To recognize the National School Lunch Program, serving 30\r\nmillion children each day, Searcy Schools celebrated National School Lunch Week\r\nthis past week. The theme, “School Lunch: What’s on Your Playlist,” spotlights\r\nhow today’s school cafeterias are serving up healthy menu items that kids want\r\nto eat, with increased choice and customization.
\r\nThe district also takes this week as an opportunity to thank\r\nChild Nutrition Program employees for their contribution to serving healthy\r\nschool meals to students.
\r\nThe federally-funded National School\r\nLunch Program (NSLP) has been fueling students for success for more than 70\r\nyears, and it would be impossible to carry that out without the trained\r\nprofessionals working in school nutrition programs across the nation.
\r\nEach of our campuses participated in fun activities during the\r\nlunch hour to celebrate our nutrition program and especially the nutrition\r\nemployees in our district. Some campuses offered tokens of appreciation to the\r\nnutrition staff, and others even sang and danced to songs that corresponded\r\nwith the meal offering!
\r\n“School lunches offer students fruits and vegetables, whole\r\ngrains and milk, and meet federal nutrition standards limiting fat, calories\r\nand sodium,” said Charlotte Davis, Child Nutrition Director. “National School\r\nLunch Week helps us educate parents and students about all the benefits of our\r\nlunch program and the appealing variety of choices in the cafeteria.”
\r\nTo coincide with "Farm-to-School Month", another\r\nOctober event, Searcy schools will continue to serve and highlight locally\r\ngrown sweet potatoes from Matthews Ridgeview Farms in Wynne and green\r\n"frill" lettuce from Barnhill Orchards in Lonoke. "We even\r\ntested a special Snickerdoodle cookie made with fresh sweet potatoes during the\r\nScience Day event held at Southwest Middle School on October 1, which received\r\nresounding approval from students and faculty alike,” said Davis.
\r\nThe “School Lunch Playlist” campaign was made possible by the\r\nnonprofit School Nutrition Association. Parents and students were able to\r\nfollow the fun using the hashtags #NSLW19, #SchoolLunchPlaylist and\r\n#SchoolLunch. For more information on National School Lunch Week, visit https://schoolnutrition.org/nslw/.
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