Star Food Healthy Express, a leader in reimbursable meal vending for schools, announces its support of the Fuel Up to Play 60 program (FUTP 60), an in-school nutrition and physical activity program founded by the National Dairy Council (NDC) and the National Football League (NFL). As a supporter of FUTP 60, Star Food will expand into schools nationwide, giving students easy access to nutritious and visually appealing meals and snacks.
“Since the beginning our goal has been to ‘Feed More Kids’. We started this 7 years ago because we saw where vending could fill a large need in schools for kids on the reimbursable meal programs,” said Joe Gilbert, vice president of Star Food Healthy Express, in a prepared statement. “These machines work with the systems already in schools to verify, serve and account for meals to the nearly 69% percent of students who are part of the reimbursable meal programs.”
“By supporting FUTP 60, we will be able to reach even more kids who really need a healthy meal or snack, including nutritious dairy products like low-fat milk and yogurt. This is definitely a ‘win’ for everyone,” said Gilbert.
Across the U.S., schools face tremendous challenges to meet economic, health and academic demands. Many schools lack the funds to execute school wellness policies. Programs such as FUTP 60 empower students to make positive changes to improve nutrition and physical activity at their school and for their own health, according to Star Foods.
“School wellness policies make it possible for students and schools to have access to healthy foods and to find opportunities to help them stay active throughout the day,” said Jean Ragalie, president of National Dairy Council. “Collaborating with Star Food allows us to provide FUTP 60 schools with an additional resource in providing students with healthy meal options.”
