All Long County public schools recently participated in National School Lunch Week. This year’s theme was “School Lunch Snapshots.”

School Nutrition Director Stephanie Fox said the week is a way to highlight the important role of the school lunch program in Long County and across the nation. This year’s celebration featured community leaders and first responders.

Every student who ate a school-prepared meal for the entire week received a raffle ticket with a chance to win a digital camera, Fox said.

“School lunches are healthier than ever, with more fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and less fat and sodium,” she said. “National School Lunch Week helps us educate parents and students about all the benefits of our lunch program and the appealing choices we offer.”

Fox said Long County school meals are prepared with healthy techniques and include items such as salads and low-fat dairy products.  The staffs from each school educate the students about making healthy food choices and being physically active.

“We want parents to know that our goal is to serve well-balanced, nutritious meals to their children, which we hope creates healthy eating habits for their lifetime,” she said.

The federally funded National School Lunch Program provides nutritionally balanced and healthy meals to students. The program serves more than 30 million children every day and has been serving meals for more than 60 years.  

The meals must meet stringent federal standards. The School Nutrition Association helps with this, Fox said.