Ignite 2023 was held to celebrate the hard work of child nutrition professionals from across the country in Denver, Colorado.
TIME TO CELEBRATE THE INNOVATION
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2023 EVENT RECAP
NxtGen Network’s Ignite event held in Denver Colorado on July 9, 2023 was a night full of good food, good music, and tons of dancing. The party was held to celebrate the hard work of child nutrition professionals from across the country and brought together roughly 1000 attendees. The event featured professional line dancers, a silent disco, and an outdoor play space for entertainment. Attendees also had the opportunity to visit with K12 Cool Trends sponsors that were showcasing their latest trending products. NxtGen Network also announced their Innovation Award
winners for their exceptional work in the industry. Ignite was an inspiring event that allowed professionals to network and connect while highlighting the latest trends and innovations in the field. If you attended the event, we hope you enjoyed your time - if you missed it, we’ll see you in 2024 in Boston! As you reflect on the event over the next few pages make sure to check out the videos from our event sponsors to learn more!
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2023 EVENT RECAP
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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IGNITE RECAP VIDEO WELCOME TO THE PARTY!
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SPONSOR THANK-YOU’S REFRESH YOUR CAFE WITH AMTAB
DELIGHT YOUR STUDENTS WITH CARGILL
LET’S PLAY SOME GAMES!
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STEP RIGHT UP! RED CARPET PHOTOS
HEARTLAND HELPS YOU SIMPLIFY YOUR SERVICE
INTERNATIONAL FOOD SOLUTIONS & DARING GO PLANT-BASED
INFLATABLE PHOTO BOOTH FUN BUST A MOVE AT MILE HIGH STATION FRESH, FUN, AND MODERN CAFES WITH NUFOOD CONSULTANTS
COOL TRENDS AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED
JTM: DOWNLOAD YOUR COPY OF THE CRAVE COLLECTION RECIPE BOOK FIND YOUR REFLECTION IN THE MIRROR PHOTO BOOTH OPERATOR INNOVATION AWARD WINNER: ST. VRAIN VALLEY SCHOOLS A FULL-CIRCLE VIEW OF YOUR FRIENDS IN THE 360 CAMS VENUE SHOUTOUTS: HATS OFF TO THE SERVICE TEAMS
HYDROPONIC FARMS & DANCING WITH FORK FARMS AT IRONWORKS VULCAN, HOBART, & TRAULSEN: GREAT FOOD BRINGS PEOPLE TOGETHER INDUSTRY INNOVATION AWARD WINNER: FORK FARMS FIND LUNCHABLES IN YOUR CAFETERIA THIS YEAR
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2023 EVENT RECAP
1,759 Cocktails Served
5 K12 Cool Trends Vendors
2 DJ’s
Collaboration
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2023 EVENT RECAP
FOOD MANAGEMENT LOGO 2019_BLACK
FOOD MANAGEMENT LOGO 2019_WHITE
FOOD MANAGEMENT LOGO 2019_STACKED FOR WEB
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2023 EVENT RECAP
WELCOME TO THE PARTY OF THE YEAR
View more Welcome photos HERE
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2023 EVENT RECAP
MODERN, POPULAR, AND FUN LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS
AmTab creates modern, popular, and fun K-12 Food Courts across the country. Adding brand new furniture, signage, graphics, and decor to your space plays a major role in creating a fun environment for your students. Schools that decide to modernize their space tend to see an increase in breakfast and lunch participation. Take King Middle School in Kentucky for example. Their breakfast program went from 159 students to 336 students after modernization. Their lunch participation went from 412 to 536 students. Adding American made furniture really plays a key role in getting more students excited and participating in lunch.
Take a tour of AmTab and learn how your district can create modern, popular, and fun K-12 Food Courts!
Tell Me More About The Fall AmTab K-12 Symposium
DELIGHT STUDENTS WHILE SIMPLIFYING YOUR OPERATION.
Cargill supports K12 schools with kid-approved protein offerings. Our versatile and ready-to-heat products fight menu fatigue while delivering on USDA requirements and increasing program participation. Cargill’s Sunny Fresh® line of egg and French toast products makes it easy to fuel students with quality protein for breakfast, lunch, and snack time. From egg patties and precooked entrées to the ANC featured item, Egg Bake Bites, it’s simple to craft inspired egg dishes for every day part. Missed trying the Egg Bake Bites at ANC? These hearty 2-oz. handhelds made from whole eggs blended with turkey sausage and cheddar cheese have 6g of protein per Egg Bake Bite. They’re great on-the-go and perfect for classroom snacking.
Explore the full portfolio of Sunny Fresh ® K12 products and find more recipe inspiration from Chef Jesse at SunnyFresh.com.
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View more Courtyard photos HERE
STEP RIGHT UP RED CARPET PHOTOS
View more Red Carpet photos HERE
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SIMPLIFY THE WAY YOU SERVE YOUR SCHOOL COMMUNITY
We understand the challenges school nutrition departments face daily in the ever-changing technology landscape, and we’re here to help with our expansive portfolio of innovative products. Whether you’re looking for a powerful Point of Sale system, mobile-friendly menus, or simply something that’s easy to use, Heartland has you covered with robust solutions that help you manage every aspect of your nutrition program.
