A national food news site this week gave a shout out to Gwinnett County's school system for, yes, its school food program.

The outlet, Food Management, named Georgia’s largest school district its “K-12 Innovator of the Year” for a test kitchen concept it started last year called IDEA Centers. The centers, it says, have already improved its pizzas and smoothies.

Ken Yant, who is in charge of Gwinnett’s school nutrition program, told Food Management it has worked on improving food that students like and dropped some unpopular choices.

Food Management reports on non-commercial food service organizations, such as public schools, and how they can operate better.

Gwinnett officials noted in a report late last year a decline in recent years in the percentage of students eating school meals. Some officials blamed the federal government for rules they say have made school lunch less tasty by reducing sodium, fats and other flavor enhancers.

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Corbitt VanDuzer, 6, strikes a pose for her mother, teacher Kathryn VanDuzer, before her first day of first grade at Glennwood Elementary School in Decatur, Ga., on Tuesday, July 30, 2024. (Seeger Gray/AJC)

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