CLAYVILLE, N.Y. (RFD News) — School lunch is getting more creative as dairy farmers and school nutrition professionals work to put more kid-approved options on the menu.
Farmer Audrey Donahoe said the Smart Swaps Initiative is focused on making healthy meals something students want to eat.
“The Smart Swaps Initiative is huge. National Dairy Council partnered with two chefs, and what they did is they developed some recipes that included dairy, sometimes multiple ingredients are dairy, of all breakfast items that are reimbursable. They were kid-tested, they were kid-approved, and everybody just thinks it’s a great idea to have that within the schools to feed the kids more healthy and desirable meals. These school food service professionals want to see the kids eat. They don’t want to see it in the garbage. The Smart Swaps initiative has been huge for us as the partnership between the farmers and SNA, the Dairy Council and SNA, and the fact that these schools love these recipes because they taste good and they know the kids are going to want it.”
The initiative features breakfast recipes that use dairy ingredients and are designed to meet school meal requirements.
