PITTSBURGH — Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding joined more than 600 Mt. Lebanon High School students, administrators, and University of Pittsburgh officials to kick off Game Day Meals, a program providing locally-grown, nutritious meals designed to support peak performance in the classroom, on stage, and on the athletic field. Game Day Meals is a partnership of the state PA PreferredĀ® program and University of Pittsburghās dining services, with support from the universityās dietary science and business programs, to offer performance-boosting meals on Fridays to 50,000 students in Pittsburgh-area schools.
āPeak performance in the classroom, on stage, in athletics requires good nutrition,ā Secretary Redding said. āWhen the trip from farm to table is short, foods are at their freshest and most nutritious. Getting PA PreferredĀ® foods in our schools is the best way to fuel peak performance by our students, our athletes, and ultimately, our economy.ā
Mt. Lebanon is one of numerous schools in the Pittsburgh area that will be serving locally-sourced, dietitian-designed, whole-foods Game Day Meals on Fridays throughout the school year. Menus include Korean beef over brown rice, veggie stir-fry; Philly cheesesteaks with beef and provolone cheese; pulled pork āstreet tacosā, boneless, skinless grilled chicken sandwiches; and barbecued chicken grilled-cheese sandwiches. Meals were planned by University of Pittsburgh dieticians to provide peak energy levels and age-appropriate nutrition to support academic and extracurricular performance.
āAs Pitt Dining continues our approach of engaging communities,ā University of Pittsburgh Director of Dining Services Joe Beaman said, āWe are excited to forward our goal of ābecoming a part of the educational modelā by working with organizations across Western Pennsylvania and beyond to adopt Game Day Meals.ā
TheĀ PA Farm Bill, a historic piece of bipartisan piece of legislation Governor Tom Wolf signed in July, funds programs and initiatives that fuel the peak performance of our farmers, communities and economy by supporting programs like Farm to School grants, ag education, school nutrition, and the PA PreferredĀ® program.
For more information on the Wolf Administrationās commitment to sustainable, agriculture, visit the Department of AgricultureāsĀ websiteĀ or follow onĀ TwitterĀ andĀ Facebook.
–Shannon Powers, Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture