Goodbye to Pizza Friday’s, The Lunch Box Will Have a Different Menu
The days of school’s cafeteria food are numbered and Whole Foods Market and Chef Ann Cooper are counting them down. They have joined forces to launch thelunchbox.org. Lunch Box Web site is a comprehensive, easily accessible and free set of resources available to help schools replace frozen processed foods with fresh, natural, made-from-scratch foods in a realistic, cost-effective manner. Tools include:
- Recipes that work for schools of all size and can be nutritionally analyzed, tested and costed
- Resources for procuring real, natural foods, regionally and locally, from smaller vendors to create local food economies
- Training videos that cover topics ranging from cooking techniques to food safety
- Educational tools for parents and children
- Community activism tools helping any single person, group or task force to initiate change in a school system
The site is still in private beta. If you go to it it’s mainly a splash page with links that don’t work, but The Lunch Box site is planned for release during the back-to-school season which is in a few weeks.
The Lunch Box will be supported in part by a donation from Whole Foods Market and a School Lunch Revolution donation drive at check-out stands in Whole Foods Market stores, and at wholefoodsmarket.com/schoollunchrevolution now through September.
To further raise awareness and encourage Americans to join in, the Whole Foods Market Web site will feature:
- A series of six short educational videos;
- A live chat with Chef Cooper on Aug. 28 at 3p.m. CDT;
- A video contest for PTO/PTA organizations, with the winner receiving a visit from Chef Ann; and
- Solutions for affordable, healthy lunches.
So when your children start asking for a Caesar chicken wrap or a Greek salad soon rather then pizza or a hamburger you’ll know who to blame ;)
