There’s more to school lunch than just chocolate milk and PB&J sandwiches, right?
DC-based Sweetgreen, the fast-casual restaurant that has been a part of the demand for healthier lunches across the country, is once again re-imagining lunch—but this time, it’s only for kids.
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The company has launched a new initiative called “Reimagining School Cafeterias,” with FoodCorps, a nonprofit focused on connecting children with healthy lunch options in school cafeterias. The partnership was propelled by a two-year, $1 million pledge by Sweetgreen with a goal of reaching an estimated 50 schools by the 2020-2021 school year.
During the current rollout to 6,500 students at 15 schools, the partnership has led to experimental small-scale projects, such as the Taste Buds Flavor Bar in New Mexico (where kids can customize a meal with spices and sauces); a Tasty Challenge in North Carolina (allowing students to vote on a type of produce prepared three different ways); and a multi-week program called Our Cafeteria Project in California, where students can offer suggestions on how to improve their cafeteria experience and then implement them.
The pop-up experiments are allowing students the opportunity to choose items for themselves, mixing and matching flavors and ingredients to make something that could end up being more appetizing and nutritious than an average cafeteria meal.
By offering more choices and access to healthy options, the company hopes to “advance the health of our nation’s 30 million students eating lunch every day,” according to the website, and also combat the statistic that one in three students are on track to develop diabetes in their lifetimes.
For more information, visit impact.sweetgreen.com.
