Schools chancellor announces new initiative to make lunches ‘local’

Talk about lunching local.

Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña announced on Thursday, December 17 the launch of New York Thursdays, a new approach to school lunches that brings locally grown or produced foods directly to students’ plates once a week.

As part of a nationwide initiative spearheaded by the Urban School Food Alliance, New York Thursdays is expected to boost student health and education while also strengthening the local agricultural economy and cutting carbon emissions.

“The health and wellness of our students is a critical foundation for success in the classroom and beyond, and New York Thursdays will provide students with healthy, locally sourced meals,” said Fariña. “The program is a great opportunity for us to celebrate locally sourced foods by incorporating them into our menus and brings a teachable moment to our students through meaningful conversations about food and the local economy.”

Local products already served to students each year include 35 million apples, seven million gallons of milk, three million servings of yogurt, and more.