It's a Presidential Year: Have Your Students Vote for a President, Too!
Vote for School Lunch is back in time to coincide with year's presidential election. The polls are open, and kids across the country are voting to elect the 2008 "President of School Lunch." As well as being in control of the outcome, "Vote" is a fun way for the under-18 set to participate in a presidential election as they learn about and vote for their favorite healthy school lunch.

What is Vote for School Lunch?
An award-winning celebration of the National School Lunch program, Vote for School Lunch has all the elements of a highly successful "campaign" and provides an opportunity to tie classroom learning to excitement in the cafeteria. It's also an opportunity to work with your school's nutrition service and extend nutrition learning beyond the classroom.

Meet the Candidates
Three yummy, nutritious school lunch "candidates" created by last year's national Design A Candidate Contest winners are running against Pete Pizza (2006 winner) and Biff Burger (2007 winner). All of the candidates are made with lean meat, low-fat cheese, whole-grain buns, tortillas or pasta, and are topped with veggies when served as part of the National School Lunch Program. They are:

• Larry Lasagna, designed by Phoebe, grade 5, from Virginia
• Gloria Grilled Cheese, designed by Tammara, grade 4, from Ohio
• Petunia Pita, designed by Whitney, grade 3, from Colorado

Have students meet the candidates at the official Vote for School Lunch Web site or download the candidate profiles found in the "Vote for School Lunch" Toolkit (PDF, pages 6 and 7).

Of course, National Dairy Council® endorses Larry Lasagna, Gloria Grilled Cheese and Pete Pizza since they have the added kid-appeal and nutrition from cheese, but we can't vote!

Getting Active
The Vote for School Lunch — Presidential Edition emphasizes physical activity, too. Each candidate endorses a sport and is dressed for action to show that to be healthy, you have to eat well and be active, too. Each candidate's favorite sport is:

• Pete Pizza — Baseball
• Biff Burger — Football
• Larry Lasagna — Street Dancing
• Gloria Grilled Cheese — Ice Skating
• Petunia Pita — Soccer

Coordinate with School Nutrition Services
Vote for School Lunch is celebrated from Back to School right through National School Lunch Week, October 13-17, 2008. Talk to your school nutrition professional about the Vote for School Lunch — Presidential Edition campaign and ways that you can work together. The Toolkit (PDF) offers a myriad of ideas for extensions throughout the school and community.

The Polls Are Open
Boost voter turnout and encourage your students to vote at www.VoteForSchoolLunch.org today! The polls close October 17. Or you can download paper ballots and instructions for submitting them.

The 2008 President of School Lunch will be announced on Friday, October 24, 2008.