Celebrate National School Lunch Week October 14-18

• October 16, 2019
• Staff

School meals help children have the nutrition they need for growth, health and learning. Did you know that the National School Lunch Program has been helping to feed America’s children for more than 73 years? Below are some ways to engage families and students in the week’s celebrations.

• Share our MyPlate Guide to School Lunch and Welcome to School Lunch fliers with families.
• Hold a School Lunch Taste Test Event with elementary or secondary school students.
• Connect nutrition education to the school lunch menu:
  • See our Cafeteria Connections in our Discover MyPlate Lessons for Kindergarten
  • Find fruit and vegetables on the menu in this Great Garden Detective Lesson for Grades 3-4
  • Have middle school students to read about healthy eating patterns in this Fueling My Healthy Life article.
• Provide a presentation to school staff and parents about how school lunch supports school wellness.

Want to learn more about the National School Lunch Program in your State? Contact your State agency.

Locally, El Pasoans Fighting Hunger Food Bank is part of the National School Lunch Program and in addition, partners with local school pantries to provide nutritious food to children.

National School Lunch Program

In early 2018, El Pasoans Fighting Hunger was awarded the contract to provide the free breakfast/free lunch program for 185,000 low-income children attending 182 schools in West Texas. Prior to our taking on this critical program, El Paso schools were being serviced by a warehouse in San Antonio and the volume of food reaching our kids through this vital program had dropped by more than 50 percent!

School Pantries

School pantries are essential in making an instant impact in helping solve childhood hunger. The food bank currently operates 14 pantries within low-income elementary, middle school and high schools in metro El Paso.For too many of our community’s children, their only meal(s) of the day are the meals they receive at school. These specialized pantries are designed to ensure that children and their families have access to healthy food to take home for the evenings and weekends when school is out.