AUSTIN, Texas, March 28, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Nearly 84,000
students at Austin Independent School District (AISD) will benefit
from a healthy and tasty school lunch makeover with a new food
truck, healthy breakfasts in the classroom, made-to-order salad
bars and farm-to-table scratch cooking. All of this supported by a
$608,100 grant from the Minnesota-based Life Time Foundation, which
has set its sights on improving school lunch programs across
America.
Among the highlights at a grant presentation event held Friday
at William B. Travis High School was the district's first mobile
food vehicle aptly named, "Nacho Average Food Truck." Overseeing
all of this positive change is Anneliese
Tanner, Director, AISD Nutrition and Food Services,
representing the newest partner of the Life Time Foundation, a
public charity created by Life Time, which operates two health
clubs in Austin.
Nacho Average Food Truck will hit the road and rotate among all
AISD high school campuses with a fresh, around-the-world inspired
burger menu featuring: a tasty Mekong burger topped with pineapple
chutney and hoisin sauce; a Mediterranean burger topped with Greek
salad, feta cheese and tzatziki sauce; a Tuscan burger topped with
marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese and fresh basil;
and a Yucatan burger topped with
guacamole, pico de gallo and cotija cheese. The truck also will
serve vegetable and/or fruit sides, and a milk to provide a
complete school meal.
Tanner is incredibly passionate about the move to deliver
healthy meals to students and her innovation shows through. "When
it comes to school food, especially amongst our high school
students, we have to constantly evolve and keep our menu items
fresh and new," says Tanner. "My hope with Nacho Average Food Truck
is to continue to educate students that clean, natural and
wholesome foods are also delicious and to encourage them to change
their eating habits now for a more healthy future."
When it's all said and done, the changes are in keeping with
Life Time Foundation's nutrition philosophy and focus on helping
schools to remove what it calls the "Harmful 7" from student
breakfast and lunch menus. The Harmful 7 includes:
- Trans Fats & Hydrogenated Oils
- High Fructose Corn Syrup
- Hormones and Antibiotics in animal production
- Added and Artificial Sweeteners
- Artificial Colors & Flavors
- Artificial Preservatives
- Bleached Flour
Tanner adds, "Our collaborative work with the Life Time
Foundation goes beyond simply funding programs and products to
include staff training on crucial skills as we add more scratch
cooking, enabling us to deliver the healthy, nutritious and
high-quality foods our students deserve each and every day."
"I'm truly excited about the work Annaliese and her staff have
conducted over the 18 months since her arrival at AISD," said Life
Time Foundation Executive Director, Barbara
Koch. "Through our collaboration, we see the opportunity for
AISD to be among the most progressive districts in the nation when
it comes to serving healthy, nutritious foods. This grant
represents the largest in the history of our Foundation, and we are
proud to be a part of the tremendous, sustainable underway."
More information about AISD's Nutrition and Food Services
Department is available at www.austinisd.org/nutritionfoodservices.
More information about the Life Time Foundation is available at
www.LTFFoundation.org.
About Austin Independent School District
AISD is the
largest school district in central Texas, serving more than 83,000 students at
130 schools. Follow AISD on Facebook at www.facebook.com/austinisd,
Instagram at @austinisd or on Twitter at @AustinISD.
About the Life Time Foundation
As a public charity
created by the Healthy Way of Life Company, Life Time®, the Life
Time Foundation is on a mission to help schools eliminate the
Harmful 7 from the food they serve so every child receives the
healthy food they deserve. This simple, actionable and sustainable
plan allows schools to eliminate highly processed and artificial
foods in favor of wholesome, real food alternatives. Unlike many
other charitable organizations in which a portion of donations is
consumed by administrative costs, 100% of every dollar donated to
the Life Time Foundation directly supports its mission because all
administrative costs are contributed by Life Time Fitness, Inc. For
more information, visit www.ltffoundation.org.
About Life Time®, Healthy Way of Life
Life
Time® is a privately held, comprehensive healthy living, healthy
aging, healthy entertainment lifestyle company and brand that
offers a personalized, proactive and scientific approach to
long-term health and wellness. Through its portfolio of distinctive
resort-like destinations, athletic events and corporate health
services, Life Time helps members achieve their goals with a team
of dedicated performers and exclusive programs, and an array of
proprietary health assessments and services. As of March 28, 2017, the company operated 122 centers
in 26 states and 35 major markets under the LIFE TIME
FITNESS® and LIFE TIME ATHLETIC® brands in
the United States and Canada. Additional information is available at
www.lifetimefitness.com.
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SOURCE Life Time Foundation