The 19th National School Lunch Koshien The pair from Meiwa Special Needs School in Ishikawa wins the big crimson banner!

The 19th National School Lunch Koshien Final was held on December 8, 2024 at the Komagome Campus of Kagawa Nutrition University in Tokyo, and the pair of Haruna Oka, a school nutritionist, and Mikae Iwagishi, a cook, from Meiwa Special Needs School in Ishikawa Prefecture, took home a large crimson banner of victory.

Haruna Oka, a school nutritionist, and Mikae Iwagishi, a cook, from Meiwa Special Needs School, Ishikawa, celebrating their victory.

Ishikawa is one of the stronger prefectures, having participated in the competition since the first competition in 2006, and this is the eighth time for the prefecture to appear in the finals. In the past, it has received the 21st Century Concept Study Group Award (2006), the Children's Judging Committee Special Award (2015), and the Kagawa Nutrition University Special Award (2022) three times, as well as the Award of Excellence twice. It was also the first time for a special needs school to win the competition. It is also the first time that a special needs school has won the championship.

Click here for the award ceremony report: https://kyusyoku-kosien.net/2024ceremony/

The 19th National School Lunch Koshien Judging Results

Winner (Fujie Prize)

Haruna Oka, School Nutritionist, Meiwa Special Needs School, Ishikawa, Japan Mikae Iwagishi, Cook, Meiwa Special Needs School, Ishikawa, Japan

Runner-up (Musashi Engineering Award)

Second Prize (Musashi Engineering Prize): Mariko Taninishi, school nutrition teacher, and Takako Morishita, school cook, Konan School Lunch Kitchen, Takamatsu City, Kagawa Prefecture.

Satoshi Omura Special Prize]

Nutrition teacher, Yoshimi Hamaya, Cook, Yuko Ueda, Nomura Elementary School, Takaoka City, Toyama Prefecture

The 21st Century Concept Study Group Special Prize

Nutrition teacher, Ayumi Mizutani, Cook, Yoshika Mori, Futaba Elementary School, Aioi City, Hyogo

Naha City Matsukawa Elementary School, Naha City, Okinawa, Japan

Naha City Matsukawa Elementary School, Okinawa, Japan

Excellence Award (Japan No.1 Award)] Takayama City, Gifu Prefecture

Nutrition teacher, Masashi Kawahara, Cook, Kazumasa Sakamaki, Takayama City School Meal Center, Gifu

Excellence Award

Tono City School Meal Service Center, Iwate, Nutrition teacher - Saki Hirano, Cook - Rika Unman

Higashimatsushima City School Meal Service Center, Miyagi Pref.

Hiroshima Prefectural Shobara Special Needs School, Nutrition Teacher Tatsuya Suginobu, Cook Hiromi Kato

Nutrition teacher, Nishiki-cho School Meal Service Center, Kumamoto Pref.

Cook's Special Award (Reiko Nakano Award)

Cook, Nishiki-cho School Meal Service Center, Kumamoto Pref.

Cook, Michiyo Kakishita [Food Education Class Contest Grand Prize (Kikkoman Award)] Tono City, Iwate Pref.

Saki Hirano, Nutrition teacher, Tono School Meal Service Center, Iwate

What is the National School Lunch Koshien?

The National School Lunch Koshien is a national school lunch competition held once a year. Nutrition teachers, school nutrition staff, and cooks from all over Japan who are involved in school lunch prepare and compete in a nutritionally balanced school lunch menu that makes use of various local products produced in the region and leads to nutrition education at the Komagome Campus of Kagawa Nutrition University in Tokyo.

Official website: https://kyusyoku-kosien.net/