Thank Goodness It's Fish Friday: High Liner Foods Launches Initiative to Promote Weekly Seafood Consumption

TGIFF Kicks Off at Exeter High School in New Hampshire

PORTSMOUTH, NH, Feb. 18, 2015 /PRNewswire/ - Move over, chicken and beef. High Liner Foods, the leading value-added seafood supplier in North America, today kicked off a new initiative to give seafood its own special day of the week: Thank Goodness It's Fish Friday (TGIFF). TGIFF is designed to promote awareness of the health and sustainability benefits of eating seafood and encourages foodservice operators to menu seafood on Fridays, making it easy for students to incorporate seafood into their weekly diet.

TGIFF efforts include providing K-12 and college and university foodservice directors with the tools necessary to promote the goodness of seafood in their schools every Friday. TGIFF aligns with the USDA's recommendation to eat at least two servings of seafood per week. Seafood is a more sustainable choice for students than many other proteins, and High Liner Foods is a global leader in the sustainable seafood movement with a commitment to use responsibly sourced seafood.

To celebrate the launch of the program, High Liner Foods partnered with Exeter High School in Exeter, New Hampshire for a special event on February 13. High Liner Foods' Chef Marco Suarez demonstrated for students how to fillet a fish, how to prepare seafood using various cooking methods, and how to serve seafood in creative and delicious recipes. Following the demonstration, students were invited to sample seafood dishes prepared by Suarez, with assistance from students in the Seacoast School of Technology culinary program, featuring High Liner Foods' Sa-Weet! Potato Crusted Seafood™. This seafood line meets the Alliance for a Healthier Generation Guidelines and the USDA whole grain guidelines for the 2015 school year. In addition, the products are made from Alaska Pollock that has been certified sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC).

"This was a great opportunity to educate our students and staff about the many benefits that seafood has to offer. 'Fish Fridays' are a fun and easy way for our students to choose delicious, healthy and sustainable seafood," said Jeanne Pierce, Food Service Director for the Exeter, N.H. school district.

"For schools, it's a challenge to serve interesting and varied meals every day of the week. Seafood gives foodservice operators a multitude of healthy and tasty menu options to satisfy their students' discriminating palates," said Jim LaBelle, Vice President of Foodservice Marketing for High Liner Foods.

"We were delighted to partner with Exeter High School as High Liner Foods kicked off the national launch of its TGIFF initiative," noted Diane Vieira, Industry Chair of the NH School Nutrition Association and Eastern K12 Specialist for Advantage Waypoint, sales representatives for High Liner Foods.

For more information on TGIFF, visit www.TGIFF.org. Visitors are encouraged to take the "TGIFF pledge" on the site which is a commitment to serve and eat healthy seafood choices every Friday.

For more information about High Liner Foods, visit www.highlinerfoods.com.

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About High Liner Foods
High Liner Foods Incorporated is the leading North American processor and marketer of value-added frozen seafood.  High Liner Foods' retail branded products are sold throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico under the High Liner, Fisher Boy, Mirabel, Sea Cuisine and C. Wirthy labels, and are available in most grocery and club stores.  The Company also sells branded products to restaurants and institutions under the High Liner, Icelandic Seafood, FPI, Viking, Mirabel, Samband of Iceland and American Pride Seafood labels and is a major supplier of private label value-added frozen seafood products to North American food retailers and foodservice distributors.  High Liner Foods is a publicly traded Canadian company, trading under the symbol HLF on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

SOURCE High Liner Foods Incorporated