Caption image features Kansas City Health Department staff with their Crumbine medal.

NACCHO is pleased to announce the release of the guidelines for the 2024 Samuel J. Crumbine Consumer Protection Award for Excellence in Food Protection at the Local Level. This award is given annually to local environmental health jurisdictions that demonstrate unsurpassed achievement in providing outstanding food protection services to their communities.

Named for one of America’s most renowned health officers and health educators, Samuel J. Crumbine, MD (1862–1954), the award encourages innovative programs and methods that reduce or eliminate the occurrence of foodborne illnesses, recognizes the importance of food protection at the local level, and stimulates public interest in foodservice sanitation.

Eligibility

Local government organizations with the responsibility for food protection in the United States and Canada are eligible to apply for the award. These are understood to be departments or agencies that have the legal responsibility to protect the health of consumers in a county, district, city, town, township, or like jurisdiction. In addition, the U.S. Uniformed Services and the U.S. Indian Health Service area programs may apply, if they conduct a local food program, and past award winners may apply five years after their previous award. State, provincial, institutional, industry, and private programs are not eligible.

Selection Criteria

The basic criteria of an award-winning program are:

• Sustained excellence over the preceding four to six years, as documented by specific outcomes and achievements, and evidenced by continual improvements in the basic components of a comprehensive program;
• Demonstrated improvements in planning, managing, and evaluating a comprehensive program;
• Innovative and effective use of program methods and problem-solving to identify and reduce risk factors that are known to cause foodborne illness; and
• Targeted outreach; developed partnerships; and participation in forums that foster communication and information exchange among regulators, industry, and consumer representatives.

All local environmental health jurisdictions meeting these basic criteria are encouraged to apply, regardless of size and resources. To apply, applicants should download the guidelines, which may be found here. The deadline to submit entries for the 2024 award is March 15.

The Crumbine Award is supported by the Conference for Food Protection in cooperation with the American Academy of Sanitarians, American Public Health Association, Association of Food & Drug Officials, Food Marketing Institute, Foodservice Packaging Institute, International Association for Food Protection, National Environmental Health Association, National Restaurant Association, NSF International, UL, and the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO).

For more information about the Crumbine Award, please visit www.crumbineaward.com or contact NACCHO staff by e-mail at [email protected].