An All-American Salute to School Meals

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Nutrition is an important topic in current legislation and in our school district. With the start of school, we imagine you have noticed some changes to our menus. We hope to share some of these changes with you and how they help your children’s health.

The mission of Nebo District Food Services is to provide quality food served with warm hearts and happy faces. We do this by following national nutrition guidelines, training our staff on safety and service, and by doing our best to prepare healthy menus your children will love.

This year we are offering more fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat milk to match new national guidelines from the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act. We are very excited about these healthy changes!

National statistics show that only 34% of children eat the recommended number of fruit servings per day and only 15.3% eat enough vegetables. Our hope is that by providing more fruits and vegetables, children will be more likely to eat the recommended daily servings so they can take advantage of the vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that help with growth and brain function.

Whole grains are also very low in the diets of children, less than half the recommendations according to Healthy People 2020. These are important because they provide vitamins that are important for growth, as well as add fiber that reduces the risk for diseases like heart disease and cancer.

Low-fat milk is important for the growth of healthy teeth and bones. The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act has stressed the importance of offering low-fat and fat-free milk in our school meals because of the increasing problem with childhood obesity. With over 23% of Utah’s children overweight or obese, we do our best to provide healthy meal options for your children.

Coming up October 14-18th we will be celebrating National School Lunch Week.

Even though the school is making many changes to help your children, there are things at home that you can do as well!

We understand that many children are not used to the variety of fruits and vegetables we serve at school. Serving more fruits and vegetables at home and letting children pick them out at the grocery store helps them learn that these foods are both nutritious and fun.

Choose whole grain breads, tortillas, and cereals to help your children get used to the new textures. Low-fat or fat-free milk is also a good option at home for anyone over the age of 2 years old.

Though we will continue to do our very best to provide quality food, we will need your help to make sure your children get the best nutrition possible. Thank you for your support of Nebo School District’s foodservice department. We are committed to provide quality food, served with warm hearts and happy faces to your wonderful children!

 

Attributions
Article by Grace Phelon, Photo by Dorie Thatcher
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