Download Friday before National School Lunch Week

Suggested Morning Announcements
National School Lunch Week 2014
Friday before National School Lunch Week
Everyone can “Score Big with a Healthy Texas Lunch” during National School Lunch Week!
Texas farmers and ranchers support everything we need for a healthy lunch. North Texas scores big by
producing summer vegetables and grains such as corn and wheat. South Texas scores big by growing
fruits and vegetables that peak during mild winters, such as oranges and leafy greens. The whole state
gets big points for producing pork, poultry and beef year round. In Texas it’s an oink oink here, a cluck
cluck there and a moo moo everywhere.
All over Texas, school cafeterias will join the National School Lunch Week celebration next week. We
will learn about the Texas foods that score big for lunchtime nutrition. There is a Texas food for every
part of a good lunch — dairy, protein, fruit, vegetable and grain. And Wednesday is “bring a parent to
lunch” day! Ask them to join you to “Score Big with a Healthy Texas Lunch” that day.
Monday
Today kicks off National School Lunch Week and we are going to “Score Big with a Healthy Texas
Lunch” by putting up points for protein. Healthy proteins are part of every school lunch and come from
foods like lean meat, fish, nuts, eggs, milk, and beans. All those foods are produced in Texas, but our
state scores really big in beef. We are the number one cattle producing state in the country. Each year we
produce enough beef to make 18 BILLION hamburger patties. If you laid them side by side they would
circle the earth 400 times. Pick your favorite protein for your Healthy Texas Lunch and score big today.
Tuesday
It is National School Lunch Week and today we are in the grain game to “Score Big with a Healthy Texas
Lunch.” All your favorite breads, pastas, cereals, tortillas and pizza crusts are grain game winners if they
contain the whole grain. Wheat is a grain and it is big in Texas. Texas produces an average of 90 million
bushels of wheat each year. That’s enough to make 25 billion hot dog buns. Now, that is scoring big.
When you eat a healthy grain in the school cafeteria today, think about how eating the whole grain gives
you more flavor; and how you can taste the good nutrition.
Wednesday
It is National School Lunch Week and we are going to “Score Big with a Healthy Texas Lunch.” Today is
a busy day for Texas vegetable growers who farm the ten-fifteen onion. That is the official state vegetable
for Texas and the Texas A&M scientist who invented the onion called it ten-fifteen because the best day
to plant the onion is today, October 15. The ten is for the 10th month, October, and fifteen is for the 15th
day of the month. Get it? Now get busy at lunch and eat any healthy Texas vegetable. Texas produces
more onions than any other vegetable, but tasty vegetables like leafy green kale and crispy carrots are big
in Texas too. Vegetables are nutritious and should always be a big part of the great plate of Texas.
When you eat lunch today, eat like a healthy Texan and try a vegetable you’ve never eaten in
the school cafeteria. Tell your friends today is a great day to plant the state vegetable of Texas.
Thursday
National School Lunch Week ends tomorrow but we can still score big with a favorite food group, dairy.
All dairy products start with milk. Sometimes people drink milk or make things with milk from goats,
buffalo, camels and even reindeer! The milk in the school cafeteria is a drink that comes from cows. One
cow drinks a bathtub full of water, eats 90 pounds of feed and produces 80 glasses of milk in an average
day.
Milk from cows is big in Texas. When it’s time for lunch, get “moooving” to the cafeteria to Score Big
with a Healthy Texas Lunch. Choosing fat-free or low-fat milk in the school cafeteria scores big points
for nutrition. Milk is a big part of the great plate of Texas.
Friday
Today is the last day to “Score Big with a Healthy Texas Lunch” during National School Lunch week.
We have explored four of the five components that make lunch in Texas schools great — protein, grain,
vegetables and dairy. We saved fruit for Friday because it’s fun. Texas growers score big with fruits like
oranges and grapefruits. Watermelon also is big in Texas. Texas growers raise 555 million pounds of
watermelons each year. With all those watermelons you could outline the state’s border nearly four times.
When you go to lunch today, give your fruit a funny name —like Magellan watermelon or dapple apple
or groovy grape.
It’s been a lot of fun learning how to Score Big with a Healthy Texas Lunch. Let’s take all that we’ve
learned this week and win with a healthy lifestyle.