Nation’s largest school districts to procure antibiotic free chicken

Serving nearly three million students daily, new city alliance continues to improve quality of school meals

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 9, 2014 – The Urban School Food Alliance (The Alliance), a coalition of the largest school
districts in the United States that includes New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami-Dade, Dallas and Orlando,
announced today an antibiotic-free standard for companies to follow when supplying chicken products to its
schools. The Alliance is taking action to protect the future of our students.

Serving nearly 2.9 million students daily, Alliance members procure more than $550 million in food and supplies
annually. The coalition aims to use its joint purchasing power and influence to help drive down nationwide costs,
while setting higher standards for the quality of food served in its schools. The Alliance seeks to ensure that
students receive the highest quality meals and that exceed minimum United States Department of Agriculture
(USDA) guidelines.

The Alliance’s landmark action today focuses on chicken because it is one of the most popular items served at
cafeterias across the country.

“The standards we’re asking from the manufacturers go above and beyond the quality of the chicken we normally
purchase at local supermarkets,” said USFA Chairman Eric Goldstein and Chief Executive Officer of School Support
Services for the New York City Department of Education. “This move by the Alliance shows that school food
directors across the country truly care about the health and wellness of students.”

Working with suppliers, non-profit partners and government agencies, the Alliance has committed to the
following standard:

The Alliance will require that all chicken products must be produced under a USDA Process Verified Program that
includes compliance with the following:

1. No animal by-products in the feed
2. Raised on an all-vegetarian diet
3. Humanely raised as outlined in the National Chicken Council Animal Welfare Guidelines
4. No antibiotics ever

If a food company cannot supply the full volume of “No Antibiotics Ever” chicken during procurement, a written
plan as to when the supplier will meet the above standard will be required. In the meantime, the supplier must
have the capacity for USDA Process Verified (third party) for Therapeutic Use Only chicken as defined in the
Natural Resources Defense Council’s “Support For Antibiotic Stewardship in Poultry Production” dated December 2013; Or School Food Focus /The PEW Charitable Trusts “Purchasing Guidelines That Minimize the use of
Antibiotics in Poultry Production” dated September 2014.

The Board of Education at the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) today also approved the 2014 Good
Food Procurement Resolution that calls for antibiotic and hormone-free standards in its food procurement
guidelines.

“The passing of the resolution shows the bold steps school districts are taking to ensure the health and wellness
of students,” said LAUSD Deputy Food Services Director Laura Benavidez. “Providing the best possible, highest
quality food for students shouldn’t be a privilege, it should be a standard.”

“Purchasing meat and poultry raised without the unnecessary use of antibiotics is critical to ensuring the safety of our children,” said Mark Izeman, Senior Attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), one of the
nation’s leading environmental and public health organizations and a non-profit partner of the Alliance that
helped develop the antibiotic-free standard. “Today’s transformational move will not only have a dramatic impact
on the quality of school meals, but will also help push the entire food industry to move away from animals raised
with improper antibiotic use.”

According to NRDC, the vast majority of antibiotics in this country are used in animal agriculture—and often not
to treat sick animals but to speed up animal growth and to compensate for unsanitary conditions common at
industrial farms. This misuse in meat and poultry production contributes to the spread of antibiotic-resistant
bacteria, which travel off of farms and into our communities— not just on the meat itself, but also in our soil, air, and water. Leading public health and medical organizations including the World Health Organization have warned
that the widespread overuse and misuse of antibiotics in food animals contributes to the dangerous rise of
antibiotic resistance in humans.

“Chicago Public Schools, in partnership with School Food Focus, was the first major city to pilot antibiotic-free
chicken in its schools, and is proud to be a part of this important step forward with the Alliance,” said Leslie
Fowler, Executive Director of Nutritional Support Services at Chicago Public Schools.

“In some of the school districts served by the Alliance, as much as 90 percent of the student body qualifies for free and reduced price meals because a significant number of families live in poverty,” said Lora Gilbert, Senior
Director of Food and Nutrition Services at Orange County Public Schools in Orlando. “No matter the economic
background, we want to assure parents that we’re providing the best possible food for their children in school.”