Click HERE to connect with Heartland!
IFS
DARING
NUTRITION, TASTE, AND VALUE WITH PLANT-BASED ALTERNATIVES
Nutrition, Taste, and Value are three words we at IFS live by. When searching for a plant- based partner, these words remained top of mind. The collaboration with Daring has allowed us to offer plant-based alternatives to our everyday best-selling animal protein products. Their clean label and simple ingredient declaration was the perfect match to our brand and the line extension we were looking for. The texture, taste, and versatility are additional advantages that drew us to Daring and solidified our partnership. Their expertise in plant based, proven track record, and brand recognition in retail as well as fast casual chains has proven their commitment and quality, and now we can offer the same great products in K12! Together, we offer on-trend, speed scratch options, high quality ingredients, and healthy meal solutions for an evolving industry.
Connect with IFS
Connect with DARING
INFLATABLE PHOTO BOOTH FUN
View more Booth photos HERE
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This year at Ignite NxtGen Network partnered with K12 Cool Trends to have five industry partners showcase their products in front of over 1000 guests. Attendees voted - and we’re proud to announce that Deeply Rooted is this years K12 Cool Trends winner!
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2023 EVENT RECAP
Plant- based product
Sustainable
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2023 EVENT RECAP
BUST A MOVE AT MILE HIGH STATION
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View more Mile High photos HERE
2023 EVENT RECAP
LET’S CREATE GREAT DISHES TOGETHER!
J.T.M. honored the finalists of their 2023 Crave recipe contest and crowned the grand prize winner, The School District of Palm Beach County, Florida for their Queso Chicken Chili recipe at ANC in Denver. Get this recipe and many more by downloading J.T.M.‘s Crave Collection Cookbook.
Click here to download the 2023 Crave Collection Cookbook.
FRESH, FUN, MODERN, VIBRANT
NuFoods Consultants helps you strengthen your school nutrition program through student focused innovation, marketing, and environmental design. We’re changing the way school nutrition impacts students by enhancing the built environment. We focus on financial compliance manifested through capital programs. Our goal is to grow NSLP participation though improved operational efficiency and student focused programming. Contact NuFoods Consultants to learn more today!
Connect with NuFood Consultants today!
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View more Booth photos HERE
HYDROPONIC FARMS & DANCING WITH FORK FARMS AT IRONWORKS
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2023 EVENT RECAP
View more Ironworks photos HERE
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2023 EVENT RECAP
Why they stood out: Innovative use of partnerships with multiple educational programs What we love: Student-raised pigs and lambs on the menu - adding over 800 pounds of food locally raised In their words: Our team is creating a committed connected inter
building /department action team in Education, Agriscience, AgTech, Food Innovation, Bioscience, STEM, Business & Entrepreneurial opportunities for students by offering potential new educational and career pathways. Because of this, s tudents are becoming more aware and excited about our school meal program and food system because of these axillary education innovations. We have more exciting opportunities on the horizon including dynamic partnerships!
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VULCAN
HOBART
TRAULSEN
GREAT FOOD BRINGS PEOPLE TOGETHER
ITW Food Equipment Group LLC, a subsidiary of Illinois Tool Works, is the brand behind the brands found in commercial kitchens, bakeries, delis and groceries around the world. An ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year since 2008, ITW Food Equipment Group embodies a family of premium brands including Hobart, Traulsen, Baxter, Vulcan, Wolf, Berkel, Centerline, Stero, Somat, Gaylord, Kairak and IBEX—covering all your core food equipment needs, from food preparation and refrigeration to cooking and baking to dishwashing and waste disposal to weighing and wrapping. Backed by our nationwide network of factory-trained service technicians, we’re always nearby to install, maintain and service your equipment.
Explore ITW Food Equipment Group online
A FULL-CIRCLE VIEW OF YOUR FRIENDS IN THE 360 CAMS
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2023 EVENT RECAP
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View more 360 Camera videos HERE
Why they stood out: Innovative product and scalability
digital community.
Within school nutrition, Fork Farms supports hundreds of school nutrition programs to grow their own produce, control their fresh food supply chain, and engage with classroom programs across STEM, agriculture, nutrition and more. This is enabled through Farmative, Fork Farms’ digital platform for partners to access growing resources and education tools, in addition to connecting school nutrition leaders from around the country to collaborate with one another. Fork Farms’ comprehensive support is rooted in its commitment to school nutrition, education, and increasing the access to fresh, nutritious food for all kids.
What we love: Customer focused company building and learning from successful partnerships In their words: Fork Farms develops hydroponic vertical farming technology that makes it possible to farm indoors year- round, enabling all people to grow fresh food, nourish their communities, and heal the planet. The technology can be scaled to serve individuals and large-scale commercial producers alike because of its unique, modular design. Fork Farms also provides its growers with support and resources through its
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THANK YOU TO OUR AWESOME VENDORS
Encore Catering Fun Productions Denver Wedding Rental Company BitSignal & Plastic Printers Mile High Station & Ironworks Limelite
Dance Trax AmTab Arrow Stage Lines
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2023 EVENT RECAP
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