Tyson Fosters Healthier Eating at NYC Schools
Tyson Foods Inc., one of the nation’s leading suppliers of meat and poultry to schools, is joining forces with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation to help make nutritious food more available and affordable at New York City-area high shools.
The announcement was made at a Brooklyn, N.Y. high school where Tyson Foods has funded improvements in the school’s student wellness room.
By working with the Alliance, Tyson Foods joins other leading school meal manufacturers pledging to set prices for healthier items -- which meet the Alliance’s science-based standards for nutrition -- at a cost no more than 10 percent higher than traditional, comparable products. Similar to the other participating manufacturers, Tyson has also committed to increase sales of its compliant products to at least 50 percent of the company’s entire school sales within five years.
Manufacturers also have committed to aggressively promote products that align with the Alliance’s Healthy Schools Program nutrition standards and equip their sales force with the knowledge and resources to educate food service professionals.
“Our children consume up to one third of their calories while at school,” said President Bill Clinton, founder of the Clinton Foundation. “I applaud Tyson Foods, as one of our country’s largest suppliers of school food products, for seizing an opportunity to improve the nutrition and well-being of more than 30 million school children nationwide.”
The collaboration between Tyson and the Alliance for a Healthier Generation builds on the two-year school meals industry agreement -- founded by the American Heart Association and Clinton Foundation -- that the Alliance has in place with 16 leading school meal manufacturers, group purchasing organizations and technology companies. The new commitment from Tyson comes as school food service professionals around the country begin contracting processes for the coming year.
Product commitments such as Tyson’s fall in at least one of the following categories within the Alliance’s science-based guidelines for school foods:
- Lean protein products, such as lean red meat, skinless poultry, lean deli meats, fat-free or low-fat cheese, beans, and tofu
- Low-fat lunch entrees with reduced total fat, saturated fat and sodium levels
- Whole-grain products, such as bread, pasta and pizza crust
- Fresh, canned or frozen fruit
- Zero trans fat cooking oils