Connecticut State Department of Education

Great Plates Contest

The Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE) invites school nutrition programs participating in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and early childhood education (ECE) providers participating in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) to enter the CT Great Plates Contest. Submit a photo of a reimbursable lunch currently served to students that features at least one CT grown minimally processed food, in addition to milk. 


Award Details  |   Submission Details  |   Plate Requirements  |   Scoring
Committee  |   Previous Awardees  |   Resources  |   Minimally Processed Foods


Award Details

K-12 Great Plate Awards – For K-12 schools/districts participating in the NSLP. Two categories are available based on the sponsor's experience purchasing CT Grown ingredients.

  • Rooted: Two or more years of purchasing of CT Grown ingredients. This category includes schools who regularly incorporate local foods on the menu.
  • Sprouting: Less than 2 years of purchasing of CT Grown ingredients. This category includes those who are new to school nutrition, new to purchasing local foods or only occasionally buy local but want to do more.

ECE Great Plate Award – For ECE providers participating in the CACFP.

Winners will receive:

  • Announcement of award in CSDE and Farm to School communications and on website
  • An inflatable cow from New England Dairy
  • Title of Honorary Judge for the next Great Plates Contest
  • K-12: Recognition at the annual Farm to School Conference
  • ECE: Recognition in CACFP updates and communications 

Submission Details

Submissions for the Spring 2026 contest are accepted from April 1, 2026, to April 30, 2026.  To submit a photo for the CT Fresh Great Plates contest, complete the Great Plates Submission Form and email the photo (and recipe, if applicable) to CSDEChildNutritionPrograms@ct.gov. Use  the subject line “Great Plates Spring 2026 [name of school/district and title of photo].” For example,“Great Plates Spring 2026 ABC District Rainbow Veggie Power Bowl with Grilled Chicken.”

By submitting an entry, applicants agree to allow the CSDE to use the submitted photo and information for marketing purposes. 

Plate Requirements

  • K-12: Must depict a reimbursable lunch with all five USDA meal components (fruits, vegetables, grains, meats/meat alternates, and milk) and at least one CT grown minimally processed ingredient in addition to milk.
  • ECE: Must depict a balanced age-appropriate lunch with with the five USDA meal components for the CACFP lunch meal patterns (fruits, vegetables, grains, meats/meat alternates, and milk) with at least one CT grown minimally processed ingredient in addition to milk. 

Any photograph that does not clearly display all five required meal components will be disqualified.

Scoring

The CT Fresh Ed: Great Plates Contest Scoring Rubric will be used to evaluate all submissions. All entries will be assessed by the CT Fresh Ed: Great Plates Contest Committee and past Great Plates winners using a blind review process in which judges will not have access to the identities of the submitters.

CT Fresh Ed: Great Plates Contest Committee

  • Amanda Aldred, New England Dairy
  • Bernice Amponsah, CSDE
  • Jen Bove, CSDE
  • Fionnuala Brown, CSDE
  • Hannah Carty, CT Department of Agriculture
  • Dawn Crayco, UConn Extension
  • AnaAlicia Cruz, UConn Extension
  • Melanie Desch, CT Farm to School Collaborative

Fall 2026 Great Plates Contest Awardees

Photos of the contest awardees are linked below.

K-12 Rooted

K-12 Sprouting

ECE  

Resources

Definition of Minimally Processed Foods

Only those agricultural products that retain their inherent character. The effects of the following food handling and preservation techniques shall not be considered as changing an agricultural product into a product of a different kind or character: cooling; refrigerating; freezing; size adjustment made by peeling, slicing, dicing, cutting, chopping, shucking, and grinding; forming ground products into patties without any additives or fillers; drying or dehydration; washing; packaging (such as placing eggs in cartons), vacuum packing and bagging (such as placing vegetables in bags or combining two or more types of vegetables or fruits in a single package); the addition of ascorbic acid or other preservatives to prevent oxidation of produce; butchering livestock and poultry; cleaning fish; or the pasteurization of milk.