Chop’t Creative Salad Company and non-profit Wellness in the Schools are pairing up to challenge New Yorkers to craft the ultimate kids’ salad this Friday as part of NBC New York’s upcoming reality show, “The Great American Health Challenge.”
The episode will highlight the importance of eating healthy, fresh, local foods – a core value for Chop’t, the leader of the premium salad segment, and WITS, a leader in Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign with a mission to inspire healthy eating, environmental awareness and fitness as a way of life for kids.
WITS serves healthy lunches to 15,000 public school children in New York City, bringing scratch cooking into school kitchens and conducting seasonal cooking classes to teach children and parents how to cook nutritious recipes at home.
With the support of Chop’t and other restaurant partners, some of WITS accomplishments include:
- Ensuring that at least 60% of the meals offered are made from unprocessed ingredients
- Providing a daily salad bar and at least one fresh fruit daily
- Eliminating sweetened milk
- Offering only whole grain pasta, bread and rice
- Ensuring access to water at lunch every day
- Supporting sustainable disposable recycling efforts (Trayless Tuesday)
Chop’t, a WITS Inaugural Partner, has adopted PS 65 Mother Hale Academy in the South Bronx – the poorest district in the nation with 49% of children living in poverty – where the Chop’t team donates equipment, food and recipes and visits classrooms to discuss careers in the culinary field and inspire healthy lifestyles.
Now Chop’t is bringing its mission to change the future of fast food to television screens with an episode of “The Great American Health Challenge” which will be filmed this Friday.
“NBC New York’s Go Healthy campaign is about proving that good health can be contagious,” said Reesa Lake, Director of Business Development at Union Square Agency. “We are thrilled that Chop’t has joined the movement to turn New York City into the healthiest city in America.”
Five teams representing each borough will be matched with students from New York City public schools and compete to create salads that can rival chicken nuggets and french fries while incorporating fresh, local ingredients from Union Square’s Greenmarket.
Chop’t Creative Salad Company offers only ultra-premium salads and “salad sandwiches” while dedicating itself to supporting local farms and being environmentally friendly. Customers can choose from 27 homemade, small-batch artisanal dressings and more than 60 different farm-fresh ingredients that get chopped up at lightning speed by a Chop’r, a master of the company’s signature chopping tool — the Mezzaluna. Chop’t was started by college friends Tony Shure and Colin McCabe in New York’s Union Square in 2001. The company now has 13 locations between New York City and Washington, DC. For more information on Chop’t Creative Salad Company, please visit www.choptsalad.com.
Wellness in the Schools inspires healthy eating, environmental awareness and fitness as a way of life for kids in New York City’s public schools. Through meaningful public/private partnerships with school leadership, teachers, chefs, coaches, parents and kids, Wellness in the Schools creates hands-on programs such as Cook for Kids, Green for Kids and Coach for Kids. These programs provide healthy foods, healthy environments and opportunities for regular play to help kids learn and grow. For more information on Wellness in the Schools, please visit www.wellnessintheschools.org.