Let's Move Salad Bars to Schools: A public-private partnership

Less than 10% of adolescents eat 3+ servings of fruit and 2+ servings of vegetables daily. The school cafeteria is an ideal setting to promote healthy eating habits. Introduction of school salad bars is a proven way to increase the amount and variety of fruits and vegetables (F&V) consumed by children in K-12 schools. In 2010, the National Fruit and Vegetable Alliance, United Fresh Produce Association, and the Food, Family and Farming Foundation launched Let's Move Salad Bars to Schools (LMSB2S) in partnership with the White House's Let's Move initiative. This program has as its goal placement of 6,000 salad bars in schools over 3 years. Schools and districts can complete an application at www.saladbars2schools.org to be considered to receive a food safety-compliant salad bar unit plus accessories. A fundraising campaign is being initiated to solicit major donors from across many sectors, and individual schools will have custom web pages for local fundraising on the LMSB2S web site. Schools are prioritized based on participation in the HealthierUS Schools Challenge and the percent of students eligible for free/reduced lunch. Schools that receive salad bars will be requested to participate in an evaluation survey at the time of salad bar placement and one year after; informational resources are provided to schools to maximize success. LMSB2S is a model for coalition-building across many government, non-profit, and industry partners to meet a major public health challenge.