News

Domino's school lunch program's participation triples

April 10, 2012

Domino's Pizza continues growing its Domino's Smart Slice school lunch program, which meets the recently revised USDA nutrition standards for school lunch. The program has nearly tripled the number of participating schools in the past year.

Domino's Smart Slice, when topped with light mozzarella cheese, meets the USDA school lunch nutrition standards for calories, fat and sodium - with each slice featuring four grams of fiber, 24 grams of whole grains and calcium. Launched three years ago, and originally developed to meet possible adjustments to these standards, Domino's Smart Slice participating schools will not need to make any changes to meet the updated guidelines.

The number of schools that now participate in the Domino's Smart Slice program has increased from 1,100 schools in early 2011 to more than 3,000 schools across 37 states.

"We are excited about the success of Domino's Smart Slice, and are proud to be providing a nutritious, great-tasting product that already meets the new federal guidelines," said J. Patrick Doyle, Domino's Pizza president and CEO. "The feedback from school districts has been overwhelmingly positive – proven by the fact that we saw more than a 250 percent increase in the number of school districts participating in just one year."

Through its partnership with Dairy Management Inc. and its nutrition arm, the National Dairy Council, Domino's is committed to supporting active lifestyles in schools as a founding partner of the GENYOUth Foundation.

Domino's will donate $1 million to the GENYOUth Foundation throughout the next three years. Doyle is on the GENYOUth Foundation board of directors, and Russell Weiner, Domino's Pizza chief marketing officer, has been tapped as a strategic marketing resource.

"GENYOUth inspires and educates youths to improve their nutrition and increase physical activity, and Domino's Smart Slice is a perfect example of how food companies can formulate products to fit both healthy school nutrition standards and the taste preferences of students," said Tom Gallagher, chairman of the GENYOUth Foundation and CEO of Dairy Management Inc. "Cheese, and dairy in general, plays a key role in a healthy school day, and Domino's is a valuable partner in our efforts."

Freshly baked and delivered to schools, Domino's Smart Slice features whole-grain crust, light mozzarella cheese, reduced sodium sauce and reduced fat, reduced sodium pepperoni. To be considered part of the Domino's Smart Slice program, schools must purchase pizzas with whole-grain crust or light mozzarella cheese.

Read more about health and nutrition.