(MILLVILLE) – New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Douglas Fisher this week marked National School Lunch Week with a visit to R.M. Bacon Elementary School in Cumberland County to learn about the school’s and Millville School District’s student meal program.

Secretary Fisher and school officials watched as students taste tested some items on the lunch menu. Those items included cheesy chicken alfredo with pasta, a whole grain dinner roll, parmesan green beans, fresh apple slices, and milk.

“Bacon Elementary School and the Millville School District demonstrates enthusiasm and creativity by serving a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables in an appealing student-friendly manner,” Secretary Fisher said. “This encourages children to make the right decisions on what they will eat, creating a foundation for good dietary habits that can last a lifetime.”

The Millville District serves more than 5,000 meals in several programs daily with the USDA breakfast, lunch, dinner, and the Fresh Fruit & Vegetable program. Millville also participates in the Department of Defense (DOD) Direct Delivery, which brings fresh produce into the Millville District schools. Through the Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Program and DOD the district purchases food from New Jersey farmers, including Circle M Farms, and Fichera Farms each in Salem County, and Sheppard Farms in Cumberland County.

“If my staff and I can get students to eat nutritious meals at school, they will have the fuel needed to learn while they are here and the energy needed to participate in their after-school activities,” Millville Director of Food Services Joseph Rowland said. “School nutrition has the ability to assist in improving food choices with the programs that we offer students on a daily basis.”

New Jersey schools follow the nutrition standards set forth by the USDA, which incorporates a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat and fat-free milk options, with limitations on saturated fats, trans-fats, sodium, and calories.

National School Lunch Week was created by the School Nutrition Association to encourage participation in the National School Lunch Program and recognize the school districts providing healthy meals every day. The New Jersey Department of Agriculture administers the program in the Garden State.

To learn more about the state’s school lunch program, visit https://bit.ly/3RWnGDv.

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