The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), the voice of the nation’s nearly 3,000 local governmental health departments, has named the Washoe County Health District in Nevada as the recipient of the 2021 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.

The jury reviewing Crumbine Award nominations, consisting of public health practitioners, reported it was impressed with Washoe County Health District’s efforts in the following ways:

• Clear and strong evidence of measurable program improvement data and public health interventions;
• Achievements in solving impactful public health-centered challenges;
• The strong program focus on outcomes in addition to outputs;
• Impressive training programs; and
• Strong relationships with industry and community engagement.

“The Washoe County Health District is honored to receive the prestigious Crumbine Award,” said Kevin Dick, Washoe County District Health Officer. “The Health District – Food Safety Program strives to support, educate and engage food establishment operators to help ensure active managerial control of foodborne illness risk factors and promote the common goal of providing safe food for Washoe County residents. I’m so proud of their efforts to achieve this award and to be recognized nationally.  It is a testament to the quality of our program that we are able to join the elite list of local food safety programs who have received this national award.”

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.

“While much attention is on the COVID-19 pandemic response, the local public health response to food-borne illness and outbreaks remains a critical and core function within communities,” said Lori Tremmel Freeman, Chief Executive Officer of NACCHO. “The Crumbine Award recognizes innovation and best practices in food safety, demonstrating outstanding work by health departments based on science and evidence. It is not only a way to celebrate the successes of the awardee, but it also highlights their work so that it can be replicated for the benefit of other communities.”

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 and Drug Officials, Food Marketing Institute, Foodservice Packaging Institute, International Association for Food Protection, NACCHO, National Environmental Health Association, National Restaurant Association, National Sanitation Foundation International, and UL LLC.

The award will be presented at the virtual Annual Educational Conference of the National Environmental Health Association on July 15 at the International Association for Food Protection conference in Phoenix, AZ, and virtually on July 21, and at the virtual NACCHO 360 Conference on July 1.

about Washoe County Health District
The Washoe County Health District has jurisdiction over all public health matters in Reno, Sparks and Washoe Counties through the policy-making Washoe County District Board of Health. The District consists of five divisions: Administrative Health Services, Air Quality Management, Community and Clinical Health Services, Environmental Health Services and Epidemiology and Public Health Preparedness. 

about NACCHO
The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) represents the nation’s nearly 3,000 local health departments. These city, county, metropolitan, district, and tribal departments work every day to protect and promote health and well-being for all people in their communities.