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Celebrating California School Meals Photo Contest

The California Department of Education’s Farm to School program is holding a photo contest. CDE welcomes photos highlighting California’s diverse school meals programs; scratch cooked, locally sourced meals; and our school nutrition professionals.

Are your students and staff passionate about healthy school meals? The California Department of Education (CDE) is excited to announce the Celebrating California’s School Meals Photo Contest.

CDE invites you to submit photos that highlight your school meal programs across seven categories, with a special focus on scratch-cooked meals that feature locally sourced ingredients, school gardens, and the dedicated school nutrition professionals that make it all happen.

Selected photos may be featured in CDE presentations, publications, or on our website; photo releases required for all submissions.

Dates

Submissions are accepted now through Monday, November 3, 2025.

Categories

  • Sow, Grow, and Show with Farm to School: Photos of school gardens, farm to school education, local foods, local farmers, students trying new foods, and farm to school themed events on the Sow, Grow, and Show web page External link opens in new window or tab..
  • Mealtime Memories: Photos of children eating school meals (breakfast, breakfast in the classroom, second chance breakfast, lunch, snacks), summer meals, or participating in events like taste-tests or farmer’s markets on the Mealtime Memories web page External link opens in new window or tab..
  • Cafeteria Creations: Close-up photos, high resolution photos that feature a complete school meal (breakfast, breakfast in the classroom, second chance breakfast and lunch), salad bar, or a stylized photo of entrees alone. The meal must include at least one of the following: a California-grown ingredient, a scratch-cooked meal component, or a culturally significant ingredient on the Cafeteria Creations web page External link opens in new window or tab..
  • Mealtime Legends: Photos of school nutrition staff preparing food, serving meals, and interacting with students on the Mealtime Legends web page External link opens in new window or tab..
  • Behind the Counter: Photos of the kitchen environment, equipment, or staff training. Photos may include equipment or activities supported by grants such as Kitchen Infrastructure and Training funds, Equipment Assistance Grants, and the School Breakfast and Summer Meal Program Start-up and Expansion grants on the Behind the Counter web page External link opens in new window or tab..
  • Super Selfies: Photos of individuals or groups in a kitchen, at school nutrition program trainings, in a garden, at mealtimes, or attending a food centered event on the Super-Selfies web page External link opens in new window or tab..
  • Offer Versus Serve. Photos or PDF files of creative point of service signage for students on the Offer Versus Serve web page External link opens in new window or tab..

Prizes

One winner and one runner-up will be selected from each category. Each winner receives:

  • A certificate of recognition
  • A web badge that may be displayed on the school’s website
  • Recognition on the CDE website
  • Recognition of the winner during a Town Hall meeting

We hope you will take this opportunity to be creative and have fun!

Resource

The Center for Ecoliteracy has developed a guide entitled Photographing School Food: A Practical Guide to Making California School Meals Look Great that you may find helpful External link opens in new window or tab..

Contacts

If you have any questions on the Celebrating California’s School Meals Photo Contest, please contact the Farm to School team at Farm2School@cde.ca.gov.

Questions:   Nutrition Services Division | 800-952-5609
Last Reviewed: Monday, August 18, 2025
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