Boston Public Schools' Food Service Program Earns National Recognition

Boston Public Schools’ (BPS) Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) has earned Good Food Leader: Silver status from the Center for Good Food Purchasing.

Mayor Michelle Wu Announces Boston Public Schools’ Food Service Program Earns National Recognition for Fresh, Nutritious, Locally Sourced School Meals

“Silver Status” award from the Center for Good Food Purchasing demonstrates progress made during 2023-2024 school year in adopting Good Food Purchasing practices

BOSTON – Tuesday, October 21, 2025 – Mayor Michelle Wu and Superintendent Mary Skipper today announced that Boston Public Schools’ (BPS) Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) has earned Good Food Leader: Silver status from the Center for Good Food Purchasing. This designation positions Boston Public Schools as a national leader in providing students with fresh, nutritious, and locally sourced school meals. The Center for Good Food Purchasing (the Center) is a national nonprofit organization that manages the Good Food Purchasing Program (GFPP), a framework used by public institutions to shift their food buying to support local economies, environmental sustainability, a valued workforce, animal welfare, and nutrition. BPS’ Silver status as a Good Food Leader was based on the Center’s independent assessment of BPS food purchasing practices for the 2023-2024 school year, following the baseline assessment of the 2019-2020 school year, published in 2023.

“No student should ever face barriers when it comes to accessing nutritious food. The recognition of our Boston Public Schools as a Good Food Leader reaffirms our commitment to ensuring every young person has the resources they need to thrive,” said Mayor Michelle Wu. “Thanks to Superintendent Skipper, City departments, and our community partners, we’re proud to deliver thousands of fresh, healthy meals for our students every day.”

"Boston Public Schools is reimagining school meals by providing freshly prepared nutritious food that supports our students' focus in the classroom while also ensuring it reflects the diverse cultures and communities of our students," said Superintendent Mary Skipper. "Earning Silver Status affirms the progress being made and that these efforts are having a meaningful impact on our school communities. By investing in local partnerships and expanding scratch cooking across our schools, we are ensuring that every student has access to high-quality meals that provide the nourishment they need to succeed in the classroom and beyond.”

"Boston Public Schools commitment to providing fresh, nutritious, and locally sourced meals is a shining example of how we can prioritize the health and well-being of our students while supporting local economies,” said City Councilor Henry Santana. “I am proud to see BPS earning Silver Status and leading the way in reimagining school nutrition for a healthier, more equitable Boston."

BPS serves more than 8 million meals per year, including breakfast, lunch, after school meals, and summer meals, across 123 school buildings. With a food budget of approximately $18 million, BPS’ Food and Nutrition Services is the largest school district purchaser of food in New England, allowing the City to improve the quality of school meals while also accelerating broader food system reform.

BPS’ significant improvement in the GFPP assessment since 2020––going from meeting targets in one of five value categories to four out of five––was made possible by a complete transformation of Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) operations. During the COVID-19 pandemic, BPS school kitchens were closed and most schools came to rely on pre-packaged vended meals. Since 2022, BPS has overhauled its meals program, and is now serving fresh meals cooked on-site in 107 school buildings. Today, 96% of meals are being made freshly in house by BPS kitchen staff.

Based on its 2025 report, the Center for Good Food Purchasing awarded BPS its Silver status for many reasons, including:

Exceeding national benchmarks in nutrition and in serving students fresh, unprocessed fruits and vegetables
Reinvesting in communities by spending 18% of the food budget on locally sourced products
Investing in small- and mid-sized local suppliers and nurturing relationships with New England growers
Creating more appealing, culturally relevant menus based on BPS students’ preferences and diverse backgrounds, leading to increased participation in the school meals program and higher financial reimbursements from the U.S. Department of Agriculture enabling BPS’ continued reinvestment in its school meal programs
Reducing BPS’ carbon footprint by promoting plant-based entrees and eliminating plastic bottles
Expanding opportunities for food access and community engagement, including nutrition education, school gardens, grow towers, after-school suppers and summer meal programs

Sixteen school buildings do not have either the kitchen facilities or enough student demand to cook meals from scratch on-site, but through targeted renovations of the BPS Central Kitchen facility in Dorchester, FNS will soon begin cooking and packaging meals in-house and delivering to these locations. The Central Kitchen is expected to re-launch its food preparation operations by the end of 2025, gradually scaling up to produce 1,000 meals per day. Centralizing food production will also bring about substantial cost savings.

