Cooking Up a Week-long Celebration for School Lunch
National School Lunch Week Campaign Aims to Get Kids Excited About Healthy Choices
(Minnetonka, MN) Each year, there are more than 500 billion school lunches served nationwide via the 
National School Lunch Program. In recognition of the healthful eating Taher Professional Food Service is celebrating National School Lunch Week (NSLW) this week, from October 15th-19th. The 2012 theme is: “School Lunch – What’s Cooking?”
Serving more than 31 million children every school day, the federally-funded National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides nutritionally balanced, healthy meals. The program, which has been serving the nation’s children for over 60 years, requires school meals to meet the USDA’s new nutrition standards by:
Ensuring students are offered both fresh fruits and vegetables every day of the week;
Substantially increasing offerings of whole grain-rich foods;
Offering only fat-free or low-fat milk varieties;
Providing appropriate portion sizes based upon age of child served; and
Increasing the focus on reducing the amounts of saturated fat, trans fats and sodium.
Taher, Inc. provides chef- driven, registered dietitian-approved healthful ingredients for recipes that meet national requirements for nutrition standards. Taher’s Food 4 Life® initiative keeps our school food service programs on the cutting edge of nutrition trends,” explains Ruth Chipps , National Director, Nutrition & Wellness Taher, Inc. “We were the first in our industry to remove trans fats from menu items in 2007-we also introduced fruit and vegetable salad bars at the same time. Our focus on fruits, vegetables, grains and legumes continues with even more chef-inspired choices in the upcoming weeks.”
Some of the entrees featured this week during the National School Lunch Week celebration include: Italian Stromboli with Marinara Sauce, Chicken Quesadilla with Southwest Squash Bake and the all time favorite Grilled Cheese with Tomato Soup. Bean-a-licious salad is the featured legume choice and all meals include a fully stocked fruit and vegetable bar with items such as: Red bell peppers, broccoli florets, green peppers, peaches, mixed fruit, spring green mix, orange wedges, cauliflower, baby carrots, bananas and pineapple tidbits. We are proud to feature more made from scratch entrees and less processed foods on our menus. Taher also features a Harvest of the Month program that features seasonal items such as pumpkin, black eyed peas and local apples. For more information, visit www.taher.com Contact: Ruth L. Chipps, MS, RD, National Director, Nutrition & Wellness , Taher, Inc. 952-345-2894.
About Taher, Inc. – Professional Food Service Management Company: Minnetonka, MN-based Taher, Inc. was started by Bruce Taher in 1981, and has maintained a matchless reputation based on the standards of quality, driven by trained chefs, value, integrity and customized professional services. Taher, Inc., is the 21st largest food management company in the nation (Food Management Magazine ), and was the first in the industry to convert to trans fat-free products (2007). Recognized for fostering a healthy lifestyle and good nutrition in schools, campus dining, corporate dining and senior care communities, Taher, Inc. manages a portfolio of 200 clients in a 12-state area, serving over 200,000 meals per day. It is the largest private company in the country serving public and private school communities. The future remains bright for Taher, Inc. as more Americans are drawn to “healthy meals” prepared by professional chefs from fresh (not frozen) ingredients. www.taher.com.
