Guest guest Posted October 14, 2004 Report Share Posted October 14, 2004 below is an award by PCRM: EMBARGOED until: Contact: Howard White: (202) 686-2210, ext. 339 October 12, 2004 hwhite PCRM Honors Innovative School Foodservice Professionals During National School Lunch Week, October 11-15 “Golden Carrot Awards” Go to Foodservice Managers Making a Healthy Difference in Berkeley, East Hampton (NY), Fairfax (VA), and Los Angeles WASHINGTON—The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) announced today that foodservice directors in Berkeley (CA), East Hampton (NY), Fairfax (VA), and Los Angeles are the winners of the first-ever “Golden Carrot Awards” for innovation in school foodservice Berkeley Unified School District Nutrition Services Director Karen Candito won the Grand Prize. She will receive the top cash prize of $1,000. In addition, PCRM will donate $2,500 to the Berkeley school district food program. Three $500 second prizes were awarded as well. These went to Beth Collins of the Ross School in East Hampton, New York; Penny McConnell of Fairfax County Public Schools in northern Virginia; and Gloria Boccato, of the Los Angeles Leadership Academy. The awards go to foodservice professionals who approach child nutrition in an innovative way, and who, through the food served and through education efforts, encourage children to eat more healthfully. Awards are based on programs that feature low-fat meals; encourage kids to eat lots of fresh fruits, vegetables, and whole grains; provide vegetarian or vegan menu items; respect cultural diversity; offer non-dairy alternatives; foster community partnerships, and offer innovative programs that help improve child health and reduce obesity. “Berkeley Unified really impressed us,” says PCRM director of nutrition, Amy Joy Lanou, Ph.D. “Karen Candito and her staff have done an extraordinary job of providing Berkeley’s students with healthy, diverse menus and teaching kids about the importance of good nutrition.” Lanou points to Berkeley’s vegetarian lunch fare (elementary school students have a least one item a day; the high schools feature 8-20 vegetarian entrees or side dishes daily); organic gardens, farm-to-school programs and cooking and nutrition classes; salad and fruit bars; and the district’s policy banning fried foods, sugary desserts and soda, as some of the reasons Berkeley won the grand prize. Among Berkeley’s other innovations is the “International Market Place” in the middle schools, offering students healthy foods daily from a variety of different cultures and nations. The winning schools range from public to posh to petite. Fairfax is the nation’s 14th largest public school district and serves more than 140,000 meals a day. The Ross School is a private academy in the Hamptons that boasts its own executive chef and whose menu has been studied by the Harvard School of Medicine and the National Centers for Disease Control. The LA Leadership Academy is a two-year-old charter school with fewer than 200 students in one of Los Angeles’ neediest districts whose mandate for social justice extends to its food and nutrition programs. Foodservice professionals from Albemarle County Schools (Charlottesville, VA), Santa Monica/Malibu Unified School District (CA), South Oregon Education Service/Talent Transition site (southern Oregon), Clark County School District (Las Vegas, NV), Hempsfield School District (Landisville, PA), and the Marblehead Community Charter Public School (Marblehead, MA) received “Honorable Mentions.” PCRM received more than 60 nominations for the awards from all over the country. “We were pleased and surprised by the variety of school foodservice programs nominated for our Golden Carrots,” says Lanou. “We are looking forward to next year.” The “Golden Carrots” will be awarded annually to the nation’s most innovative school foodservice professionals. Winners will be announced each October during National School Lunch Week. For more about this year’s Golden Carrot award winners, go to www.pcrm.org or www.healthyschoollunches.org. Founded in 1985, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine is a nonprofit health organization that promotes preventive medicine, especially good nutrition. PCRM also conducts clinical research studies, opposes unethical human experimentation, and promotes alternatives to animal research.signature: http://www.bayareaveg.org /http://www.vegdining.comhttp://www.sfvs.orgLiving Foods: SFLivingFoods/due to my high amount of emails, I am unable to answer everyone's emails on vegetarian questions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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