National School Lunch Act

Comcast and United Way Partner to Donate 100 Laptops to Bridge Digital Divide in City of Bloomington

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, April 2, 2024
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Today, Comcast and United Way of South Central Indiana announced a donation of 100 laptops to Bloomington residents to help accelerate digital equity efforts in the community.

Key Points: 
  • Today, Comcast and United Way of South Central Indiana announced a donation of 100 laptops to Bloomington residents to help accelerate digital equity efforts in the community.
  • “Community partnerships with organizations like Comcast and United Way are invaluable to ensuring Bloomington families can succeed in a digital world,” said Bloomington Mayor Kerry Thomson.
  • “Increasing digital equity unleashes the potential of high-speed internet within homes and businesses,” said Craig D’Agostini, Comcast vice president, government & regulatory affairs.
  • Comcast operates more than 20 Lift Zones across Indiana, including two in Bloomington: Boys & Girls Clubs of Bloomington Ferguson Crestmont Club and Lincoln Street Club.

Rebellyous Receives Vizient Contract for Plant-Based Chicken

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, November 8, 2023
Sodium, Chicken nugget, University of Oxford, Country, K-12, Meat, USDA, Research, University, Hospital, Water pollution, School, National School Lunch Act, Hormone, Public, Tender, Nuggets, I Am Gen Z, Fast food, Renewable energy, RD, Vizient, Inc.

SEATTLE, Nov. 8, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Plant-based meat manufacturing technology company Rebellyous Foods has been awarded a contract from Vizient, a group purchasing organization which represents $130 billion in annual purchasing volume across the healthcare sector as well as through channel partners serving colleges, universities, school districts and other industries. The agreement was effective Nov. 1.

Key Points: 
  • "Vizient's customer base has a national presence — increasing their plant-based portfolio can have an impact on the planet and public health," said Lauren Pitts, MA, RD, Rebellyous Sr. Food Service Account Manager.
  • "We are thrilled to be working with Vizient."
  • Rebellyous' Nuggets, Patties, and Tenders are 100% vegan with no cholesterol, antibiotics, or hormones, and less saturated fat and sodium than conventional chicken products.
  • "We are thrilled to be working with Vizient and looking forward to providing their customers with delicious, cost-effective, and sustainable plant-based chicken."

Bayer and Dollar General Partner to Increase Access to Fruit and Veggies, Celebrate National School Lunch Week

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, October 11, 2023
Organic Food, Retail, Health, Supermarket, General Health, Pharmaceutical, Food, Beverage, Multimedia, School, Partnership, Dollar, Student, Fruit, Vegetable, Organization, USDA, WHO, World Health Organization, United States Department of Agriculture, National School Lunch Act, DG, Soft drink, Grocery store, Hunger, Bayer

Bayer and Dollar General have partnered on a campaign to help K-12 school districts around the country provide nutritional support for kids and their families outside of traditional school hours.

Key Points: 
  • Bayer and Dollar General have partnered on a campaign to help K-12 school districts around the country provide nutritional support for kids and their families outside of traditional school hours.
  • Through this partnership, students receive a coupon for fresh produce, redeemable at local Dollar General stores that now offer fresh fruit and vegetables.
  • The collaboration was also developed to coincide with National School Lunch Week, October 9-13, which celebrates the importance of a healthy school lunch and the role of school nutrition professionals to provide well-balanced meals to students throughout the United States.
  • Bayer and Dollar General are offering families 50% off any one fresh produce item ($5 or less) and $2 off any Bayer Flintstones™ Vitamins through November 30, 2023.

Urban School Food Alliance announces USDA cooperative agreement to support innovation in school food purchasing

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, October 11, 2023
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"The Urban School Food Alliance appreciates the opportunity to work with USDA to improve the school food procurement process for all stakeholders," said Dr. Katie Wilson, executive director of the Urban School Food Alliance.

