This kind of hunger has lifelong consequences including, weaker immune systems, ear infections, behavioral difficulties, impaired performance in school, more hospitalizations and among others.

YOU can help!

The third annual Great American Dine-Out is September 19-25, will you be involved?

Some of you may be asking; What is the Great American Dine-Out? Here is your answer.

The Great American Dine-Out is a one week event across the country in which restaurants donate funds to the Great American Dine-Out. The funds are then granted to “anti-hunger organizations that demonstrate effective work to help end childhood hunger.”

Here are a few things this money goes towards to help end childhood hunger in America by 2015.

• Enroll more eligible kids in school breakfast, after-school snacks and meals and their families in SNAP
• Bring community gardens and farmers markets to low-income neighborhoods
• Teach at-risk families how to plan, shop for, and prepare healthy, low-cost meals at home
• Increase awareness and understanding of childhood hunger and solutions to it

These are just a few of the things being done with the money raised by this event. Last year in Maryland, participation in school breakfast was increased by 7% and over 20% of eligible sites began participating in Afterschool Suppers.

These things are made possible thanks to restaurants such as

Buffalo Wild Wings

Joes Crab Shack

Corner Bakery Cafe

McAlister’s Deli

People are making a difference, will you be involved?

For more information on becoming a participating restaurant, donating, or learning more about childhood hunger in America visit here.

Chipotle Mexican Grill announced that it would double its donation to The Lunch Box if its new goal of 1 million junk e-mails is reached by August.

Chipotle Mexican Grill’s “No Junk” campaign encouraged Americans to forward their junk e-mails to nojunk@chipotlejunk.com.  The campaign’s original donation was $50,000, because of the campaign’s success Chipotle has increased the possible donation to $100,000 if its new goal was reached by August.

The “No Junk” campaign was set up so that each forwarded piece of junk e-mail will help provide nutritious cafeteria meals for school children around the country through the partnership with The Lunch Box.  For every 100,000 junk e-mails Chipotle receives, the company donates $10,000 to The Lunch Box.  This will help provide approximately 32 million school children at 100,000 schools nationwide access to 100 school-tested, junk-free recipes created by Chef Ann Cooper, The Renegade Lunch Lady.

This campaign was launched on June 25 and its goal of 1,000,000 junk emails has been reached, which raised its maximum contribution to The Lunch Box of $100,000.

Congratulations to Chipotle and The Lunch Box on reaching your goal and donating healthy meals to children across the country.

Customers loved our Central Exclusive trays, especially the Blue!

Not only did customers love the trays but they also complimented Central’s service levels, quick shipping and competitive pricing.

As far as attendance, there seemed to be less people at the conference this year but it was still fairly crowded.

The vendors had very few new products for this conference but most of them said they would be releasing new items during NAFEM. We will keep you posted on this.

Thanks to all who came out to visit the booth and support the School Nutrition Association.

All Central Exclusive products feature:

• Equal or better quality than the leading national brand
• Value engineered by Central’s team of Product Experts
• Offered only to Central customers!

Some of the exclusive products offered by Central are:

• • • Compartment trays–These trays are made through a mottled process that incorporates multiple different colors and shades to produce a uniquely colored tray every time. See a sample of the trays at Central’s booth, #1733, next week during the School Nutrition Association Annual National Conference.

• Pebbled plastic bowls–The bowl’s pebbled exterior design helps hide scratches and come in 4 different colors and sizes.

Central is offering more the 50 products exclusive to our customers. Visit the Central Booth at the upcoming conference to see the trays and get a free copy of the School Nutrition Guide or stop by our showroom to get a hands-on view of thousands of products.

This conference could not come at a better time. In the current times of obesity in children and the Let’s Move! campaign school nutrition is under the microscope. Attend the seminars to learn how to provide healthier alternatives to children, how to prepare and produce food, plan menus, promote a positive image on your nutrition program and more.

Visit the exhibit hall to learn about the newest equipment available in the foodservice industry. Some of the vendors in attendance include; Cleveland Range, San Jamar, The Vollrath Company and of course, Central Restaurant Products.

Visit Don Hogan and Sarah Templeton at booth #1733 for your chance to win a CanPro. Also come see the Metro Holding and Transport Cabinet and samples of our exclusive compartment trays.

