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"Thanks to the dedication of forward-thinking leaders of Burr Ridge schools, we are starting to see the impact of healthier school lunches"
CHICAGO & CHANHASSEN, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Officials at Burr Ridge Middle School, Anne M. Jeans Elementary School and the Life Time Foundation today announced record breakfast and lunch sales during the first month of the new school year. New this year is a healthier menu resulting from collaboration between school nutrition staff and the Life Time Foundation’s Back 2 Basics lunch program. The Anne M. Jeans Elementary School also reported lower behavioral referrals in the month of Sept. The lunch program, which is in its second year, provides students with natural, healthy foods for lunch by eliminating unnatural ingredients, such as high fructose corn syrup; bleached flour; artificial sweeteners, colors and preservatives; trans fats and hydrogenated oils; hormones and antibiotics in beef; and where possible, hormones and antibiotics in other animal products.
“Beyond the nutritional benefits our relationship with the Life Time Foundation provides our students, we’ve seen positives changes in both the behavior of our students and in their interest to start eating healthy,” says Beverly Kowalcze, nutrition director at Burr Ridge Middle School and Anne M. Jeans Elementary School in Burr Ridge, Ill. “There have been fewer behavioral referrals since the programs implementation, and the kids are asking more questions about the food they’re being served, ultimately understanding the impact healthy food can have on their lives. That’s what makes this program with the Life Time Foundation so special—that I can already see habits changing and students starting to engage in healthy habits they can use for the rest of their lives.”
Via the program, the Life Time Foundation aims to inspire much needed change while addressing health concerns our kids face today. Childhood obesity has increased 300 percent over the past 30 years, 33 percent of our children are overweight or obese, and one in three children will develop diabetes in their lifetime. The main priority must be on delivering healthier lunches while inspiring change at home. The cost of not doing so is much too high as evidenced by these health concerns.
By providing the difference between the cost of the schools existing budget and the cost of the new, healthier menu—an average of approximately 35 cents per meal—the Life Time Foundation is driving change one school at a time. Currently, more than 25 schools nationwide are serving healthier options to more than five thousand students with the Back 2 Basics program. In addition, Life Time has also committed to providing resources to schools and parents to help enable students to make clean eating choices at home.
“Thanks to the dedication of forward-thinking leaders of Burr Ridge schools, we are starting to see the impact of healthier school lunches,” says James McGuire, director of operations, Life Time Foundation. “Strained budgets and other restrictions pose challenges to school foodservice operators, who have limited ability to select which foods they would like to serve. With the Life Time Foundation, our mission is to remove obstacles by supplementing budgets and providing nutritional guidance when it comes to selecting the right food producers.”
For more information about the Life Time Foundation or to nominate a school for participation visit www.ltffoundation.org orwww.facebook.com/lifetimefitnessfoundation.
About Life Time Foundation
As the charitable giving component of Life Time, the Life Time Foundation is about inspiring healthy people and a healthy planet one mission at a time. Our current mission is improving children's nutrition — One School Lunch Program at a Time. We are on a mission to ensure every child has a healthy start in life, beginning with proper nutrition and exercise. Unlike many other charitable organizations in which portions of donations are consumed by administrative costs, 100% of every dollar donated to the Life Time Foundation supports our missions. That's because all administrative costs are contributed by Life Time Fitness, Inc.
About Life Time Fitness, Inc.
As The Healthy Way of Life Company, Life Time Fitness (NYSE:LTM) helps organizations, communities and individuals achieve their total health objectives, athletic aspirations and fitness goals by engaging in their areas of interest — or discovering new passions — both inside and outside of Life Time’s distinctive and large sports, professional fitness, family recreation and spa destinations, most of which operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The Company’s Healthy Way of Life approach enables customers to achieve this by providing the best programs, people and places of uncompromising quality and value. As of Oct. 23, the Company operated 107 centers under the LIFE TIME FITNESS® and LIFE TIME ATHLETIC® brands in the United States and Canada. Additional information about Life Time centers, programs and services is available at lifetimefitness.com.