Students at 20 Lee County, Florida, schools will soon notice student-friendly signage and custom menu boards promoting healthy food choices in their lunchrooms, beginning in Fall 2025.
This initiative stems from a long-time partnership between the UF/IFAS Extension Family Nutrition Program (FNP) and The School District of Lee County Healthy Living Collaboration—which includes Career & Technical Education (CTE), Food and Nutrition Services, and Environmental Education.
The menu boards, provided by FNP as part of a Smarter Lunchrooms Movement strategy, were functional, but still needed visually engaging materials that would reinforce nutrition messaging in a fun, student-centered way. The CTE digital arts students wanted to use their creativity to support healthy eating in schools, so this became the theme for the 15th Annual Digital Lee Design Competition.
Digital design and marketing students from local high schools submitted original artwork promoting school meals, local produce, and healthy food choices. FNP provided guidance so the artwork would align with Smarter Lunchrooms Movement strategies and match the layout and messaging of the existing menu boards. Participating students gained a platform to creatively support their peers in making healthier food choices while learning about the impact of visual communication and community nutrition.
The winning designs—submitted by students from North Fort Myers Academy for the Arts—will be professionally printed by FNP for display in the lunchrooms.
An 11th-grade student from North Fort Myers Academy for the Arts said, “Participating in Digital Lee showed me firsthand what it’s like to be a digital designer, working with a real client and real team members to create something incredible. It was amazing to witness my team members bounce ideas off one another and end up making such terrific designs to be used in our community. I am so proud of what my team was able to create together, and I know that all of us will treasure this experience.”
A 12th-grade team member, also from the academy, commented, “Competing in Digital Lee allowed me the rare chance to collaborate that I had been looking for. Both times I participated, my team and I got to create a solution and watch our project truly come to life. As a student, that experience had a tremendous impact on me.”
Mary Graham, who organized the competition, expressed gratitude for the partnership. Graham is a teacher on assignment for CTE and said, “The Digital Lee Competition gave students real-world experience working directly with clients, like UF/IFAS FNP and the school district’s food and nutrition service. It’s a chance for students to apply knowledge from the classroom, build leadership, collaboration, and communication skills; add to their professional portfolio, all while creating designs that meet the actual needs of our community.”
