WEST NEW YORK – Oct. 10 to 14 is National School Lunch Week, and the West New York School District’s healthy meals and snacks – and the fact that kids are eating them – are earning national notice.
In recognition of this success, Sal Valenza, the district’s school nutrition director, was recently selected for a panel convened by the Kids’ Safe and Healthful Foods Project (a joint initiative of The Pew Charitable Trusts and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation).
The panelists met to discuss what’s working in their schools, and their recommendations are being highlighted in a new fact sheet – which means that West New York’s nutrition program is now a model for schools nationwide. The fact sheet also presents data from a nationwide survey of school nutrition directors and offers data on which strategies for school nutrition success have been most effective.