BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Smart Lunches, one of the web’s fastest-growing providers of healthy meals for children outside of the home, announced today that it is bringing its services to the Greater Philadelphia area.
Daily deliveries will begin in September at the region's inaugural partner schools, including Benchmark School and Media-Providence Friends School in Media, PA, and Chesterbrook Academy Elementary School in West Chester, PA. Parents and staff will be going online beginning next week to order a wide variety of hot and cold meals, snacks and drinks from menus automatically customized for their school calendar as well as their individual taste preferences and food allergies.
Smart Lunches is already serving thousands of lunches every week in southern New England. Over 140 facility partners in that region, including elementary and middle schools, summer camps, and year-round daycare and early childhood education centers, host its virtual lunch service to ensure their students and staff can select from a variety of freshly made meals delivered every day. While the company contracts directly with parents at these schools, it gives back a share of its annual revenues to the facilities as part of the partnership.
"We'd looked for ways to provide a high-quality lunch service, but we don't have a kitchen or any equipment to warm food, and we don't have manpower to spare. Smart Lunches offers families the quality of meals we'd like to serve but keeps us free to focus on our educational mission," said Dr. Robert Gaskins, Head of Benchmark School.
"Making the decision was simple: we learned about the process and tasted the meals. We discussed our school's schedule and how we'll distribute the meals. We particularly liked Smart Lunches’ food allergy awareness; our families will appreciate the certified allergen-free menu and ability to look up nutrition information for all the offerings. We're excited to add this to our offering this year," said Earl Sissell, Head of the Media-Providence Friends School.
"With over 900 independent schools and childcare centers that lack the space and funds to meet their families' needs for convenient nutrition, the Philadelphia area is ready for Smart Lunches," commented Danielle Lodge, Regional Manager for the region. She continued: "The increasing school inquiries I'm getting are a testament to their appetite for the service. We have a bit more time, not much, to finalize arrangements with new schools that want to start serving on their first day of school in September. After that we’ll be adding service to new partner schools gradually after the year gets underway.”
The company also announced an agreement with PAISBOA (Philadelphia Area Independent Schools Business Officers Association) to provide a unique combination of lunch and vending services to its members. "This program is well designed, and provides a flexible option for our schools to provide a nutritious option for student lunches. It fits nicely with our Wellness and Farm to School initiatives in terms of education and support of student, staff and faculty healthy eating practices," commented Al Greenough, Associate Director of the organization and manager of the group's Purchasing Consortium.
"We're delighted to be extending to Philadelphia our innovative and award-winning ordering experience, our goal of total luncher satisfaction, and our commitment to giving back to the schools that do great work for families," commented Emily Green, Smart Lunches' CEO and Chief Lunch Lady. "As for adding cheese steaks to our menus, we'll have to see!"
About Smart Lunches: Smart Lunches’ online ordering brings fun, nutritious high-quality meals to kids while providing great selection and convenience to parents. Smart Lunches is one of the internet’s fastest growing companies, serving thousands of students each day at schools, daycare centers and camps. Smart Lunches operates www.smartlunches.com and Smart Snax vending machines. The company gives back by sharing a portion of its earnings with its partners and by contributing to other programs to support underprivileged children -- proving great businesses can do great things while having a higher purpose. If your child is not receiving Smart Lunches, please inquire at info@smartlunches.com.
About Benchmark School: Benchmark School was founded in 1970, committed to helping bright students with learning differences develop the confidence, strategies, and knowledge to become lifelong learners, thinkers, and problem-solvers. One hundred and fifty-five students enjoy a 23-acre wooded campus in Media, PA with a faculty:student ratio of 1:3. For more information, visit www.benchmarkschool.org.
About Media-Providence Friends School: Founded in 1876, Media-Providence Friends School is a co-ed Quaker day school for students in preschool through eighth grade, located in downtown Media, PA. Every day at MPFS, students imagine, explore, question and create, while discovering the joy of learning and acquiring the skills they’ll need to make the world a better place. For more information, visit www.mpfs.org.
About Chesterbrook Academy Elementary School: Chesterbrook Academy Elementary Schools in West Chester, PA is an elite private school for students in Pre-K through 5th grade. The school incorporates a 21st century skills approach that includes communication, critical thinking, teamwork and technology combined with personalized education and a balance of an advanced art and music program. For more information, visit http://westchester.chesterbrookacademy.com.
About PAISBOA: The Philadelphia Area Independent School Business Officers Association, based in Wayne, PA, is a group of 179 member schools in the Greater Philadelphia area with considerable buying power. Formed as a purchasing consortium, the organization now offers a wide variety of services to its members including health care, property and business insurance, professional development, and much more. For more information, visit www.paisboa.org.
