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Child Nutrition Program » Child Nutrition: Local School Wellness Policy

Child Nutrition: Local School Wellness Policy

RATIONALE:

The link between nutrition, physical activity, and learning is well documented. Healthy eating and activity patterns are essential for students to achieve their full academic potential, full physical and mental growth, and lifelong health and well-being. Healthy eating and physical activity, essential for a healthy weight, are also linked to reduce risk for many chronic diseases, like Type 2 diabetes. Schools have a responsibility to help students learn, establish and maintain lifelong, healthy eating and activity patterns. Well-planned and effectively implemented school nutrition and fitness programs have been shown to enhance students’ overall health, as well as their behavior and academic achievement in school. Staff wellness also acts an integral part of a healthy school environment, since school staff can be daily role models for healthy behaviors.

GOAL:

All students in the Lincoln County School District shall possess the knowledge and skills necessary to make nutritious food choices and enjoyable physical activity choices for a life time. All staff members in the Lincoln County School District are encouraged to model healthful eating and physical activity as a valuable part of daily life.

To meet this goal, the Lincoln County School District adopts this school wellness policy with the following commitments to nutrition, physical activity, comprehensive health education and implementation. This policy is designed to effectively utilize school and community resources and to equitably serve the needs and interests of all students and staff, taking into consideration differences in culture.

COMMITMENT TO NUTRITION

Minimum Requirements:

The Lincoln County School District will:

  • Offer a school lunch program with menus that meet the meal patterns and nutrition standards established by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Mississippi Department of Education, Office of Child Nutrition Programs.
  • Offer school breakfast and snack programs (where approved and applicable) with menus that meet the meal patterns and nutrition standards established by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Mississippi Department of Education, Office of Child Nutrition Programs.
  • Encourage school staff and families to participate in school meal programs.
  • Operate all Child Nutrition Programs with school foodservice staff who are properly qualified according to current professional standards (Mississippi Board of Education Policy, Code EE-2E).
  • Establish food safety as a key component of all school food operations and ensure that the food service permit is current for the Food Service school site.
  • Follow State Board of Education policies on competitive foods and extra food sales (Mississippi Board of Education Policy, Code EEH).
  • Establish guidelines for all foods available on the school campus during the school day with the objective of promoting student health and reducing childhood obesity.
  • Encourage all school-based organizations to use services, contest, non-food items and/or healthful foods for fundraising programs. The sale of candy as a fund raiser is strongly discouraged.

 

Optional Policy Statements:

The Lincoln County School District will:

  • Provide adequate time for students to eat and enjoy school meals (a minimum of 15-20 minutes at breakfast and 18-25 minutes at lunch).
  • Encourage students to make choices based on the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, by emphasizing menu options that feature baked (rather than fried foods), whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables and reduced-fat dairy products.
  • Establish a cafeteria environment conducive to a positive dining experience, with socializing among students and between students and adults; with supervision of eating areas by adults who model proper conduct and voice level; and with adults who model healthy habits by eating with the students.

 

COMMITMENT TO PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

Minimum requirements:

The Lincoln County School District will:

  • Provide physical education for all students (In accordance with section 37-13-134, Mississippi Code of 1972, ann., reference 2004 Mississippi Public Schools Accountability Standards 32, Appendix B and 33).
  • Offer a planned sequential program of physical education instruction incorporating individual and group activities, which are student centered and taught in a positive environment.
  • Implement the 2006 Mississippi Physical Education Framework.

 

COMMITMENT TO COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH EDUCATION

Minimum requirements:

The Lincoln County School District will:

  • Provide ½ Carnegie unit of comprehensive health education for graduation (2004 Mississippi Public School Accountability Standard 20, Appendix A).
  • Implement the 2006 Mississippi Comprehensive Health Framework for grades 9-12 (2004 Mississippi Public School Accountability Standard 20, Appendix A).

COMMITMENT TO IMPLEMENTATION

Minimum requirements:

The Lincoln County School District will:

  • Establish a plan for the implementation of the school wellness policy.
  • Designate one or more persons to insure that the school wellness policy is implemented as written.

GUIDELINES FOR FOODS AVAILABLE ON SCHOOL CAMPUS DURING THE SCHOOL DAY

BEVERAGES

  • Remove regular soft drinks from vending machines in areas accessible to students.
  • Add juice, fruit or vegetable, which contains at least 50% juice.
  • Add water, flavored or vitamin enhanced.
  • Add low calorie diet soft drinks.
  • Add sports drinks.

 

SNACKS

  • Remove candy, candy bars and chocolate bars and replace with granola bars and whole grain fruit bars.
  • Remove regular chips, cheese-flavored crackers, cracker sandwiches and replace with baked items.
  • Remove cookies and replace with animal crackers, graham crackers or whole grain crackers and pretzels.