PHILADELPHIA, June 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- High school students from across the country will head to the nation's capital to compete in the 2017 national finals for Healthy Schools Campaign's Cooking up Change, a program that challenges high school culinary students to create healthy, great-tasting meals that meet the real-life requirements of the national school meal program.

The students will compete in the national finals on June 12, where they will recreate their winning recipes for celebrity judges, and they will meet with their Senators and Representatives on June 13.

Aramark (NYSE: ARMK), the award-winning food & nutrition partner with more than 380 school districts nationwide, is the National School Nutrition Partner for Cooking up Change.

"Aramark is committed to enriching and nourishing the lives of the millions of children we serve each year and is proud to be the National School Nutrition Partner for Cooking up Change," said John Hanner, president of Aramark's K-12 business. "Cooking up Change provides students with the opportunity to impact the food being served at schools across the country and engages them in the national dialogue about school food, making it an impactful learning experience for everyone involved."

In its K-12 Education business, Aramark strives to improve childhood nutrition through creative menus featuring healthier versions of student favorites, as well as through initiatives like the Healthy Bites program, which encourages students to try free samples of unfamiliar foods to help them develop healthy eating habits

Aramark provides almost 370 million meals annually to 2+ million children. The company also tailors facility services programs to meet the needs of more than 130 school districts across more than 2,700 buildings, and is the only provider that generates insights & actions based on direct feedback from over 100,000 middle and high school students annually.

Services provided by Aramark in America's schools include: on and off-site breakfast, lunch and dinner, after school snacks, catering and nutrition education; implementing complex nutrition guidelines, while increasing student participation in food programs; providing maintenance, custodial, grounds, energy and construction management; and building commissioning.

About Healthy Schools Campaign
Healthy Schools Campaign launched Cooking up Change in Chicago in 2007, and more than 1,800 students from 20 cities have participated in local contests since the program started. Winners travel to Washington, D.C., for the national finals to show off their culinary skills and engage with health and education leaders, the culinary community and Congress. Find out more information about Cooking up Change at national.cookingupchange.org or by following Healthy Schools Campaign on Facebook and Twitter.

About Aramark 
Aramark (NYSE: ARMK) proudly serves Fortune 500 companies, world champion sports teams, state-of-the-art healthcare providers, the world's leading educational institutions, iconic destinations and cultural attractions, and numerous municipalities in 19 countries around the world. Our 270,000 team members deliver experiences that enrich and nourish millions of lives every day through innovative services in food, facilities management and uniforms. We operate our business with social responsibility, focusing on initiatives that support our diverse workforce, advance consumer health and wellness, protect our environment, and strengthen our communities. Aramark is recognized as one of the World's Most Admired Companies by FORTUNE, as well as an employer of choice by the Human Rights Campaign and DiversityInc. Learn more at www.aramark.com or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.

Contact:  
Erin Noss  
215-409-7403  
Noss-erin@aramark.com

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SOURCE Aramark