Whole Grains Just Made School Lunch Menus a Whole Lot Better; New Whole-Grain Pizzas on Menus across U.S. Help Kids Live Life to
July 18 2005 - 11:10AM
Business Wire
School Districts Add to Menus Across Nation, Helps School Kids Meet
New Whole-Grain Dietary Guidelines Whole grain goodness just made
school lunch menus a whole lot better, for school kids, parents and
school directors alike. With new studies confirming the benefits
and appeal of its proprietary Ultragrain(R) whole-wheat flour,
ConAgra Foods Inc. today introduced a new line of The Max
whole-grain pizzas that deliver the nutrition parents and schools
want, without sacrificing the taste kids love. And school
foodservice directors are taking notice. With 28 million school
lunches to serve every day, school districts across the U.S. are
adding this great-tasting, nutritious option to their menus to
satisfy kids' appetites and help power their active lives. The new
pizzas - unveiled by ConAgra Foodservice along with its El
eXtremo(TM) whole-grain burritos & chimichangas - are made with
the revolutionary Ultragrain whole-wheat flour launched last fall
by ConAgra Food Ingredients that delivers whole-grain nutrition
with a taste and texture similar to traditional refined white flour
products. The new meals and studies are being showcased at the 2005
School Nutrition Association Annual National Conference in
Baltimore, and 2005 Institute of Food Technologists Annual Meeting
& Food Expo in New Orleans, both running July 17-20. Getting
Straight A's from School Kids on Taste, Parents & Schools on
Nutrition Do kids like it? A new University of Minnesota study(i)
gives a resounding yes. Researchers found kids given a chance to
eat pizza and other popular foods made with Ultragrain, and the
same foods made with refined white flour, consumed as much or more
of the Ultragrain foods. In a recent consumer taste test, (ii)
students gave Ultragrain pizza straight A's. How about schools?
With the new Dietary Guidelines calling on Americans to eat more
whole grains and 4.7 billion school lunches a year to serve, U.S.
school districts by the thousands are signing up to put The Max
whole-grain pizzas on their menus in the new school year,(iii) in
states from Texas, California, Florida, Georgia, Pennsylvania to
Virginia. "Students today face many demands on their energy and
attention. We're always looking to add nutritious items to our
menu, to help kids do their best. But meals need to taste good or
they won't be eaten," says Lynn Kirkland, nutrition education
coordinator, Gwinnett County Schools in Georgia, which ranks 20th
of 14,000 U.S. school districts in size and serves 125,000 meals a
day.(iv) "These new meals fulfill that need, giving us the best of
both worlds. We appreciate the work ConAgra Foodservice has done to
bring these nutritious whole-grain meals to the school lunch
table." "Because such a large proportion of U.S. children eat
school meals, using white whole-wheat flour in grain food products
served from school menus could make a significant contribution to
increasing the overall whole-grain intake by children," Len
Marquart, principal investigator of the study(v) at the University
of Minnesota. A research grant for the study was provided by
ConAgra Foods' Nutrition Center of Excellence. U.S. Dietary
Guidelines: American Kids Need More Whole Grains Introduction of
The Max pizzas and El eXtremo burritos with Ultragrain comes as the
2005 U.S. Dietary Guidelines and MyPyramid food guide, from the
U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services,
recommend Americans improve their eating habits, health and well
being by consuming a variety of foods, including more whole grains,
fruit and vegetables, getting more exercise and maintaining a
healthy weight. They recommend consuming three or more ounces of
whole-grain foods per day, and getting at least half of daily grain
servings from whole grains. Today, one in three consumers doesn't
meet the Dietary Guidelines, primarily children, according to an
American Dietetic Association study.(vi) Preschool-age children
don't even consume one serving of whole-grain foods a day, and
adolescents consume only one serving a day. The study of more than
4,000 children ages 2 to 18 found that while kids are eating
grains, they aren't choosing whole grains. Whole grains deliver
important nutrients, such as fiber, B vitamins, minerals and other
phytonutrients. Research also shows that diets rich in whole grains
and low in fat, saturated fat and cholesterol, may aid in weight
management and help reduce the risk of heart disease and certain
cancers. New Whole-Grain Meals School Kids Love - To The Max The
Max whole-grain pizzas and El eXtremo whole-grain burritos with
Ultragrain help school foodservice programs bring more whole-grain
nutrition as well as great taste to lunch tables. Each new meal
offers the following:(vii) -- Whole-grain goodness - the new pizzas