Key Points: 
  • "The Urban School Food Alliance appreciates the opportunity to work with USDA to improve the school food procurement process for all stakeholders," said Dr. Katie Wilson, executive director of the Urban School Food Alliance.
  • The partnership builds on the Urban School Food Alliance's existing efforts to strengthen and streamline school food procurement practices for school districts of all sizes.
  • Through the new agreement with USDA, the Urban School Food Alliance will:
    Develop new tools to educate school districts on best practices for purchasing school foods.
  • The Urban School Food Alliance has existing trainings and resources to begin sharing with school districts immediately, and the development of new tools and the advisory group are both expected to begin in early 2024.

Feeding America Report Reveals Hunger in the US Remains an Urgent Crisis Despite Progress During Pandemic

Retrieved on: 
Friday, September 15, 2023
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CHICAGO, Sept. 15, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Nearly 9 in 10 (88%) people facing hunger agree that federal and local governments should treat food insecurity as an urgent crisis despite headlines asserting an improving economy and lower unemployment rates, according to a new Feeding America report. Feeding America's nationally representative Elevating Voices: Insights Report reflects the firsthand experiences, concerns and ideas of more than 1,000 people, and 12 Native American communities, who have received charitable food assistance and/or who have experienced food insecurity in the last two years.

Key Points: 
  • A hunger-free America is within our grasp, if we seek guidance directly from communities facing hunger as indispensable partners in this work," said Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, CEO of Feeding America.
  • The report's four key areas of focus were informed by neighbor insights and provide Feeding America's policy recommendations for a hunger-free America.
  • This year's report follows the inaugural, first-of-its-kind report, Elevating Voices to End Hunger Together: Community-Driven Solutions to Address America's Hunger Crisis .
  • Additionally, the report contains firsthand context about the day-to-day experience from neighbors who have faced hunger, gathered during the inaugural Elevating Voices: Power Summit .

Prescriptions for fruits and vegetables can improve the health of people with diabetes and other ailments, new study finds

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, August 29, 2023
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The health of people with diabetes, hypertension and obesity improved when they could get free fruits and vegetables with a prescription from their doctors and other health professionals.

Key Points: 
  • The health of people with diabetes, hypertension and obesity improved when they could get free fruits and vegetables with a prescription from their doctors and other health professionals.
  • Many U.S. health care providers have been experimenting with “food is medicine” programs, which provide free, healthy food to patients – sometimes for a year or more.
  • This is the largest analysis to date of produce prescription programs, which are one variety of these efforts.
  • They let patients with diet-related illnesses get apples, broccoli, berries, cucumbers and other kinds of fruits and vegetables for free.

Social Media Filters are Blurring Reality: New Curology Report Reveals Students' Skincare Anxieties before Heading Back to School

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, August 1, 2023
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SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Curology, the dermatologist-founded personalized prescription skincare company, released its first ever Back to School: Unfiltered report1 today, revealing insights into the anxieties Gen Z high school and college students have about starting school this fall, especially in regards to social-media filters and their skin.

Key Points: 
  • And a quarter (25%) go so far as to say they're not comfortable sharing their bare face on social media without makeup or facial filters.
  • "With the rise of social media filters, students today are under more pressure to look 'perfect' than ever before," says Curology CEO Heather Wallace.
  • Fears about removing the "digital shield" afforded by social media facial filters are especially pronounced for those with acne.
  • To learn more about the Back-to-School: Unfiltered report, please visit this link or follow @curology on social media.

Lunchables® Enters the Produce Aisle for the First Time with New Fresh Fruit Offering

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, August 1, 2023
Teens, Women, Parenting, Children, Supermarket, Men, Family, Food, Beverage, Consumer, Retail, Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program, Partnership, Pasta â Paolina, National School Lunch Act, Eating, Fruit, Multimedia, School, Lunch, Sodium, Social media, Grocery store, Convenience food, Lunchables, Marketing, Fresh Del Monte Produce

Today, Lunchables®, in partnership with Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc., enters the produce aisle for the first time with its new fresh fruit offering featuring pineapple, clementines, grapes and apples.

