I mentioned yesterday that I was contacted by someone who works with Schwan’s Food Service after reading my post about my trip to the School Nutrition Association : National Annual Conference held in Denver, Colorado. She shared with me some interesting facts that I thought I would pass on. Especially if you chose not to let your children eat school lunch on pizza day!
- A survey of over 600 K-12 students last year, said that kids want variety in the lunch line and would ideally like about 10 different entrees offered over a month’s time, selecting any one item twice.
- Pizza was one of the top three items for all students.
- Grade school students preferred cheese pizza, while high school students (especially boys) preferred pepperoni
School pizza from Schwan’s Food Service meets the new nutritional guidelines and taste preferences expressed by students, including spicier sauces and better tasting whole grains. One slice of pizza, with less than 350 calories, a whole grain crust, calcium, potassium, protein and ber, is a great option when served with one-half cup of fruits and vegetables and low-fat milk.
Pizza Facts
- Pizza is among the top four sources of calcium, protein and ber in the U.S. diet
Children (2 to 18 years)
» No. 2 source of protein
» No. 3 source of calcium
» No. 4 source of dietary fiber - School pizza is a significant source of Vitamin A and potassium for children.
- Pizza can fit into a healthy eating plan. Pizza contributes many essential nutrients to children’s diets –
particularly teens. - Removing pizza from the diet could lead to a significant drop in consumption of dairy (in the form of cheese), grains and tomatoes and thus nutrients (e.g., calcium, folate, protein, thiamin, niacin and iron) provided by these foods in the U.S. diet.Cheese is a high-quality food providing valuable nutrients that has been, and continues to be, part of a
healthy eating plan.
Source: Innovation Center For U.S. Dairy® and National Dairy Council®, 2012.
