Updated nutrition standards will improve the health of all students in the Yazoo City Municipal School District.
As a part of a nationwide effort to improve student health, the Yazoo City School District will expand the menu selections at the elementary, middle school, and high school in the school lunch programs.  The updated school lunches will offer students and staff a greater variety of fruits, vegetables and whole grain items.
These healthy changes reflect the new meal patterns established by USDA’s Nutrition Standards for the National School Lunch Program.  
“Continuing to improve the nutritional quality of the meals offered in our schools is necessary to help build a healthy future for our students,” says Child Nutrition Director Connie Howell. “We want the meals we serve to be as nutritious and appealing as possible and are working hard to offer delicious choices to meet the nutrition needs of our students.”
The updated nutrition standards are a key part of the 2010 Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act. They will help the child nutrition staff enhance the 35,000 lunches served every month to students and staff in the Yazoo City Municipal School District. The new meal patterns continue the many improvements Mississippi Child Nutrition programs have been making over the past several years, including the removal of kitchen fryers and serving more fresh produce.  
“The USDA Nutrition Standards will build on


the positive changes we have been making for years,” Howell said. “We’ve been training our staff and updating our menus to offer lunches that are good for children and that they love to eat.  We offer a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, as well as whole grain breads and low fat or fat free milk.”
Meeting USDA’s new Nutrition Standards is just one of the many ways that Yazoo City School District is focusing on the health of students.  
“We recognize the critical connection between good health and success in the classroom,” says Dr. Arthur Cartlidge, Superintendent of the Yazoo City Municipal School District. “We  know that children who are well nourished are better able to concentrate and learn in the classroom.”