Washington, DC – In recognition of National School Lunch Week, October 13 – 17, 2014, and the produce industry’s commitment to healthy school meals, the United Fresh Start Foundation is pleased to announce a generous contribution from Roundy’s Supermarkets, Inc. (Roundy’s) to support salad bars for forty schools in Illinois and Wisconsin. The donation supports the Foundation’s Let’s Move Salad Bars to MIDWEST Schools campaign, which has a goal to increase children’s fruit and vegetable consumption by donating salad bars to schools in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin.
“Programs that encourage children to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables benefit our produce departments and we’re excited to get more involved with schools in the communities we serve,” said Steve Jarzombek, vice president produce procurement and merchandising for Roundy’s. “We partnered with our vendor community and are pleased that so many companies wanted to support salad bars for schools,” he added. Jarzombek is passionate about increasing children’s produce consumption and serves as a co-chair for United’s Let’s Move Salad Bars to MIDWEST Schools campaign.
Roundy’s is a leader in child nutrition, educating children about the importance of eating more fresh fruits and vegetables as part of a healthy diet. Whether it’s tours of the produce department for local elementary schools, engaging in 5-A Day activities or supporting salad bars for schools, Roundy’s is committed to encouraging the next generation of produce consumers to develop healthy eating habits.
Salad bars will be donated to schools throughout Illinois and Wisconsin, benefitting communities where Roundy’s has stores. The schools will use the salad bars during their lunch service to provide students with greater access to fresh fruits and vegetables, to engage parents in conversations about healthier meals at home and to create a healthier school food environment.
According to Cheryl Peil, Food and Nutrition Director for the Elmbrook, Wisconsin Public Schools, “Our district is honored to be part of the Let’s Move Salad Bars to MIDWEST Schools program. We received a salad bar last school year, and now thanks to Roundy’s, we will be able to expand salad bars to 3 additional schools. The salad bars will provide students with fresh fruit and vegetables every day on the lunch line and will complement our farm to school curriculum. We look forward to engaging parents and the community to ensure they know about the salad bars and this beneficial partnership.”
Earlier this summer, several Roundy’s banners, including Copps Food Center, Metro Market and Pick ‘n Save, also partnered with Produce for Kids®to support salad bars for Midwest schools.
“We’re so pleased to have Roundy’s as a leading supporter of our Let’s Move Salad Bars to Midwest Schools campaign,” said Tom Stenzel, President & CEO, United Fresh Produce Association. “United Fresh is committed to increasing children’s fruit and vegetable consumption and our salad bar campaign is a tangible example of our industry’s efforts to empower students to make their own healthy choices. By forging community partnerships and creating an environment that encourages healthy eating behaviors, we can assist students with selecting fresh fruit and vegetables for their meals and snacks each school day.”
Research and experience in schools across the country demonstrate that children significantly increase their fruit and vegetable consumption when given a variety of choices in a school salad bar. When offered multiple fruit and vegetable choices, children respond by incorporating greater variety and increasing their overall consumption. Salad bars empower students to make their own healthy choices and create excitement about trying new fruits and vegetables, ultimately increasing children’s daily consumption.
Let’s Move Salad Bars to MIDWEST Schools is a special campaign of the United Fresh Start Foundation, under the umbrella of the national Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools initiative. The special Midwest campaign continues the United Fresh Start Foundation’s tradition of benefitting children and schools in the region of the country hosting the United Fresh Produce Association’s annual convention, which will be in Chicago in June 2015 and 2016. In June 2014, the United Fresh Foundation announced the first wave of fundraising, which resulted in the donation of salad bars for 200 Midwest schools.
The United Fresh Start Foundation is working with the produce industry, foundations and allied organizations to support salad bars for schools as a strategy to increase children’s access and consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables. To date, salad bars have been donated to more than 3,500 schools nationwide, benefitting 2 million students.
Schools interested in receiving salad bars can visit www.saladbars2schools.org for additional details and information about submitting an application. Organizations interested in supporting salad bars for schools can visit the website or contact Andrew Marshall, amarshall@unitedfresh.org, the United Fresh Start Foundation’s Director of Foundation Programs and Partnerships.
National School Lunch Week is a weeklong celebration of the school lunch program. Designated by an act of Congress, and initially created by President John F. Kennedy in 1962, National School Lunch Week provides an opportunity for school districts across the country to engage with parents, community leaders and media about their efforts to serve healthy, great tasting school meals.
About Roundy’s
Roundy’s is a leading grocer in the Midwest with nearly $4 billion in sales and more than 23,000 employees. Founded in Milwaukee in 1872, Roundy’s operates 150retail grocery stores and 97 pharmacies under the Pick ’n Save, Copps Metro Market and Mariano’s retail banners in Wisconsin and Illinois. Roundy’s is committed to helping the communities its stores serve through the Roundy’s Foundation. Chartered in 2003, the Roundy’s Foundation mission is to support organizations working to relieve hunger and helping families in crisis due to domestic abuse, neglect and other at-risk situations.
About the United Fresh Start Foundation
The United Fresh Foundation is the United Fresh Produce Association’s 501 (c)(3) not-for-profit organization designed to help meet the public’s need for healthy, high quality, safe and affordable fresh fruits and vegetables. The Foundation is devoted to enhancing consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables through environmental change and public policy, and industry commitments to charitable endeavors. The Foundation is working to increase access and double the consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables by American children, helping to end childhood obesity in the next generation.
About Let’s Move Salad Bars to MIDWEST Schools
Let's Move Salad Bars to Schools is a public health campaign to increase salad bars in schools across the country so that every child has the choice of healthy fruits and vegetables every day at school. Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools supports First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move! initiative to end childhood obesity in a generation. Founding partners are: the United Fresh Start Foundation, National Fruit and Vegetable Alliance, the Chef Ann Foundation, and Whole Foods Market. More information can be found online at www.saladbars2schools.org
Source: United Fresh Start Foundation