The Heart of the Program Award recognizes one school cook throughout the country who exemplifies the best in school nutrition programs based on a demonstrated dedication to serving the needs of children, collaboration with the school community and families, creative delivery and promotion of school meals and a dedication to continuous improvement through training and professional development activities.  

Gwinn’s school nutrition improvement accomplishments include organizing food drives and other fundraisers to support an annual scholarship given to a Fayette County cook's child or grandchild, implementing a "grab and go" breakfast option to encourage busy students to eat breakfast, establishing a fitness club for students, developing promotional activities such as contests, taste testing and cafeteria decorations.