Key Points: 
  • Today, Lunchables®, in partnership with Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc., enters the produce aisle for the first time with its new fresh fruit offering featuring pineapple, clementines, grapes and apples.
  • Lunchables with Fresh Fruit is the latest example of the brand’s desire to offer more better-for-you options.
  • View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230801777818/en/
    Lunchables debuts four new fresh fruit offerings in partnership with Fresh Del Monte.
  • “Lunchables with Fresh Fruit is a ripe example of how we are quickly moving to introduce new offerings rooted in real consumer needs.

National Jeweler Shane Co. and Kids In Need Foundation Partner for a Fourth Year to Deliver Back-to-School Supplies

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, July 25, 2023
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DENVER, July 25, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Shane Co., a family-owned fine jeweler since 1929, begins its annual partnership with Kids In Need Foundation (KINF). This year's school supply program will surpass the previous years initiative with a donation of $190,000 and an additional $18,000 from in-store and online contributions from customers. Since the launch of the program three years ago, Shane Co. has donated a total of $350,000 to KINF, which has supported 605 classrooms and over 14,000 K-5 students in schools where over 70 percent of the student population participates in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP).

Key Points: 
  • DENVER, July 25, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Shane Co. , a family-owned fine jeweler since 1929, begins its annual partnership with Kids In Need Foundation ( KINF ).
  • 6,000 backpacks full of supplies will be distributed to students in July and August.
  • Supporting under-resourced students and teachers has become integral to our company culture and I'm thrilled to continue our legacy of giving back."
  • Schools set to receive supplies are based in communities that Shane Co. stores currently serve.

School-approved Cheetos? Why we must protect school food from corporate interests

Retrieved on: 
Sunday, July 23, 2023
Volunteering, Pure Food and Drug Act, Industry, Food, Food industry, Face, Marketing, Public, Policy, Public policy, Tobacco, National School Lunch Act, Foundation, Government, School, Federation, Health, Food security, Liberal, Pharmaceutical industry, Soft drink, Nursing

While the federal government committed to a national school food program in the 2019 budget, it has not funded its implementation.

Key Points: 
  • While the federal government committed to a national school food program in the 2019 budget, it has not funded its implementation.
  • Read more:
    Federal budget pledges a Canadian school food program but recipe requires funding

    A report on the 2022 consultations on a national school food policy will soon be released.

  • The consultations heard from provincial, territorial and Indigenous governments and community organizations about the value and role of healthy school food.

Food industry lobbying

    • The food industry regularly borrows from the political playbook of tobacco, alcohol and other health-harming industries.
    • The federal government has not yet ruled out a significant role for the food industry in the creation of a national school food program.
    • The development of a national school food program will be attractive economically to the food industry as multi-national food companies will see it as a way to increase sales and introduce their brands to children at a young age.

Burnishing reputations

    • In fact, the food industry promoting itself as being “part of the solution” represents an evolution of non-market tactics that are designed to effectively manipulate public and political perspectives, including regulatory decisions, to favour industry interests over others.
    • There are three steps the federal government must take to prevent corporate influence in the development of a national school program:

1. Define the role of the food industry


    In collaboration with the provinces and territories, the government must define the role of the food industry and commercial entities in providing food to schools. Schoolchildren must be protected from marketing campaigns and efforts to make junk food more readily available. Ultimately, food companies and their charitable foundations should not have a seat at the table in the development of a national school food program or its governance.

2. Invest in the school food program

    • The government must properly fund a national school food program.
    • This will allow Indigenous governments, provinces and territories, along with local school communities, to tailor and customize their food programming free from the influence of corporate charitable giving.

3. Pass protective legislation

    • But it could provide an additional layer of protection to prevent corporate entities from marketing to children while they’re attending school.
    • Developing and implementing a national school food program can help build the foundations for a healthy population over the long term.
    • Rachel Prowse receives funding from Canadian Cancer Society, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and Health Canada.