Support Healthy School Initiatives

What Can Policymakers Do?

· Increase school wellness standards. Children all across the country spend a majority of their daytime hours in school. By setting nutrition standards for the food and drinks sold in schools, states are able to increase the nutritious foods being consumed by children. Evidence shows that there are developmental benefits to adequate nutrition, and that leads to more successful academic achievement.[1] Studies also show that when healthy options are provided in schools, revenue for school food remains steady or increases.[2] Louisiana’s House Bill No. 1 sets nutrition standards for school meals and has a built-in accountability mechanism in the form of performance indicators for the School Food Nutrition Program.

· Increase physical education during the school day, which leads to healthier children and also to increased academic achievement.[3] Policies establishing statewide standards for physical education that consider the recommended 60 minutes of activity a day, recommended by The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, will contribute to the health and academic success of children in school. Texas’ Senate Bill No. 1 provides grants for school physical education programs. Eligibility for the grants includes showing reduced childhood obesity and diabetes in schools with low-income students.[4]

· Increase nutrition education that is integrated into general subjects and that provides students with interactive opportunities to learn about nutrition. Such nutrition education, in combination with nutrition standards, community involvement and staff training, has been shown to reduce the incidence of overweight in children by 50 percent.[5] In Massachusetts House Bill 4149 appropriates funds to incorporate obesity prevention programs and nutrition education into the school curricula.[6]

· Support Farm to School initiatives that connect schools with local farms in order to provide healthy school meals and create opportunities for agriculture, health and nutrition education, all while supporting local and regional farmers. The Kentucky Farm to School Program utilizes the Department of Defense and its distribution system to bring local farm goods into schools as part of the DoD Fresh program . Kentucky’s Farm to School is a collaboration of the USDA, the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, the University of Kentucky Extension, the Kentucky Department of Education and the US Department of Defense.[7]