NEW YORK, Feb. 10, 2016
/School Food FOCUS today sent a clear message
that quality protein belongs on our school children's plates.
America's schools collectively spend nearly $1 billion
per year on poultry and legumes. School Food FOCUS works with school
districts to coordinate this purchasing power and put market pressure on
food companies to provide healthier products for our nation's school
children. The latest example of this work is Focus on the Plate (schoolfoodfocus.org/resources/plate/) -- a selection of poultry and legume products currently available for purchase in the school food market.
"This list of school food
products is a direct result of FOCUS districts finding innovative ways
to raise the standard of food we see on the lunch tray by working
directly with suppliers to try out new products and reformulate others,"
said Founder and Executive Director Toni Liquori. "From poultry raised with responsible antibiotic use to a more wholesome bean burrito, FOCUS on the Plate is an important step towards helping schools serve meals that are healthier for children and the environment."
The National School Lunch
program serves 33 million American children daily. Many of these
children depend on school food for more than half of their calories,
making the quality of this food in terms of its wholesomeness all the
more critical.
"When school districts
demonstrate a unified demand for more healthful, regionally sourced and
sustainably produced school food, the kids win, the districts win and
the manufacturers ultimately win too," said Bertrand Weber, Director of Nutrition Services at Minneapolis Public Schools.
Manufacturers are definitely
listening. Most recently, the FOCUS Certified Responsible Antibiotic
Use program has seen a surge in poultry producers undergoing USDA 3rd party verification and shifting their product lines to meet the demands of school districts.
"We take feeding children very seriously, and have great pride in the ingredients and quality of our products," said Dan Southard,
President of Los Cabos Mexican Foods. "Listening to the needs of
school food service directors, and making sure those needs are met is
fundamental to the way we do business."
School Food FOCUS is a
national collaborative that leverages the knowledge and procurement
power of school districts across the country to make school meals more
healthful, regionally sourced, and sustainably produced.
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