The Safeway Foundation Donates Salad Bars to Three California School Districts

The United Fresh Foundation announces a generous grant from The Safeway Foundation in Pleasanton, CA to support Let’s Move Salad Bars to California Schools. The Safeway Foundation grant will provide salad bars to schools in Hemet, Pleasanton and Ventura Unified School Districts in California and benefit 6,382 students everyday by increasing their consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables at lunch. This grant helps the United Fresh Foundation close in on their goal of donating salad bars to 350 California schools by May 2013. “The Safeway Foundation is proud to make a difference in the many neighborhoods that Safeway serves,” said Christy Duncan-Anderson, Executive Director of the Safeway Foundation. “We are committed to promoting health and wellness for today’s consumers and for the next generation.” The Safeway Foundation, with a focus on giving locally, supports causes that impact customers' lives and improve children’s health. All schools receiving salad bars from this grant are located within 5 miles of a Safeway/Vons store. “This donation highlights the collaborative effort and commitment along the entire supply chain to improving child nutrition and combating childhood obesity by promoting increased fruit and vegetable consumption,” said Tom Stenzel, United Fresh president and CEO. “Salad bars are the easiest, most effective way for schools to meet the new federal school lunch standards and make it possible for students to ‘make half their plate fruits and vegetables’ as recommended by the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for America.” In Hemet, the schools receiving salad bars include: Ramona Elementary, Jacob Weins Elementary and Little Lake Elementary Schools. In Pleasanton, Valley View Elementary, Donlon Elementary, Fairlands Elementary and Hearst Elementary Schools will receive salad bars, and in Ventura salad bars will be provided to EP Foster Elementary and De Anza Middle School. In all schools, the salad bars will be used to provide students with greater access to fresh produce and to encourage students’ increased consumption of these healthy foods. Let’s Move Salad Bars to California Schools is a special campaign of the United Fresh Foundation, under the umbrella of the national Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools initiative, of which the United Fresh is a founding partner. Let’s Move Salad Bars to California Schools continues the United Fresh Foundation’s tradition of benefitting children and schools in the host state of the association’s annual convention, this year in San Diego, May 14-16. United Fresh is collaborating with the California State Department of Education’s Team California for Healthy Kids, a program started by California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson to increase access to fresh foods and salad bars.