Six KSD Cafeterias Earn Food Safety Excellence Awards

Kearney School District is proud to celebrate six school cafeterias recognized by the Clay County Public Health Center with its 2025 Food Safety Excellence Award:

• Dogwood Elementary
• Hawthorne Elementary
• Kearney Early Education Center
• Kearney Elementary
• Kearney Middle School
• Southview Elementary

The award recognizes establishments that consistently follow the Clay County Food Code, demonstrate outstanding food-safety and sanitation practices, and achieve exceptional inspection results. Only 97 establishments, representing the top 12.5% of those overseen by the Health Center, received this year’s award.

Hawthorne Elementary, the Kearney Early Education Center and Kearney Middle School also earned the Health Center’s Gold Standard designation after receiving the award for at least three consecutive years.

This recognition highlights the exceptional work taking place across KSD’s food-service program. Every KSD cafeteria meets or exceeds applicable food-safety standards, and every school is supported by outstanding team members who take tremendous care in preparing and serving meals to our students. These awards are an additional distinction for schools that met the Health Center’s specific criteria during the 2025 calendar year.

We are grateful to SFE General Manager Angie Lyman and the entire Southwest Foodservice Excellence team for their professionalism, attention to detail and daily commitment to serving KSD students well. They do great work every day that helps keep our entire community healthy. Please join us in congratulating our award-winning cafeteria teams!