October is National Farm to School Month, and this week it’s National School Lunch Week.
The USDA is encouraging schools to incorporate foods that are locally grown, raised, or caught for their daily meal programs. More than 67,000 schools nationwide participate in farm to school which helps provide healthy meals for 30 million kids each day.
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The USDA has recently made it even easier for schools to buy local foods. They now get unprocessed foods like fruits, vegetables, meats, dairy and more.
Children receiving school lunches consumer fewer empty calories, and more milk, fruit, vegetables and fiber than those who bring lunch from home. The USDA has provided $178 million to help schools buy local foods. This fall, they plan to bring nutritional professionals together to work on making meals more nutritious.
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