Celebrities and the Public Unite to Support #RealSchoolFood

Chef Ann Foundation's #RealSchoolFood awareness campaign brings attention to the state of school food in America.

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Sep 29, 2015, 08:40 ET

BOULDER, Colo., Sept. 29, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Childhood Obesity is a national epidemic in this country. One third of our nation's children are on track to get type II diabetes, primarily because of poor diets. Over 30 million children eat school lunch every day, and many of their meals are processed, heat-and-serve items. Imagine the impact if schools served real food that was cooked with healthy, nourishing ingredients?

Celebrities and the Public Unite to Support #RealSchoolFood

Today, Chef Ann Foundation (CAF), a leader in the fight for school food reform, launches #RealSchoolFood, a campaign to raise awareness for the need to transition our nation's schools from serving processed, heat-and-serve food to healthy, scratch-cooked meals.

"School lunch regulations are a good place to start, but they can only take us so far," comments Chef Ann Cooper, Founder and President of the organization. "Big food companies are engineering processed products to meet federal guidelines, but a chicken nugget with whole-wheat breading does little to instill healthy eating habits. We need to be cooking from scratch with easy-to-use recipes based on fresh, whole ingredients. That way we ensure that kids receive the nourishment they need today and a taste for real food that leads to a lifetime of healthy eating."

As Congress continues to debate the fate of federally-regulated school lunch, Chef Ann Foundation is calling on school food advocates, chefs, celebrities, parents, and the general public to show their support for the #RealSchoolFood message by completing the following steps:

1. Snap a selfie while holding up a sign that reads "#realschoolfood".

2. Choose one of Chef Ann Foundation's #realschoolfood photos, picturing real, scratch-cooked school lunches.

3. Post the two photos together on social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) using the hashtag #realschoolfood and this caption: "It's time schools stopped serving highly processed, heat and serve food. I support #realschoolfood that's cooked from scratch. You can too at @ChefAnnFoundation's www.realschoolfood.org" (Or, visit the #realschoolfood campaign page for other suggestions).

Mamma Chia, an organic chia-based foods company, will donate $1 towards healthy school food recipes for every person who posts using the #realschoolfood hashtag (up to 5,000 posts), so please help CAF spread the word and participate!

Celebrities from around the country are lending their support to the campaign by snapping their own #realschoolfood photos; CAF is calling on the whole country to get behind #realschoolfood. The more people who participate, the louder the message becomes, and the more likely that school food game changers and policy makers will take notice.

It's time to stand up for the health of our nation's children. Will you join us?

About the Chef Ann Foundation
The Chef Ann Foundation (CAF) was founded in 2009 by Ann Cooper, an internationally recognized chef, author, educator, public speaker, and advocate of healthy food for all children. In a nation where kids are born with shorter life expectancies than their parents due to diet-related disease, our mission is to help schools take action so that every child has daily access to fresh, nourishing food. Carrying out the vision of Chef Ann, who has been a pioneering leader in the fields of school food, childhood nutrition, and sustainable agriculture, the 501(c)(3) non-profit organization actively supports school districts nationwide through grant programs and resources that help schools serve children healthy and delicious scratch-cooked meals made with fresh, whole food. To date, CAF has reached 5,161 schools and over 2,254,128 children.

Media Contact:
Emily Miller / 646.369.7526 / Email

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SOURCE Chef Ann Foundation