“The recognition of Silver status is a testament to the incredible work of our school kitchen staff, food service professionals, and partners who have helped us reimagine what school meals can look like in Boston” said Eric Stevens, Interim Executive Director of Food and Nutrition Services, Boston Public Schools. “By bringing scratch cooking back to our schools and sourcing more nutritious, culturally diverse ingredients from local suppliers, we’re not only serving healthier meals — we’re also investing in our students, our workforce, and our local economy.”

“Boston Public Schools is proving that large urban districts can be powerful drivers of food system change” said Simca Horwitz, Co-Director of Massachusetts Farm to School. “By prioritizing local sourcing and fresh, scratch-cooked meals, BPS is creating new market opportunities for regional farmers and food producers and showing what’s possible when schools commit to farm to school principles at scale for the benefit of their students.”

In 2019, while serving on the Boston City Council, then-Councilor Wu authored and passed the Good Food Purchasing Ordinance, leading City departments to adopt Good Food Purchasing standards for their food procurement. The City’s Office of Food Justice (OFJ) leads the cross-departmental initiative to make healthy eating easier for Boston residents, keep public dollars invested in Boston, and reduce the environmental impact of the City’s food purchases.The Ordinance also formally adopts the goal of encouraging food vendors to invest in local minority, disabled, and/or women-owned businesses. BPS FNS is focused on growing its existing partnerships with minority-owned business enterprises (MBEs) and, alongside OFJ, forging alliances with major institutional buyers in Boston, like hospitals and universities to get healthier, values-based products with diverse suppliers all across the city.

To read the Center for Good Food Purchasing’s findings and for more background on the Good Food Purchasing Program, visit Boston Public School's webpage. Read the BPS Eats Strategic Plan here.

About Boston Public Schools

The Boston Public Schools (BPS), the birthplace of public education in the United States, serves more than 48,000 pre-kindergarten through grade 12 students in 121 schools. BPS is committed to transforming the lives of all children through exemplary teaching in a world-class system of innovative, welcoming schools. We partner with the community, families, and students to develop in every learner the knowledge, skill, and character to excel in college, career, and life.

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Registration

We're excited to help you find the best educational options for your child! Our school district uses a home-based assignment plan to determine the schools available for your consideration.

Registration for the 2025-2026 school year is still open! Please contact a BPS Welcome Center to register your child!

Registration for the 2026-2027 school year will open in January. Please see the table below for the upcoming registration periods:

Important Dates for School Year 2026–2027

	Start of Priority Registration	End of Priority Registration	Assignment Notifications
*Students entering K0, K1, K2, 6, 7, or 9**	January 5	February 6	March 31
Students entering all other grades	February 9	April 2	May 31

K2 is now part of the January Priority Registration Period.
*7th Grade Assignment Notifications will be mailed at the end of May.

For more information on the BPS exam school process, visit: https://www.bostonpublicschools.org/exam .

Registration Information Sessions

BPS Welcome Centers offer a variety of in-person and virtual information sessions to learn more about the registration process. No pre-registration is required to attend. Each session lasts approximately one hour. Interpretation services are provided during the virtual information sessions. Please join us for a session at one of the following dates!

Virtual Sessions

Tuesday, December 2 - 5:30-6:30 PM (Link coming soon)
Thursday, December 11 - 5:30-6:30 PM (Link coming soon)

In-Person Sessions

Held at Roxbury, Dorchester, and Roslindale Welcome Centers

Wednesday, December 3 - 9:30-10:30 AM
Wednesday, December 10 - 9:30-10:30 AM
Wednesday, December 17 - 9:30-10:30 AM

You can also reach out to a BPS Welcome Center with any questions about the registration process.

All schools will also be holding their own open houses and information sessions to give families a chance to learn more about the school, tour the building, and meet the school leader. These school-based information sessions occur between November and January. Click the link below for dates and times for these school-based sessions.
School Info Session Dates, Times, and Contact Info

BPS Registration Process

We’re here to make registering for BPS as simple as possible! Just follow the six steps below, and your child will be enrolled in no time. We are happy to offer registration assistance in ten languages. For questions or interpretation assistance, please contact one of our four BPS Welcome Centers or call us at 617-635-9010.

