Army & Air Force Exchange Service Public Affairs
CAMP FOSTER, Japan | July 27, 2012
NEWS RELEASE: 20120727-01
27 July 2012
EXCHANGE MEDIA CONTACT: Sgt. 1st Class Jon Cupp – cuppjs@aafes.com
CAMP FOSTER, Japan – As students return to class this fall on bases in Okinawa, mainland Japan and Korea, they will find new healthy choices in their school cafeterias with meals provided by the Army & Air Force Exchange Service.
The Exchange will be serving healthy meals for DoD schools that meet new federal nutrition standards, ensuring the meals are well-balanced and provide students all the nutrition they need to succeed at school, according to Craig Masek, food program specialist for the Exchange’s Pacific Region.
School meals offer students milk, fruits, vegetables, meat/meat alternative, and grains, and they must meet strict limits for calories and saturated fat.
Starting this fall, school lunches will meet additional standards requiring:
“We’re always working to offer students in the Pacific Region healthier and tastier choices,” said Masek. “In addition to meeting new nutrition standards, we’re spicing up our school lunch menu with items that have been specifically chosen for their mass appeal and that we can make with less sodium and reduced fat.”
A few new selections students will see this fall include black bean quesadillas, chicken parmesan, turkey hot dogs and frozen fruit juice swirl cups, he added.
Some whole grain choices added this year are whole wheat tortillas (also in tomato and spinach flavor), whole grain pierogies and whole grain chicken egg rolls along with many other selections.
Another change for the school lunch program in the fall includes a new Meal Payment Plus App that allows parents to track their child’s school lunch balance. The Meal Pay Plus site where parents paid for their children’s school lunch has been changed to My Meal Payment Plus and can now be found at www.mypaymentsplus.com. The old Meal Pay Plus site address automatically defaults to the new address.
Besides paying their children’s balance online, parents can also go to any Exchange customer service department at their main Exchange store to add funds or make changes to their child’s lunch account.
To find out more about the school meals served by the Exchange, log onto www.shopmyexchange.com, go to Community Info at the bottom of the page and click on school lunch program.
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The Army & Air Force Exchange Service is a joint command and is directed by a Board of Directors which is responsible to the Secretaries of the Army and the Air Force through the Service Chiefs of Staff. The Exchange has the dual mission of providing authorized patrons with articles of merchandise and services and generating non-appropriated fund earnings as a supplemental source of funding for military morale, welfare and recreation programs. To find out more about the Exchange history and mission or to view recent press releases please visit our Web site at http://www.shopmyexchange.com.
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Media Notes: For more information or to schedule an interview with an Exchange representative please contact Sgt. 1st Class Jon Cupp at cuppjs@aafes.com.