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Schools to Celebrate Kansas School Lunch Week

01/25/2013

Kansas School Lunch Week will be celebrated in K-12 school cafeterias across the state the week of January 28- February 1. The initiative is a partnership between the Kansas Department of Agriculture (KDA) and the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE).

For Kansas School Lunch Week, KDA and KSDE worked to promote a specific lunch menu highlighting Kansas agricultural products. Each day of the week celebrates an agricultural product as a feature item on the menu. The following commodities will be celebrated during Kansas School Lunch Week: Monday, Kansas Corn Day; Tuesday, Kansas Sunflower Day; Wednesday, Kansas Beef Day; Thursday, Kansas Milk Day and Friday, Kansas Wheat Day.

In addition to featuring a specific commodity each day, KDA and KSDE have encouraged schools to utilize and purchase food products produced or processed in the state that are marketed through Simply Kansas, the state food and agriculture trademark program. School Lunch Week Resources, including the menu and items promoted to schools, are available online.

“Helping students draw the connection between agriculture and the food on their plate during school lunch is an important component of agriculture education,” said Kate Bormann, KDA education and event coordinator. “We are excited to partner with KSDE in more initiatives to encourage schools to promote Kansas agriculture and food products in the lunch room.”

KDA and KSDE worked with the participating commodity organizations to receive endorsement of the menu and to encourage groups to visit school cafeterias across the state during Kansas School Lunch Week. Participating commodity groups include the Kansas Corn Growers Commission, Kansas Sunflower Commission, Kansas Beef Council, Kansas Dairy Association and the Kansas Wheat Commission.

“Whether it’s the meat on the plate, the jam on their wheat bread, or the carton of milk, it has been touched by Kansas agriculture,” said Bormann. “KDA and KSDE will continue to encourage school nutritionists to select and promote healthy Kansas food every day.”

For more information about Kansas School Lunch Week, visit KSDE’s School Nutrition program website and the Farm to School website.

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