Whole Foods Market raises awareness for healthy school lunches

Whole Foods Market and Chef Ann Cooper are working to help transform lunch in schools across the USA with their “School Lunch Revolution” awareness tour. Ms Cooper and Whole Foods Market Co-President and Chief Operating Officer Walter Robb are speak to key influencers about their program, asking community members to get involved and government officials to consider more rigorous nutrition guidelines as they prepare to reauthorize the Child Nutrition Act. “There is a role for everyone when it comes to getting fresher, healthier school lunches served in our schools,” said Mr Robb. “We are engaging everyone on this issue – from parents learning to pack healthier lunches, to our customers donating to the cause, to our team members getting involved at their local schools, and with key community groups, to elected officials interested in prompting real change.”

Mr Robb and Ms Cooper have begun with a press conference and community discussion. Afterward, they met with USDA officials to discuss the National School Lunch Program by calling attention to the need to go beyond dietary guidelines when updating school lunch nutrition standards, more focus on fresh, natural whole foods with fewer artificial ingredients such as colorings, flavorings and trans fats, and a greater emphasis on local food. Ms Cooper underscored the need to dedicate an additional 1 $ per day per child to the School Lunch Program and advocate for universal breakfast and lunch provided to all students, which would allow schools to have more time to focus on better nutrition planning and meal preparation as it would eliminate enormous administrative and accounting burdens. Whole Foods Market kicked off a donation drive by contributing and then its customers got engaged and have donated more than 400,000 $ to develop this resource.

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