September 13, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For more information:
Melissa Reeves, mdreeves@jeffco.k12.co.us , Jeffco Public Schools, 303-982-6567
Lynn Setzer, lsetzer@jeffco.k12.co.us , Jeffco Public Schools, 303-982-6810

WHAT: School cafeterias serve up Colorado pleasers
WHEN: Wednesday, Sept. 14 from 10:35 a.m. – 12:05 p.m.
WHERE:  Bell Middle School, 1001 Ulysses St., Golden, 80401  

FROM COLORADO AND PROUD
Colorado pride runs deep in Jeffco - that's the idea behind Jeffco's Food and Nutrition Services new Colorado Proud Days campaign.

Every second Wednesday of the month, cafeterias will feature a meal with foods grown, raised or processed by Rocky Mountain farms and companies. The first menu on Wed., Sept. 14, features a beef and pinto bean chili with beef from Castle Rock Meat Company and BBQ Foods in Commerce City, sweet potato rolls from Denver's Harvest Moon Bakery, fresh veggie sticks from local farms, paired with milk from the local Robinson Milk Company.

"Jeffco Schools is a member of the national organization School Food Focus," said Jeffco's Food and Nutrition Services Executive Director Linda Stoll. "Its goal is to help large, urban school districts change to less processed, more locally sourced and sustainably produced foods."
 
Stoll says Jeffco’s parents want freshly-baked, homemade, scratch cooking for their kids.  "We are trying to change our kitchen technology and train our workforce to create that healthy environment,” said Stoll. “We think it's important to shop in Colorado to put the money back in the community."

Rocky Ford cantaloupe had been a feature item on the menu, but because of a recent local Listeria outbreak, Colorado cantaloupe has been removed as a safety precaution.

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