Danone North America and Chef Ann Foundation Release 12 New School Food Recipes on National School Lunch Database

BOULDER, Colo., Feb. 1, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- With the new year comes new recipes on TheLunchBox.org, Chef Ann Foundation's (CAF) national online database for school food change. CAF announced today the release of 12 yogurt-based school food recipes in partnership with Danone North America (referred to here as "Danone"), as a result of last fall's Real School Food Recipe Contest.

School districts across the country were challenged to find creative new ways to use bulk yogurt, thinking outside of smoothies and parfaits. Together, CAF and Danone selected 12 final winning recipes, ranging from breakfast pizza and cheddar soup to chicken salad and turkey stew.

A versatile ingredient, yogurt is packed with key nutrients to keep students going throughout their busy day and can be used as a healthy replacement to foods such as cream cheese, mayonnaise, and sour cream. In April 1997, the USDA approved yogurt as a meat alternate in school meals (4 oz. yogurt = 1 meat alternate serving).¹ As vegetarian diets grow in popularity, yogurt can add quality protein to many school food staples.

Below are the 12 final winning recipes:

Broccoli Cheddar Soup - Trumansburg Central School District, Trumansburg NY
Chicken Salad with Fruit - Evansville Vanderburg School Corporation, Evansville IN
Curry Turkey Stew - Cherry Creek School District, Denver CO
Maple Peach Muffin - Addison Central School District, Shoreham VT
Potatoes Au Gratin - Cherry Creek School District, Denver CO
Pineapple Chia Pudding - Evanston Township High School, Evanston IL
Summer Squash Lasagna - Apalachee High School, Winder GA
Veggie Wrap - South Bend Community School, South Bend IN
Vegilicious Pasta Salad - Williamsville Central School District, Amherst NY
Very Berry Yogurt Pizza - Coppell Independent School District, Coppell TX
Whey Good White Pizza - Darien Public Schools, Darien CT
Yogurt Chia Composite - Brunswick Central School District, Troy NY

Vanessa David, a cafeteria manager for Darien Public Schools in Darien, Connecticut, submitted the winning recipe for Whey Good White Pizza. "I like the challenge of coming up with something new, and I love being creative," she said.

Ms. David, who has been working in school food for four years, experimented with the yogurt by placing it in a strainer, straining overnight, and using the leftovers to make cheese. She also used the strained liquid whey and water in the pizza dough-making process to resemble sourdough.

Each winning recipe was tested in a school production kitchen, taste-tested by students, and is currently featured on TheLunchBox.org. All recipes are complete with nutritional analysis, cost evaluation, and USDA meal compliance.

The prize for each winning school is seven professional development course scholarships to the School Food Institute, CAF's online learning platform. Courses available to contest winners include School Food 101, Plant Forward, and Sustainable Lunchrooms. These online courses leverage Chef Ann's extensive experience in transitioning school food programs to cook-from-scratch, serving whole fresh, healthy food to kids.

Many thanks to all the schools who submitted recipes, and the contest sponsor Danone North America. As the largest certified B-Corp in the world, Danone is dedicated to mission-based initiatives and making delicious products that support ingredient variety in a healthy, scratch-cook school food environment.

ABOUT CHEF ANN FOUNDATION
Chef Ann Foundation is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization committed to providing school communities with the tools, training, resources, and funding to help transition their food programs from highly-processed to cook-from-scratch operations.

ABOUT DANONE NORTH AMERICA
Danone North America is committed to doing better for people and our planet. The largest benefit corporation in the world, Danone is driven to make delicious dairy and plant-based food and beverages, sustainably and transparently. Learn more about their mission here.

¹ Federal Register, Vol. 62, No. 44, Thursday, March 6, 1997 p 10187

Media Contact:
Allison Ildefonso
714-880-9198
[email protected] 

SOURCE Chef Ann Foundation

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http://www.chefannfoundation.org