Step 1: Review the school-age requirements for enrollment for 2026-2027

Step 2: Get a list of your eligible schools

BPS uses a home-based assignment plan to determine the schools available to your family. This plan uses your home address to create a personalized list of quality schools for which you are eligible. If a school does not appear on your list, you are not eligible to apply to that school. Learn more about the BPS assignment plan.

Explore your school options by visiting our School Choice Tool.

Special Admission Schools

Some of our schools require a separate application or run a special admissions process to be assigned. If your child is interested in attending one of these schools, you will need to complete the special application process and rank the school as one of your school choices on your BPS registration form. Both steps must be done. The School Choice tools and registration form will indicate if a school requires a special admissions process.

The list of schools requiring a separate application for the 2026-2027 school year can be found at the Special Admission Schools.

This sheet contains the application deadline for each school as well as a link to that school's individual application.

Step 3: Learn more about your school options, how to register, and how the BPS assignment plan works

At BPS, we offer a variety of events to help you explore school options, find the best fit for your child, and get all the information you need for a smooth registration process. These events include:

BPS School Showcase - Saturday, December 13 at Bruce Bolling Building. (9:00 AM - 1:00 PM)
BPS School Preview Times
BPS Registration and Assignment Information Sessions
- Virtual Information Session - Tuesday, 12/3 @ 5:30 PM
- Virtual Information Session - Thursday, 12/11 @ 5:30 PM
- In-Person Information Sessions at Roxbury, Dorchester, and Roslindale Welcome Centers
  - Wednesday, 12/3, 12/10, and 12/17 @ 9:30 AM

Find dates, times, and additional details for each event at the School Information Sessions webpage.

Step 4: Gather your required documentation

To register your child for school, you must provide the following documentation. (Translated lists are linked below.)

Child’s original birth certificate, I-94 form, or passport (use of passport requires completion of BPS Parent Affidavit.)
Child’s up-to-date immunization record
Child's up-to-date physical exam record (within the last year)
Parent/Guardian’s photo identification
Two proofs of Boston residency from the list below. Items cannot be from the same bulleted category.

A Utility Bill (not water or cell phone) dated within the past 60 days
A Deed or Mortgage Payment dated within the past 60 days, or a Property Tax Bill dated within the last year
A W2 form dated within the year, or a Payroll Stub dated within the past 60 days
A Bank or Credit Card Statement dated within the past 60 days
A Letter from an Approved Government Agency** dated within the past 60 days. Approved Government Agencies: Department of Revenue (DOR), Department of Children and Families (DCF), Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA), Department of Youth Services (DYS) or Social Security. Some communications on the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Letterhead may also apply.
A current lease, Section 8 Agreement, or BPS Landlord Affidavit dated within a year. Affidavits are available in: English | Kabuverdianu | 中文 | Kreyòl | Português | Español | tiếng Việt | Afsoomaali

Step 5: Pre-register Online

Once you have researched your schools, and before completing your registration with a Welcome Center staff member, we suggest you get a head start on the registration process by pre-registering online. Pre-registration is not mandatory; however, it will save you time during your actual registration appointment.

You can pre-register at: bostonpublicschools.org/pre-register

Please note that Pre-registration is not Registration. You must speak with a registration specialist to finalize your registration.

Step 6: Complete your BPS Registration

Meet with a Registration Specialist to complete the registration process. You can do this by:

Using this appointment link to schedule a virtual or in-person appointment;
Calling 617-635-9010 to schedule an appointment; or
Visiting any of our Welcome Centers to complete your application.

BPS Welcome Centers are located in Dorchester, Roslindale, and Roxbury. They are open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Wednesday from 12 noon to 5 p.m. A part-time site is also available in East Boston, which is open Monday and Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Visit our Welcome Centers webpage for additional information on all locations, including languages support.

We are happy to offer registration assistance in other languages. For interpretation assistance, please call the Welcome Center at 617-635-9010.

Support for Multilingual Learners

If your student speaks more than one language, they may need language testing. A registration specialist will help you schedule an appointment at the Newcomers Assessment Counseling Center (NACC). Language testing is conducted in person at the Bolling Building (2300 Washington Street, Roxbury). Once your student has completed their language assessment, you will be able to make your school selections.