With support from Bayer, the United Fresh Start Foundation is celebrating National School Lunch Week from Oct. 12-16.
United Fresh is calling attention to school districts that continue to offer a wide variety of fresh fruit and vegetable choices for students, despite challenges posed by COVID-19, according to a news release.
“During this year’s National School Lunch Week we are highlighting schools that are making fresh produce options a priority through on-trend, visually appealing salads, produce-centric main dishes and sides,” Andrew Marshall, director of foodservice and foundation partnerships for the for United Fresh, said in the release. “We also are celebrating school nutrition leaders who are committed to maintaining the fruit and vegetable serving requirements, ensuring children throughout their communities have access to a variety of fresh produce.”
With USDA’s recent announcement that schools can now offer no-cost meals to kids through the end of June 2021, the release said United Fresh Start Foundation will continue offering support to schools on sourcing, serving and promoting fresh produce to students.
“At Bayer, we are committed to working toward creative solutions for increasing children’s access and consumption of fresh produce,” Jenny Maloney, food stakeholder manager for Bayer, said in the release. “With so many U.S. children relying on schools for daily meals, it’s critically important that we engage school foodservice operators to understand their needs, and provide them with knowledge, tools and resources to offer a variety of fresh fruit and vegetables for their students.”
National School Lunch Week, developed by the School Nutrition Association, celebrates nutritious foods in school meals.
During the week, the United Fresh Start Foundation will use social media to highlight how produce is being offered by school districts across the country, as well as conduct interviews with school nutrition professionals.
The school districts represented in the interviews, according to the release, are Tucson, Ariz. Unified School District, Vista, Calif. Unified School District, Alachua County, Fla. Public Schools, Cobb County, Georgia, School District, New York City Department of Education and Union, Okla. Public Schools.
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