, www.nyapplecountry.com.

Note to editors:
Artwork for Katie Crunch, NYAA’s kid-friendly mascot, can be downloaded from NYAA’s Flickr site – look for the album named “Logos and Art” – at https://www.flickr.com/photos/nyapplecountry/sets/ .