District 76 + Preferred Meals = Food Transparency for all!

Hello Dr Joe, Colette, Kathleen and Dwayne,

I wanted to reach out and say how thankful I am to have met with you all Friday morning at West Oak to discuss increased food transparency, added sugar and your innovative allergy systems menu. It was truly lovely to meet, shed our computer terminals and talk face to face. There is no doubt we are all working in the same direction.

I am thrilled to know that our district families will have full ingredient transparency in 30 days and that you’ll be following up with us on the challenge of including added sugar content information. I am also excited for our school board to continue the conversation regarding the allergy systems menu and am hopeful that these cleaner, more organic options might be accessible to our families in the future.

There is such frustration over food. I could feel it from us all. Questions and debates swirl around what we should eat, what we shouldn’t… conflicting messages everywhere we look… Thank you for sitting at the same table with such optimism and shared concern. What has become clearer than ever is the need for more real food over fake food ingredients, less sugar and food education for all. I am so inspired to hear that Preferred Meals is doing everything possible to remove these controversial ingredients from your school food menu. I believe that not only will these changes positively affect the children in this district who rely on us for 2/3 meals a day, but in the long term, these changes will position your company as a food service provider who can deliver more nutrient dense, real food to school districts across the country. A transition every school food company should be focusing on in order to meet the evolving consumer demand for cleaner, more nutrient dense food. 

Thank you for the opportunity to discuss the hidden MSG, partially hydrogenated oils and other artificial additives that are still lurking in some of the ingredient lists. I can only imagine the challenges you face in phasing these ingredients out. This important work should be applauded, supported and celebrated at every level.

Thank you again!  Have a wonderful weekend and I look forward to continuing our conversation!

Lindsey Shifley
JOFR Super Ambassador

ps

The challenge Preferred Meals faces with required calorie amounts (fat is regulated and sugar is not) could be changing! I am hopeful the new 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) recommendations may lead to some regulatory changes that will allow food companies more flexibility and send the sugar packing - This just in:

 http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/02/19/nutrition-panel-calls-for-less-sugar-and-eases-cholesterol-and-fat-restrictions/?_r=0

http://www.foodpolitics.com/?s=dietary+guidelines

And of course, I couldn’t resist this little ditty:

http://naturallysavvy.com/eat/this-is-why-sodium-benzoate-is-so-scary