While healthy eating can be a challenge for kids and parents, elementary school
students in Lincoln County School Districit will use their culinary skills to reimagine their
favorite lunch meal by creating original recipes in the 2020 “Sodexo Future Chefs
Challenge.” The national initiative, now in its tenth year, was created to get students
thinking about making healthy food choices while also encouraging them to be active
and creative in the kitchen. Lincoln County School District students are joining over
2,500 other students representing more than 1,400 Sodexo-served school sites in 30
states nationally.
54 elementary school students submitted healthy recipes inspired by their favorite lunch
meals and the 16 finalists were selected to participate in the district-wide finals event.
Finalists will prepare and present their creations before being assessed on criteria
including originality, taste, kid friendliness and use of healthy ingredients. Lincoln
County School District joins 253 other school districts across the country holding Future
Chefs events throughout February and March. The winning student from each
participating district will be considered for 40 regional finalist awards, and the selected
regional finalists will vie to become one of five national finalists competing for the
public’s vote on SodexoUSA.com.
“According to the American Heart Association, about one in every three American kids
and teens is overweight or obese,” said Stephen Dunmore, CEO North America,
Schools, Sodexo. “This staggering statistic demonstrates why it is more important than
ever to engage youth to become advocates for their own health.” Sodexo, the school nutrition partner to over 500 school districts throughout the U.S., is renowned for its work advancing childhood nutrition, health and well-being.
In November 2016, Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA) named Sodexo “Partner of
the Year” based in part on early success on elements of its commitments for increasing
healthier food options in the K-12 schools it serves; providing healthier meal options for
children at zoo, museum and aquarium locations served by Sodexo; and for its
commitment to serve 17 million additional free breakfasts to K-12 students by 2018,
which Sodexo met two years early. In addition, the award recognizes Sodexo’s efforts
beyond its PHA commitment including how it has created a culture of health across its
extensive network of clients, customers, vendors and employees.
The Sodexo Future Chefs Challenge is just one of the many ways that the company
shares its health and well-being expertise with the clients, customers and the
communities it serves.