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Recommendations
For the Federal Goverment | For
the State Government | For School Districts | For
Individual Schools
Recommendations for the Federal Government
- The federal government should continue to work to include fresh
fruits and vegetables in the National School Lunch commodities program.
Recommendations for the State Government
- The state should impose nutritional requirements on all foods and
beverages sold in schools, not just those sold in and around lunchtime.
The sale of “extra foods,” such as soda and candy, should
not be permitted at any time during the school day, at any school
level.
- The state should create policies that restrict the sale of all
food and beverage items in schools to those that are healthy and
nutritious.
- In elementary schools, the state should ban the sale of any food
or beverage items during the school day, other than those provided
as part of the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs.
- The state should require physical education for children during
every school year. These requirements should include minimum standards
for weekly physical education. Providing physical education every
other day for a full year is preferable to providing physical education
every day for only one half of the year.
Recommendations for School Districts
- School districts should create nutrition committees that include
parents, teachers, food service staff, administrators, and other
community members. These committees should work in the following
ways to promote healthy school nutrition environments: (A) The committees
should evaluate the nutrition content of foods and beverages sold
in competition with the National School Lunch Program. (B) The committees
should help school districts draft policies encouraging healthy fundraising
activities. (C) The committees should review and/or create school
food policies that reflect and reinforce the nutritional messages
taught in the classroom.
- School districts should be encouraged to participate in the National
School Lunch and Breakfast Programs, which are currently available
to all schools across the country. Participation in these programs
can encourage students to eat complete, nutritious meals instead
of high-fat, high-sugar snacks.
- School districts should take advantage of state and federal programs
designed to increase fresh fruits and vegetable offerings in school
lunches. District participation in local “Farm-to-School” programs
is one way to accomplish this.
- School districts should provide financial support for food service
programs, if additional funds are necessary to achieve a healthy
nutrition environment. The decision to sell competitive foods should
be based on nutrition goals for students, not financial needs.
- School districts should lower the price of bottled water so that
it costs less than highsugar alternatives such as partial fruit drinks
or sports drinks. Research shows that lowering prices on healthier
items often encourages students to purchase them.
- School districts should ban the use of food as an incentive or
a reward for good behavior or good academic achievement.
- School districts should provide nutrition education to students
in all grade levels. This education should afford students the skills
they need to make healthy food choices.
- School districts should require physical education for children
during every school year. These requirements should include minimum
standards for weekly physical education. Providing physical education
every other day for a full year is preferable to providing physical
education every day for only one half of the year.
- School districts should encourage and financially support intramural
and interscholastic sports programs.
Recommendations for Individual Schools
- Schools should provide even the last student in line for lunch
with enough time to buy and eat a complete meal. Administrators should
work with lunch monitors and cafeteria staff to determine the length
of their students’ opportunity time to eat, and based on their
school’s unique characteristics, create a strategy that will
ensure sufficient time.
- School food service directors and cafeteria managers should meet
with student councils and other student groups to involve them in
the school lunch program, and to learn from the students about food
items that they might like to have included in the lunch program.
- School food service directors and cafeteria managers should limit
offerings of higher fat vegetables, such as oil-fried French fries,
not only because of the fat content, but also because offering these
foods may decrease consumption of other, more nutritious choices.
- School food service directors and cafeteria managers should make
fruit and vegetable choices as appealing as possible. Offering a
variety of whole or pre-cut fresh fruits and vegetables is one way
to encourage more students to eat these foods.
- Schools should integrate nutrition education throughout the curriculum,
and should utilize the cafeteria environment to teach students nutrition
skills.
- School policies should include nutrition standards for all foods
and beverages available to students throughout the school day, including
those offered as part of celebrations or school events, and those
sold during fundraising activities. All foods and beverages available
at school become part of the daily school nutrition environment.
Therefore, all of these items should be required to meet nutrition
standards.
- Schools should lower the price of bottled water so that it costs
less than high-sugar alternatives such as partial fruit drinks or
sports drinks. Research shows that lowering prices on healthier items
often encourages students to purchase them.
- Schools should schedule physical education classes at regular
intervals throughout the year. Students should not go for weeks,
and sometimes even months, without any physical education. Providing
physical education every other day for a full year is preferable
to providing physical education every day for only one half of the
year.
- Schools should ensure that physical education classes are long
enough and structured in such a way that students are engaged in
at least 20 minutes of aerobic activity in every class.
- Elementary schools should provide daily recess, and students should
be encouraged to be active during that recess.
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