Students and staff members in the Cherry Creek School District are celebrating the benefits of the National School Lunch Program as part of National School Lunch Week, Oct. 13-17.

"We enjoy delicious, nutritious school lunches every day of the year," said Jane Brand, director of Student Nutrition Services for the Cherry Creek School District. "National School Lunch Week is an opportunity to remind students and staff members of the benefits of a healthy diet. Eating right protects our health and well-being, and helps us work harder and even play harder!"

Signed into law by President Harry Truman in 1946, the National School Lunch Program provides nutritionally balanced, low-cost and free meals to students across the country. Nationwide, 95% of schools participate and more than 30 million children are served daily.

The Cherry Creek School District's Food and Nutrition Services serves more than 631,000 breakfasts and four million lunches every year. The district has made changes in recent years to increase the nutritional value of those meals, including offering healthier a la carte menu choices and replacing fryers with convection ovens to cut fat and calories by as much as 50 percent. The district has also introduced a 'Fruit and Vegetable of the Month' program to encourage students to eat more fruits and vegetables.

In addition to providing healthy, delicious meals at an affordable cost, the district's Food and Nutrition Services is also involved in nutrition education. The department's registered dieticians conduct classes that teach students how to read food labels, how to calculate added sugar and fat in foods, and why a balanced diet is so important to their overall health and wellbeing.

As a result of those and other efforts, Food and Nutrition Services received the 2005 Regional Best Practices Award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.