McCain Foods joins with New York’s local growers to produce healthier french fry for K-12 students

McCain Foods USA, a leading supplier of frozen potato and snack food products across the country, has announced an unprecedented partnership between the company, New York’s local growers and more than 100 school districts in New York, developing a new baked french fry served in school lunches to more than 275,000 K-12 students across the state.

Through the initiative, McCain Foods worked directly with New York’s potato growers to source more than 1.2 million pounds of potatoes that are baked, not fried, by McCain Foods and meet the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Smart Snack nutritional standards.

“This partnership is a major win for our children and the local farming industry,” said Christine Wentworth, Vice President of Agricultural Procurement, North America at McCain Foods. “Developing healthy eating habits in school, and at a young age, can create the foundation that children need later in life to form nutritional dietary habits, and it is a large reason why our work on this fry program is so important. We are incredibly excited to have the opportunity to partner with the state’s local growers and school districts to provide children with a more nutritious french fry in their school lunches.”

“This is a special day for the state of New York, as we envision this program having an immensely positive impact on the health of our children, and our state’s agriculture industry,” said Jennifer Martin, Executive Director of the New York School Nutrition Association. “We look forward to continuing to work with McCain Foods, our local growers and school districts throughout the state to ensure this program is continuing to benefit our children and helping to boost our farming industry.”

In early December, McCain Foods’ baked french fry started being served in school districts across the state. Through a program that encourages New York schools to feature local foods on its lunch menu, New York’s school districts will receive incentives for participating in this program.

Provided information and photo