Ochsner Eat Fit Partners with Pigeon Catering to Bring Healthy Lunches to Local Schools

NEW ORLEANS – Eat Fit NOLA, a nonprofit initiative of Ochsner Health System, has teamed up with Pigeon Catering & Events to bring more nutritious meals to students, offering Eat Fit on the menus of 12 local schools.

Founded in 2013 by Ochsner Fitness Center Registered Dietitian Molly Kimball, the Eat Fit team of dietitians works closely with local restaurants, markets and now foodservice partners, like Pigeon, to help make the healthy choice an easy choice throughout our community.

One of the essential building blocks to raising strong and confident youth is teaching them how to fuel their body with foods that nourish, energize and empower them to live well. The Eat Fit nutritional criteria translate into meals and snacks designed to nourish growing bodies, boost brain function and focus, enhance mental and physical performance, promote a healthy mood and support a healthy immune system.

Examples of classic school lunch “remakes” include Eat Fit mini pizzas on whole grain bagels or English Muffins, and “Chicken Tender Tuesdays” featuring grilled chicken strips with whole grain mac & cheese with a homemade cheese sauce that Pigeon developed specifically for Eat Fit.

“As a healthcare organization, it is our responsibility to lead by example and set the standard for meaningful care and healthy living,” said Warner Thomas, CEO and President, Ochsner Health System. “Ochsner is committed to the health and wellness of the city. To reduce chronic disease in our community, we need to change the behavior of our children and their families through exercise, nutrition and promotion of preventative health behaviors. By offering Eat Fit at local schools, we hope to start this important conversation and initiate change.”

“We recognize the value and importance of providing healthful, wholesome meals to our students, and we’re proud to offer Eat Fit options at all of our schools. The feedback from students, parents and school faculty has been overwhelmingly positive, and we look forward to continuing to grow the Eat Fit program in schools,” said Jean Pierre “JP” Pigeon, Managing Partner of Pigeon Catering & Events.

Eat Fit items are identified directly on school menus with the Ochsner Eat Fit seal of approval. Parents and students can also download the Eat Fit smartphone app for full nutrition facts for the daily and weekly Eat Fit school menus, and also access the hundreds of Eat Fit home recipes, community wellness resources and opportunities to connect with a health professional in your area.

Participating schools include:

• Audubon Charter Lower School
• Audubon Charter Upper School
• Audubon Gentilly
• Bricolage Academy
• De La Salle High School
• Holy Name of Jesus School
• Lycee Francais de la Nouvelle-Orléans -- Monroe campus
• Lycee Francais de la Nouvelle-Orléans – Patton campus
• Morris Jeff Community School
• Morris Jeff High School
• Mount Carmel Academy
• St Paul Episcopal School

For more information on Eat Fit and where you can find Eat Fit offerings in your region, download the Eat Fit smartphone app and visit www.OchsnerEatFit.com.

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About Eat Fit NOLA

Eat Fit NOLA is a nonprofit initiative of Ochsner Health System, designed to help the community live their healthiest, strongest lives possible. The team of Eat Fit dietitians works closely with local restaurants, markets and other foodservice establishments to develop dishes that meet the Eat Fit nutritional criteria that are identified by an Eat Fit seal of approval. With more than 100 unique partners in the New Orleans area, Eat Fit NOLA has expanded to the North Shore, Bayou and Baton Rouge regions, and has expanded statewide in partnership with Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation of Louisiana. Follow Eat Fit on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and visit www.OchsnerEatFit.com for more information about Eat Fit in your region.

About Ochsner Health System

Ochsner Health is Louisiana’s largest non-profit, academic, healthcare system. Driven by a mission to Serve, Heal, Lead, Educate and Innovate, coordinated clinical and hospital patient care is provided across the region by Ochsner's 30 owned, managed and affiliated hospitals and more than 80 health centers and urgent care centers. Ochsner is the only Louisiana hospital recognized by U.S. News & World Report as a “Best Hospital” across three specialty categories caring for patients from all 50 states and more than 60 countries worldwide each year. Ochsner employs more than 19,000 employees and over 1,200 physicians in over 90 medical specialties and subspecialties, and conducts more than 700 clinical research studies. Ochsner Health is proud to be a tobacco-free environment. For more information, please visit ochsner.org and follow us on Twitter and Facebook.