School lunches must meet federal guidelines based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Current guidelines recommend that no more than 30 percent of an individual's calories come from fat, and less than 10 percent from saturated fat. Regulations establish a standard for school lunches to provide one-third of the Recommended Dietary Allowances of protein, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, iron, calcium, and calories. These guidelines apply over the course of one week of school lunch menus. Opaa! Food Management is proud to embrace and comply with these recommendations for student meals.

School meals are healthy meals. Through the National School Lunch Program, children consume twice the servings of fruits and vegetables and greater amounts of grains and dairy than children who eat lunches brought from home. The meals served as part of our program meet the requirements for age-appropriate serving sizes - no super sizing here. The National School Lunch Program is one of the last places in the U.S. where you can purchase a meal with the recommended serving sizes for students.

Using Nutrient Standard Menu Planning our menus are developed with students preferences in mind. Many food favorites like pizza and French fries are made to specifications unique to school foodservice: crusts contain whole wheat flour, low-fat cheeses are used a great deal, and healthy cooking techniques like baking instead of frying are often used.

My Pyramid - the new and exciting face of the USDA Food Pyramid provides new opportunities for educating students concerning the importance of healthy food choices. Working with the Nutrition Advisory Councils in the districts we serve, Opaa! is dedicated to helping students recognize healthy choices.

Opaa!'s Mission… "Make Their Day" is a commitment to help students make choices that not only "Make Their Day" today but provide a building block for a long and healthy life.

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