While Policy Makers Continue to Debate SNAP, Revolution Foods Explains Access to Healthy Meals is Paramount

Leading maker of kid-inspired, chef-crafted meals supports students throughout New York and New Jersey by enabling continued access to nutritious, affordable meals

News provided by

Revolution Foods

Nov 19, 2019, 08:01 ET

NEW YORK, Nov. 19, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- While the U.S. government continues to debate limiting the number of people to receive federal food stamps under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Revolution Foods, leading provider of kid-inspired, chef-crafted meals serving 2,500 schools and community sites throughout New York and New Jersey, and key cities nationwide, is taking a stance by asserting the need to make nutritious, affordable meals accessible to all. Committed to transforming citywide wellness, the company reminds policy makers, and local community members, that such limitations would leave nearly one million low-income students without automatic access to free school lunches. Revolution Foods hopes decision makers will realize that these changes would negatively impact the wellbeing of our youth and encourages them to focus on the health and welfare of our country's most at-risk students.

"We believe that everyone deserves access to healthy food and that no child should ever go hungry, and we are committed to working with our partners to deliver quality meals at an affordable price," comments Kristin Groos Richmond, founder and CEO of Revolution Foods. "Today, school meal programs are at a crossroads, and it's crucial for lawmakers and parents to recognize the great strides that we are making as a nation by providing greater access to healthy foods. After all, growing healthy minds begins with fueling healthy bodies."

A recent impact report released by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation shows a strong correlation between nutrition and academic performance. When compared to students in similar schools that were not served its foods, the research found schools that serve Revolution Foods meals saw an improvement of 13.1% in English Language Arts (ELA) test results. A similar paper published by UC Berkeley finds students at schools that contract with a healthier school-lunch vendor perform better on tests. In this study, Revolution Foods was ranked the #1 healthiest provider of nutritious meals. Revolution Foods meals exceed both federal and district nutrition guidelines so that they are federally reimbursable and drive improved health outcomes in students, according to Richmond.

Millions of Americans rely on SNAP and the National School Lunch Program to nourish their children—for many families, these foods are their children's only opportunity to eat a balanced, nutritious meal each day. Changing the eligibility provisions in SNAP will compromise food access for families in need as well as potentially inhibit the ability for our youth to achieve their true potential in and out of school. While many administrators recognize the importance of good nutrition in schools, nutrition standards vary from school to school and from state to state. Revolution Foods uniquely collaborates with each partner, creating meal programs that cater to the needs of its students. This not only improves overall student meal satisfaction but also drives increased student participation in its breakfast, lunch and supper meal programs throughout New York, New Jersey and beyond.

Recent developments across New York and New Jersey include:

Launched new platforms to support school partner needs, including converting many school sites to a family style meal platform that provides students a familiar, homestyle experience which has proven to increase engagement and participation
Introduced new kid-inspired, chef-crafted menu items to drive excitement at the lunch line
Conducted thousands of student surveys to gauge satisfaction levels with its meals
Implemented new packaging that allows students to easily see the delicious offerings to drive appetite appeal
Launched a thematic cycle menu based on student survey results which features Latin Tuesday, Pizza Wednesday, Try it Thursday and Fun Friday
Supported existing partnership with a major growing network of public charter schools by successfully launching its meal program at a new location, with plans to onboard several additional new locations in the coming months

"We actively seek constant improvements to our menu items to guarantee every meal served is nutritious and tasty – through both the students' and chefs' lens – ultimately, satisfying students, administrators and parents. We believe that everyone deserves access to healthy food and will continue working with our partners to deliver healthy meals that taste great, too," explains Cliff Lyles, executive chef and VP of culinary excellence at Revolution Foods.

Revolution Foods continues to grow alongside its partners across greater New York and New Jersey as more locations request its meal programs. Further, the company has consulted new cafeteria designs for new school sites in the region, enabling its meal programs and offerings to be considered by more partners. Revolution Foods has served the New York, New Jersey region since 2010. Additionally, the company serves early childhood education centers, districts, charter schools, and community and afterschool youth programs in over 400 cities and towns across fifteen states throughout the U.S, including San Francisco, Los Angeles, Denver, Dallas, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Boston and Washington, D.C., among others. For more information on Revolution Foods visit revolutionfoods.com.

About Revolution Foods
Founded in 2006 by two businesswomen and moms on a mission to build lifelong healthy eaters, Revolution Foods set out to solve the problem of limited access to healthy meals for every child in America. The company's innovative approach began with serving freshly prepared, healthy meals to students in schools nationwide, and the company has now designed, produced and delivered over 360 million kid-inspired, chef-crafted meals to sites across 15 states, including childhood education centers, districts, charter schools, and community and afterschool youth programs. Revolution Foods' experience shows—and studies support—that nutritious foods drive improved health and academic outcomes. A recent impact assessment conducted by KKS Advisors on behalf of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation found schools that serve Revolution Foods saw an improvement of 13.1% in English Language Arts (ELA) test results. Together with best-in-class community partners such as FoodCorps, Stephen and Ayesha Curry's Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation and Wellness in the Schools (WITS), Revolution Foods equips parents, teachers and students with valuable tools and resources to continue positive nutrition education beyond the lunch line. Revolution Foods is a certified B Corporation, awarded as one of B Corps' 2019 Best for the World honorees, that aims to drive systems change, from policy and food systems evolution to driving positive student academic and health outcomes to build a brighter future for our nation's youth and families. 

SOURCE Revolution Foods