District Wellness Policy and Goals
by Darrel Kellerman
February 02, 2007
Wellness:
Recent legislation at the National and State level has required school districts to develop a local wellness plans and wellness goals. This has been precipitated by the increasing number of children and adults that are overweight. The number of children overweight in the six to 11 age range has doubled in the past 20 years. The consequences of overweight and obesity may lead to several possible serious health consequences: Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, some types of cancer and gallbladder disease, for example. According the Kansas Health Institute, the cost of treating obesity related medical problems in Kansas in 2004 was $657 million dollars.
Most overweight and obesity issues are preventable with proper diet and adequate physical activity. That’s where schools come into the picture, they can provide the knowledge and skills for youth to practice a healthy lifestyle.
In November of 2005 the board approved the following Wellness Policy – JGCA:
The board shall promote and monitor a local wellness program. The program shall:
- Include goals for nutrition education, physical activity and other school based activities designed to promote student wellness in a manner that the board determines is appropriate
- Include nutrition guidelines for all foods available in each school during the school day; the objectives of the guidelines shall be to promote student health and to reduce childhood obesity
- Assure that guidelines for reimbursable school meals shall not be less restrictive than regulations and guidance issued by the Secretary of Agriculture, as those regulations and guidance apply to schools
- Establish a plan for measuring implementation of the local wellness policy, including designation of one or more district employees who shall be charged with the operational responsibility for ensuring the wellness policy is effectively enforced and
- Involve parents, students, representatives of the school food authority, the school board, administrators and the public in the development of the school wellness policy.
Above Policy approved: 11/14/2005
USD 405 in May of 2006 adopted the following goals as part of their district wellness plan at all attendance centers:
1) Foods and beverages for classroom rewards, parties and celebrations will meet the basic level guidelines for a la carte foods and beverages
2) Refreshments provided for students participating in school events adhere to the basic guidelines for vended foods and beverages
3) Parents, teachers and organizations are informed about the nutrition guidelines and are encouraged to follow them.
and Goal number four applies to the Elementary Schools and Middle school only
4) 50 percent or more of fundraising activities will not involve the sale of food and/or beverages
Goals 1 and 2 are indicating that Foods of Minimal Nutritional Value (FMNV), as defined below, are not to be served during the school day as snacks, rewards, at parties or made available during the school day in vending machines.
Definitions:
Foods of Minimal Nutritional Value (FMNV) are
those foods as defined in federal regulations for the National
School Lunch Program (7CFR Part 210)
and the School Breakfast Program (7CFR Part 220). FMNV includes all
soda water, water ices, chewing gum, certain candies, hard candy,
jellies and
gums, marshmallow candies, fondant, licorice, spun candy and candy
coated popcorn; except for individual items in these categories
that have been
specifically exempted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Fruits may be fresh, frozen, canned or dried and do NOT include
juices. Snack foods (such as banana chips) and condiments (such as
jam or jelly)
made from fruit are not considered “fruit” under the Kansas
Wellness Policy Guidelines for Nutrition. Canned fruit should be
packed in light syrup, or
preferably in juice.
Foods Containing Whole Grain -Whole grains include, but are not
limited to, whole wheat flour, entire wheat flour, cracked wheat,
graham flour, brown
rice, old-fashioned oatmeal, and quick-cooking oats or whole-grain
cornmeal. A commercially produced “food containing whole grain”
would have a
whole grain listed as one of the first three ingredients on the
product’s Nutrition Facts Label. School-prepared products would
have a whole grain as one
of three ingredients with the greatest weight as shown on the
recipe. The 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that at
least half of an
individual’s recommended grain servings should be whole grains.
Kansas Nutrition Guidelines defines three levels of nutrition
standards for schools: basic, advanced, and exemplary. The basic
level complies with the
minimum requirements found in federal and state Child Nutrition
Program laws, regulations and policies. The standards for each
subsequent level are
more healthful than those for the previous level.
National School Lunch Program (NSLP) is a federal Child
Nutrition Program designed to provide students with healthful
lunches that meet
approximately 1/3 of their daily nutritional needs.
Nonprofit food service program refers to the National School
Lunch Program and/or the School Breakfast Program, which are both
federal Child
Nutrition Programs.
School Breakfast Program (SBP) is a federal Child Nutrition
Program designed to provide students with healthful breakfasts that
meet approximately
1/4 of their daily nutritional needs.
Selling Unit is a pre-portioned or pre-packaged food or beverage item sold as one whole unit.
Vegetables may be fresh, frozen or canned and should not be
fried. Snack foods (such as potato chips) and condiments (such as
pickle relish, catsup
and chili sauce) made from a vegetable are not considered a
“vegetable” under the Kansas Nutrition Guidelines.
Vended items include foods and beverages sold through vending
machines and school stores in competition with the school’s
nonprofit food service
program.