These trays are one of many products offered exclusively from Central.

Central has worked hard to bring you exceptional value on exclusive offerings you cannot get anywhere else! All Central Exclusive products have the following features:

• Equal or better quality than the leading national brand
• Value engineered by Central’s team of Product Experts
• Offered only to Central Customers!

Enjoy the ANC, stop by our booth with any questions you may have and for your chance to WIN!

Experts believe it is becoming a luxury to eat healthy foods. They are more expensive. We all know examples within our local grocery stores buy one example of this in the fast food industry is McDonald’s. It costs less to buy a large value meal including a drink than it does to buy a salad and bottle of water. Many people believe increasing taxes by 1 penny per ounce on sugary foods and drinks would cut the consumption by 10% and raise billions of dollars to fight obesity.

Experts have many opinions on what should be done to fight obesity, but not all are in agreement. The basics are as they always have been, modernized of course.

• Expand the idea of exercise. Take up rollerblading, golfing, swimming, or karate. If you would prefer to stay inside invest in a Wii fit or other game that will raise your heartbeat.
• Make it easy: Plan ahead. Children should exercise approximately 1 hour a day. If they aren’t in after school activities be ready to do some sort of exercise in the evening.
• Make exercise a family affair. Parents are role models. Go outside and play with your kids, turn on your Wii fit and work out, go rollerblading. Do things together.

Watch the following video for more information on childhood obesity.

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6069484n&tag=related;photovideo

Children eat at least one meal, sometimes two, a day at school. Do you know how the food is prepared or where it is coming from? Are your children getting all the nutrition they need from school lunches? How can you make sure they do? These are all very good questions. These initiatives give you an insight into school nutrition, what it is, what it’s lacking and more.

Check out Game On! the Ultimate Wellness Challenge to find out how to start on the road to healthier children. Register to begin the challenge with your children to a healthier lifestyle. Students Taking Charge gives students the opportunity to create a healthier environment in their schools.

There are many ways to get involved in your child’s nutrition at home and at school. Get more information about your child’s health here and begin making the changes for healthier lifestyles.

Central's School Nutrition Equipment Guide Catalog

Central Restaurant Products will launch its first School Nutrition Equipment Guide campaign in support of First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move initiative against childhood obesity.  Central’s campaign, which includes a print catalog and an online information area, is aimed at providing the latest products to help improve workflow, promote food safety techniques and encourage healthy food preparation methods in public and private K-12 school districts, colleges and universities.

The School Nutrition Equipment Guide Catalog will be available beginning Monday, March 29, 2010.  The Catalog contains more than 3,000 commercial foodservice products that are useful in any school foodservice application, as well as a simplified buying guide to some of the top-requested products.

In addition to the School Nutrition Equipment Guide Catalog, Central will launch a new area for school foodservice and nutrition information on their website.  This new school foodservice area will allow shoppers to browse through a selection of equipment and supplies that are recommended for usage in school kitchens, cafeterias, food courts student unions and teachers’ lounges.

Whether shopping by catalog or online, Central’s Product Consultants offer free expert solutions for any school foodservice application.  Services include facility workflow advice complete with CAD drawings, assistance with state/federal grant applications and customized product recommendations based upon need, budget and current trends, such as the Let’s Move initiative led by Michelle Obama.

The goal of Let’s Move is to solve the epidemic of childhood obesity within a generation, making it more important than ever for schools to put major focus on healthy foods and cooking methods.  Central’s School Nutrition Equipment Guides offer the equipment and supplies necessary to perform the following healthy cooking methods promoted by the Let’s Move initiative:  baking, braising, poaching, roasting, steaming, stir-frying and grilling/broiling.

One of the most popular of these healthy cooking methods is steaming foods in a countertop steamer or combi oven.  Foods are cooked by the heat of the steam (created by a simmering liquid at the bottom of the cooking chamber), which helps to maintain the color, texture and nutritional value of the food.  Since foods are not cooked by direct contact to the heating surface, the need for adding extra fats or oils to the food prior to cooking is eliminated.

To obtain a School Nutrition Equipment Guide Catalog, you may call 888-893-9998 or submit a request online for your free copy.  You may also visit the School Nutrition Equipment Guide online at www.centralrestaurant.com/schoolsolutions.html.