and burritos have a whole-wheat flour, Ultragrain, as their first
grain ingredient, and give school kids the nutritional benefits of
a whole-grain product. -- School lunch bread & protein credits
- each serving has 2-3.25 bread credits and 2 meat/meat alternative
credits. -- Good source of fiber - each slice of pizza has 3-5
grams of fiber; each burrito has more than 7 grams of fiber. --
Great-tasting variety - the pizza comes in cheese and pepperoni for
Stuffed Crust and Real Slice, and cheese for DoubleStuff. El
eXtremo burritos come in cheese & bean, fiesta bean, beef &
cheese, and beef & bean. "In recent taste tests, students who
tried our whole-grain pizza gave it an A+," said Chris Meinerding,
director, Marketing, ConAgra Foodservice. "With Ultragrain, kids
love whole grains a whole lot. Everyone wins with whole grain -
from school directors to school kids." Student praise includes: "I
like pizza and this is the best. I wish it was our school lunch;"
"This is REALLY good and better than our school food;" and "I like
everything about it - this pizza's perfect!" Ultragrain: Secret
Ingredient for Whole-Grain Goodness The all-natural Ultragrain
flour is the first sweeter, milder whole-grain wheat ground to the
consistency of refined white flours. Ultragrain combines the milder
flavor and lighter color advantages of specially sourced white
whole wheat with patent-pending milling technology that is used to
achieve the smooth, fine texture of refined white flour.(viii) The
Max new whole-grain pizzas and El eXtremo burritos are another
innovation from the ConAgra School Foodservice Culinary Group, with
support and counsel from ConAgra Food's Nutrition Center of
Excellence (NCOE). The experts at NCOE help the company translate
nutrition science and consumer insights into product innovation
that meets changing lifestyle needs - reinforcing ConAgra Foods'
commitment to offer a wide variety of great-tasting, nutritious
foods to help Americans meet their individualized mealtime needs.
The NCOE continues to work on new product innovations to satisfy
consumers' demand for wellness products - including more
whole-grain nutrition. About ConAgra Foodservice A segment of
ConAgra Foods Inc., ConAgra Foodservice and its three business
areas - Culinary Products, Seafood Products, and Specialty Potato
Products - deliver a range of signature services and programs that
can help reenergize operators' menus and build their business,
including its new MenuSuccess approach to bundled menu solutions in
key categories: BREAKFAST, SANDWICH, ENTREES, SIDES &
APPETIZERS and CONDIMENTS & COMPONENTS, and its portfolio of
branded school foodservice products. ConAgra Foodservice's school
products - including The Max pizza, El eXtremo burritos, Chef
Boyardee, Manwich, Lamb Weston and Hunt's snack pack puddings and
tomato products - will be sampled at ANC show booth #208 in
Baltimore from July 17-20. For more information, please visit
www.conagrafoodservice.com. About ConAgra Food Ingredients ConAgra
Food Ingredients, also with ConAgra Foods Inc., has introduced
Ultragrain to food manufacturers and foodservice operators, who
feature it in products and applications at both the retail and
foodservice level. ConAgra Food Ingredients is a leading source for
food ingredients and services, supplying a portfolio of ingredients
such as vegetables, garlic and onions, capsicums, natural spices,
seasonings, flavors, wheat flours, oat products and services to the
food industry including distribution, risk management and
global-ingredient sourcing. For more information, please visit IFT
show booth #1947 in New Orleans from July 17-20 or
www.conagrafoodingredients.com. About ConAgra Foods ConAgra Foods
Inc. (NYSE:CAG) is one of North America's largest packaged food
companies, serving restaurants and other foodservice
establishments, and also consumer retailers, with popular brands
that include: Armour, Angela Mia, Butterball, ConAgra Mills, Egg
Beaters, El eXtremo, Fernando's, Gilroy Foods, Gulden's, Healthy
Choice, Hebrew National, Hunt's, La Choy, Lamb Weston, Orville
Redenbacher's, Reddi-wip, Singleton, Slim Jim, Spicetec, Swiss
Miss, The Max, Ultragrain and others. For more information, visit
www.conagrafoods.com. (i) Incorporating White Whole Wheat.., U.Minn
Whole Grain Study, Len Marquardt et al., June 2005 (ii) ConAgra
School Foodservice, recent blind consumer taste study, January 2005
(iii) ConAgra School Foodservice, customer data, July 2005 (iv)
Largest 100 U.S. School Districts, Proximity, based on Census 2000
data, and Gwinnett County School District, July 2005 (v)
Incorporating White Whole Wheat.., U.Minn Whole Grain Study, Len
Marquardt et al., June 2005 (vi) American Dietetic Association,
June 2005 (vii) ConAgra School Foodservice, product data; School
Lunch credits per Food Nutrition Services, USDA, July 2005 (viii)
ConAgra Food Ingredients, product data, July 2005
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