As part of Del Monte Fresh Produce's commitment to helping school children eat a healthy diet with more fresh fruits and vegetables, it is donating $50,000 to Let's Move Salad Bars to Schools campaign. Del Monte Fresh Produce's donation will be used to purchase salad bars for schools nationwide.

Let's Move Salad Bars to Schools is a public health campaign to provide salad bars to schools across the country in order to increase children's consumption of fruits and vegetables. Let's Move Salad Bars to Schools supports First Lady Michelle Obama's Lets Move! initiative to end childhood obesity in a generation.

Kids love salad bars! Students of all ages enjoy selecting their own fruits and vegetables to eat. Salad Bars are an effective way to increase children's consumption of a wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables at school lunch every day. Salad bars are also an easy way for schools to meet the new nutrition standards for school meals that emphasize serving more dark green, red and orange veggies every week. "Make half your plate fruits and vegetables," a key message of the 2010 Dietary Guidelines, is easy for students to achieve if their school has a salad bar offering a wide variety of colorful and delicious fresh fruits and vegetables everyday.

If your school or school district would like new salad bars, please ask your school food service director to apply by completing a short on-line application at www.saladbars2schools.org.

It's Easy for Schools to Apply for a Salad Bar
www.saladbars2schools.org

1. Any K-12 school or school district participating in the National School Lunch Program is eligible to apply for a salad bar. Schools who have received Healthier US School Challenge Awards from USDA have top priority.

2. Visit www.saladbars2schools.org to learn more and complete an application to receive a salad bar. All applications must be submitted electronically by the school food service director.

3. The application is short and easy, requiring information such as: student enrollment, free and reduced participation percentage, how your school food service will support the operation of the salad bar throughout the school year.

4. The application requires approval from the Superintendant, Principal, and Nutrition/School Food Service Director indicating their support for salad bar implementation.

5. If you have questions about the application, contact info@saladbars2schools.org.

6. When your school or district application is approved it will have space on the www.saladbars2schools.org website for a photo and a description of your school or district.

7. As funding becomes available, schools are notified and delivery details are confirmed.

8. Schools receive a Cambro portable 72-inch 5-well insulated salad bar with pans and covers, chilling pads and serving tongs and spoons. A Vollrath electric salad bar is also available if your school district or local health authority's code requires it.

Let's Move Salad Bars to Schools founding partners: United Fresh Produce Association Foundation, National Fruit and Vegetable Alliance, Food, Family Farming Foundation, and Whole Foods Markets have pledged to donate salad bars to 6,000 schools nationwide over the next three years.