Revolution Foods, a company renowned for sourcing, designing, producing and distributing two million healthy meals each week to schools and community programs nationwide, enters the new year with a continued mission to transform citywide wellness as students return to school following the holidays. With many families resolving to start fresh this month, a recent survey of 1,001 parents nationwide* conducted by Revolution Foods reveals about two-thirds (65 percent) of parents surveyed look to their schools to encourage healthy habits and deliver delicious, nutritious meals to their children throughout the year.
“The new year is the perfect time for families to reevaluate wellness goals and for many, this includes encouraging healthy habits in and out of school. For millions of parents though, access to healthy foods remains a challenge,” said Kristin Groos Richmond, CEO of Revolution Foods. “This, combined with the federal government’s recent relaxing of school nutrition guidelines, emphasizes the need for schools to be equipped with valuable tools and resources to educate kids about healthy food. By providing increased access to nutritious meals, companies like ours help families build lifelong healthy eaters, which can ultimately enhance positive academic outcomes today and foster future success.”
Although surveyed parents (71 percent) reveal they will utilize the new year as reason to reprioritize healthy ingredients such as fresh fruits and vegetables when creating meals in the home, two-thirds (66 percent) believe both schools and parents share the responsibility of offering and teaching kids about nutrition. However, nearly one-third of surveyed parents indicate their schools do not do anything specific to encourage healthier eating in the new year.
As the only school and community meal provider on a national level to leverage a clean-label supply chain, Revolution Foods partners with a variety of local, regional and national vendors to source high-quality ingredients, including serving 96,000 pounds of vegetables and 1.2 million portions of fruit per week, to create its healthy menu items. With its team of industry-leading chefs across the nation, the company uniquely works with students at every step of the development process to ensure each meal boasts excellent nutrition and delicious flavors that kids love.
“We design around kids’ taste preferences because we are committed to creating kid-inspired, chef-crafted meals that students will enjoy and benefit from,” says Chef Clifton Lyles, executive chef and vice president of culinary excellence at Revolution Foods. “In addition to incorporating fresh produce into our offerings, we work closely with each region we serve to ensure we’re crafting culturally and regionally relevant menu items that deliver on taste and broaden students’ palates.”
Revolution Foods responds to concerns about the absence of food education in schools by partnering with best-in-class community partners like FoodCorps and Share Our Strength to bring cooking classes, gardening lessons and other educational resources to schools around the nation.
“We believe everyone deserves access to real, high-quality food made with carefully curated ingredients,” said Kirsten Saenz Tobey, Revolution Foods’ chief impact officer. “Through sourcing clean ingredients and offering healthy and affordable meals to students and families throughout the country, we will equip parents, teachers and kids with the tools necessary to continue positive nutrition education throughout 2019 and beyond.”
Revolution Foods’ survey also revealed the following findings:
- Over half (57 percent) feel kids should start learning healthy eating habits as toddlers.
- A majority (69 percent) of parents find it difficult to make healthy eating a priority in their family during the holiday season.
With a commitment to exceeding nutrition guidelines, Revolution Foods creates healthy meals made from real food and wholesome ingredients free of artificial colors, flavors and sweeteners. The company currently serves early childhood education centers, districts, charter schools, and community and afterschool youth programs in 400 cities and towns across fifteen states throughout the U.S, including the San Francisco Bay Area, Boston, Austin, Newark, New York City, Los Angeles, Denver, Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia. For more information on Revolution Foods visit RevolutionFoods.com.
