Page County schools participate in national sandwich contest

Photo byPCPS/Facebook

LURAY, Va. ― Page County Public Schools (PCPS) Nutrition Services has submitted a unique sandwich idea to a national culinary contest in the hopes of helping the division with unpaid meal charges.

The 2023 Spectacular Sandwich Throwdown is a contest and fundraiser organized by School Nutrition Industry Professionals (SNIP) - a national group focused on raising awareness to reduce or eliminate unpaid meal charges incurred by school nutrition programs.

PCPS’ entry, the Hot Pressed Cubano sandwich, is a savory pork, turkey, ham and cheese combo, topped with mustard and hot sauce for an extra kick. Created with low-sodium cuts of meat and light mayo, the USDA-compliant masterpiece is served warm on a whole-grain hot dog bun.

According to a recent press release, Page County Public Schools currently participates in the national Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), which allows high-poverty school divisions to offer free breakfast and lunch to students each day. However, PCPS still has more than $40,000 in unpaid meal charges from meals served prior to mid-2020.

Now through the end of March, students, parents and community members can visit the Spectacular Sandwich Throwdown page at snipthrowdown.org, and vote for their choice of best school cafeteria sandwich. Donations are accepted via the same page. Funds donated will be divided (based on votes) among participating divisions to assist with paying unpaid meal charges.

SNIP, once a private Facebook group, began with the goal of bringing school professionals and industry partners together to focus on nutrition. Five years later, the group boasts more than 4,000 members who network and share ideas to increase nutritional value and program success for the thousands of K-12 students served in schools every day.

The PCPS Hot Pressed Cubano sandwich is one of 23 division submissions nationwide, and the only submission from the state of Virginia. The PCPS Nutrition Services team will debut the sandwich at their middle and high schools later this month.

To vote for the Hot Pressed Cubano sandwich, visit snipthrowdown.org and look for the Page County Public Schools logo. Votes are limited to one per email address.