Clark County School District, The School District Of Philadelphia & Baltimore City Public Schools Join Urban School Food Alliance

- Alliance Now Ten School Districts Strong -

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Oct 10, 2017, 09:01 ET

NEW YORK, Oct. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Urban School Food Alliance (the Alliance), a coalition of the largest school districts in the United States that includes New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, Dallas, Orange County in Orlando and Broward County in Fort Lauderdale, is pleased to announce that it will expand its membership to ten with the addition of Clark County School District (CCSD) in Las Vegas, The School District of Philadelphia (SDP) and Baltimore City Public Schools (City Schools). Their addition will expand the Urban School Food Alliance's collective student reach to more than 3.6 million children and the group's total annual purchasing power to nearly $735 million in food and food supplies.

"We couldn't be happier to welcome Clark County School District, the School District of Philadelphia and Baltimore City Public Schools to the Urban School Food Alliance," said Eric Goldstein, chairman of the Alliance and chief executive officer of School Support Services for the New York City Department of Education. "We understand that nutritious meals help students excel in school and we're excited to work with CCSD, SDP and City Schools in challenging industry to create healthy, innovative products for the health and wellness of students."

The fifth largest school district in the United States, CCSD serves 326,000 students – nearly 75 percent of all K-12 schoolchildren in Nevada. SDP is the 13th biggest school district in the nation and the largest in Pennsylvania, serving 134,000 students. And Baltimore City Public Schools is the 36^th largest in the country with more than 82,000 students.

"We recognize the collective strength of the Urban School Food Alliance districts," said David Wines, CCSD Food Service Director. "CCSD believes in providing high quality meals that are nutritious and delicious. The Alliance embodies this vision and we are proud to be a part of this organization."

"It's an honor to work with the Alliance as we start the new school year," said SDP Senior Vice President of Food Services Wayne T. Grasela. "We strive for excellence in the meals we provide our students and we believe the Urban School Food Alliance will be a great partner in continuing to fulfill this mission."

A nonprofit group, member districts in the Urban School Food Alliance share best practices and leverage their collective purchasing power to drive school food quality up and costs down through socially responsible practices. Together, its districts serve nearly 593 million meals annually.

"We are excited to join the Alliance at the same time as two other districts around the county, who share our belief in bringing healthier meals to students," said Elizabeth Marchetta, executive director of the Food and Nutrition Department at Baltimore City Public Schools. "The Urban School Food Alliance will allow us to improve the quality of products we offer through the influence, strength and reach of our collective purchasing."

The Urban School Food Alliance has already created systemic changes in the food service world for healthier, nutritious meals for students. Even before many of the nation's leading restaurants called for healthier poultry in their menus, the Alliance already adopted a policy to help school districts move toward an antibiotic-free standard for companies to follow when supplying chicken products to its schools. In addition, the Alliance rolled out the use of compostable round plates at cafeterias, removing 225 million polystyrene trays from landfills every year to ensure sound environmental practices.

About the Urban School Food Alliance

The Urban School Food Alliance was created by school food professionals in 2012 to address the unique needs of the nation's largest school districts. The nonprofit group allows the districts to share best practices and leverage their purchasing power to continue to drive quality up and costs down while incorporating sound environmental practices. New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Miami-Dade, Orange County in Orlando, Broward County in Fort Lauderdale, Clark County in Las Vegas, Philadelphia and Baltimore City together offer service in more than 5,500 schools to more than 3.6 million children daily. This translates to nearly 593 million meals a year. The coalition aims to ensure that all public school students across the nation receive healthy, nutritious meals through socially responsible practices. To learn more about the Urban School Food Alliance or to support its work, please visit www.urbanschoolfoodalliance.org.