As students and parents get ready for the return of their school-year routines, OrganicLife, the Midwest’s leading provider of healthy school lunches, prepares to ring in the fall semester with new delicious, nutritious lunchtime options in hundreds of educational facilities spanning high schools, junior highs, elementary schools, and daycares across Illinois. The brainchild of Chef and CEO Jonas Falk and COO Justin Rolls, the foodservice startup stands apart from its larger competitors by tapping into the culinary expertise of renowned Chef Roland Liccioni and a team of trained chefs and nutrition experts, elevating the unwholesome and often unidentifiable dishes of a standard school lunch program.
“We want to make lunchtime an impactful, positive hour in every student’s day,” Falk says. “OrganicLife challenges students, parents, teachers, and community decision-makers to care more about what’s on their plates, and to develop healthy habits that last a lifetime.”
OrganicLife meals not only adhere to the new national school nutrition regulations of 2012’s Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act (supported by Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move initiative), but also raise the bar for the standard school lunch line by prioritizing variety, exceptional flavor, and natural ingredients. OrganicLife first captures kids’ attention by tempting their taste buds, cooking up classic foods that appeal to even the pickiest eaters, alongside approachable international dishes to expand their palates.
Each meal incorporates complex carbohydrates, high-quality protein, and fresh produce, helping students stay focused and energized throughout the school day. Children and teens with dietary restrictions are easily accommodated with options ranging from gluten-free to vegetarian; seitan and soy protein can be substituted for the meats in most dishes. Going a step further, the company avoids processed and frozen ingredients and only uses meats and dairy products free of antibiotics, hormones, and steroids, which have been linked to negative impacts on children’s developing minds and bodies.
“We’re pleased to see the increasing public interest in school nutrition, both nationally and here in Chicagoland,” Rolls says. “We’ve added a lot of new sites to our roster of Illinois schools, and our expansion to Wisconsin and Indiana is on track.”
This month, OrganicLife announces the addition of two new regions to its roster for 2013-2014: North Chicago Community Unit School District 187 and Legal Prep Charter Academy in Chicago’s West Garfield Park neighborhood. OrganicLife’s other districts include Kildeer Countryside Community Consolidated School District 96, Niles Township Community High School District 219, Northbrook School District 28, Ridgewood Community High School District 234, Skokie School District 73-5.
Via Wagstaff
