The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Institute of Child Nutrition (ICN) identified a need to provide schools with the training, tools, and resources to prepare student- accepted school meals, thereby increasing student consumption of healthy foods and reducing plate waste. The ICN has over 25 years of experience providing training to school nutrition programs on various topics, including culinary skills, marketing school meals, student engagement, and food safety. The USDA and ICN have collaborated to create the Culinary Institute of Child Nutrition, a division of the ICN, with a principal mission to increase the culinary skills of school nutrition programs by providing culinary training programs and resources to support Child Nutrition Operators to prepare and serve healthy, culinary-inspired school meals from scratch and elevate the cafeteria atmosphere.