Quality Nutrition in Schools
GOAL: To help children and adolescents maintain a healthy weight by increasing healthy options in schools, incorporating nutrition education into school curricula and limiting access to unhealthy food.
Quality Nutrition in Schools
1. Ensure That Students Have Appealing, Healthy Food and Beverage Choices In Schools
The Issues and the Research: The school food environment can have a large impact on the dietary intake of children and adolescents. Up to 50 percent of total daily energy intake can be consumed at school. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) provides meals to children in about 95 percent of public schools and many private schools throughout the nation through the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program. USDA sets nutrition standards for these school meal programs, but has only limited authority to set nutrition standards for sold à la carte, in school stores and in vending machines. Although most schools that sell offer some nutritious food and beverage options, less nutritious alternatives also are common. For example, in one study, 70 percent of the beverage options available in vending machines were high in sugar, only 12 percent of the beverage slots were for water, and only 5 percent were for milk.1 While the availability of junk food is greatest in high schools and middle schools, it is common at all school levels in à la carte lines, vending machines, snack bars and student stores.2 Studies have shown that pricing and promotion strategies can increase students’ purchases of fruits, vegetables and low-fat foods.3,4,5,6 A single study that evaluated a policy requiring school snack bars to offer only individual portions of foods and beverages also demonstrated that changes in school food policies could reduce consumption of empty calories and potentially reduce excess weight gain over time.7
Potential Stakeholders
Policy-makers
Federal, state and local elected and appointed officials (e.g., federal and state legislators; city, county, township and other local level policy-makers)
School officials (e.g., state boards of education, local school boards and school administrators)
Other Government and Community Stakeholders
School food vendors
Nonprofit organizations such as the Alliance for a Healthier Generation and Action for Healthy Kids
Teachers and cafeteria workers
Parents and students
Policy and Program Options
Healthy school food and nutrition legislation
State legislatures can support bills, amendments and state boards of education policies that improve access to and the quality of school meals. State boards of education can consider adopting comprehensive statewide nutrition standards for foods in schools. They can provide sample policy language, including key nutrition requirements, which can be incorporated into school wellness policies (see the National Association of State Boards of Education’s model policies to encourage healthy eating in the Resources section).
Strong local wellness policies
State boards of education, local school districts and individual schools can enforce strong that ensure healthy school food environments by limiting low-nutrient, energy-dense foods in vending machines, à la carte lines, school stores and during school celebrations, as well as by offering healthy snacks. These policies also can encourage fundraisers and classroom rewards that are healthy or do not involve food. Policies can address the availability of healthy foods for school meals and before- and after-school programs and incorporate cafeteria staff training. Districts can use the Dietary Guidelines for Americans or the Institute of Medicine Nutrition Standards for Foods in Schools as guides for developing nutrition standards for in schools. There are many examples of states that have set standards for or beverages served or sold at school that are stricter than federal requirements.
Vending policies
School and school district officials can adopt vending machine policies that either prohibit the sale of unhealthy foods and beverages in school facilities or provide healthy options.
Nutrition education
School officials can include nutrition education in school curricula, which can include experiential learning through school gardens and farm-to-school programs, as well as other educational components that involve parents.
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2. Support Farm-to-School and School Garden Programs
The Issues and the Research: A growing number of states and school districts are turning to farm-to-school programs to increase the quality and availability of fresh, healthy foods for their students. This program has been in existence in the United States for nearly a decade, and as of March 2009, more than 2,050 farm-to-school programs were in existence in more than 40 states.8 School garden programs are another way to connect youth with fresh, healthy foods. A study in Tucson, Ariz., found that children who participated in their school garden program improved their perceptions of healthy foods, and in fact, had placed a high intrinsic value on the vegetables they had grown.9 According to another study, after students completed their gardening program, their perceptions of vegetables significantly improved, as did their preferences for fruits and vegetables. No such improvements were evident in the control group.10
Potential Stakeholders
Policy-makers
State and local elected and appointed officials
School officials (e.g., state boards of education, local school boards
and school administrators)
Other Government and Community Stakeholders
State and local agriculture departments
Parks and recreation officials
Local government extension agents
Local farmers, businesses and chefs
Nonprofit and federal programs, such as FarmtoSchool.org
College and university agriculture and public health departments
School or community gardens
Parents, teachers and students
Policy and Program Options
Farm-to-school programs
State and school district officials can develop policies and programs that support farm-to-school programs. Farm-to-school programs encourage schools to use locally grown produce for school cafeteria meals, thereby improving nutrition while also providing lifelong lessons in health and nutrition. These programs also support local farmers and therefore can be beneficial to local economies, particularly in rural areas.
School gardens
School officials can create edible school gardens that integrate gardening and fresh seasonal cooking into curricula, culture and food programs. In addition to the health benefits, edible school gardens involve students in all aspects of farming the garden—including preparing, serving and eating the food.
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3. Implement a Standards-Based Health Education Program Taught by Teachers Certified in Health Education
The Issues and the Research: Health education in school can encourage healthy
behaviors that can last a lifetime, especially when it is combined with moderate-to-vigorous
physical activity. When asked which standards in the school curriculum need to be addressed, 74 percent of respondents thought that it was “definitely necessary” to address health standards.11
In fact, health standards received the highest overall rating in the same survey.12
Potential Stakeholders
Policy-makers
State and local elected and appointed officials
School officials (e.g., state boards of education, local school boards
and school administrators)
Other Government and Community Stakeholders
County and city health officials
Parents, teachers and students
Policy and Program Options
Health education course
School district officials can incorporate a comprehensive K to 12 health education course that includes lessons about nutrition and physical activity. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Coordinated Health Program, school health curricula should address the physical, mental, emotional and social dimensions of health. In addition, they should “motivate and assist students to maintain and improve their health, prevent disease, and reduce health-related risk behaviors,” while also allowing students to increase their “health-related knowledge, attitudes, skills and practices.”
Nutrition education component
State boards of education can include nutrition education as a component of a comprehensive health core requirement in the school curriculum and adopt high-quality statewide standards.
Teacher training and development in health education
State policy-makers can require that health education teachers are adequately prepared by adopting high-quality certification standards for teachers. School officials can ensure that teachers receive ongoing professional support and development.
Health throughout the day
School district officials can encourage the integration of health education into other subjects.
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1 Dispensing Junk: How School Vending Undermines Efforts to Feed Children Well. Washington, D.C.: Center for Science in the Public Interest, 2004. Available at www.cspinet.org/new/pdf/dispensing_junk.pdf.
2 School Meal Programs: Competitive Foods are Widely Available and Generate Substantial Revenues for Schools. Washington, D.C.: U.S. General Accountability Office, August 2005. Available at www.gao.gov/new.items/d05563.pdf.
3 French S, Story M, Fulkerson JA and Hannan P. “An Environmental Intervention to Promote Lower Fat Food Choices in Secondary Schools: Outcomes From the TACOS Study.” American Journal of Public Health, 94: 1507-1512, 2004
4 French S, Jeffery R, Story M, et al. “Pricing and Promotion Effects on Low-Fat Vending Snack Purchases: The CHIPS Study.” American Journal of Public Health, 91(1):112-117, January 2001.
5 French S, Jeffery R, Story M, Hannan P, Snyder MP. “A Pricing Strategy to Promote Low-Fat Snack Choices Through Vending Machines.” American Journal of Public Health, 87(5):849-851, May 1997.
6 Sallis J, McKenzie T, Conway T, et al. “Environmental Interventions for Eating and Physical Activity: A Randomized Controlled Trial in Middle Schools.” American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 24:209-217, October 2003.
7 Cullen K and Thompson D. “Texas School Food Policy Changes Related to Middle School à la Carte/Snack Bar Foods: Potential Savings in Kilocalories.” Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 105(12):1952–1954, December 2005.
8 Farm to School. Statistics. Available at www.farmtoschool.org.
9 Cavaliere D. “How Zucchini Won Fifth-Grade Hearts.” Children Today, 16(3): 18-21, February 1987.
10 Ibid.
11 Marzano R, Kendall J and Cicchinelli L. “What Americans Believe Students Should Know: A Survey of U.S. Adults.” Aurora, Colo.: Mid-Continent Regional Educational Laboratory, January 1999. Available at www.mcrel.org/PDF/Standards/5987RR_WhatAmerBelieve.pdf.
12 Ibid.
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