Adopted:            06/19/06                                                                                                                                                                                      

                          458                     

School District of Prairie Farm

School Nutrition and Physical Fitness Policy 

Policy Statement

The School District of Prairie Farm believes there is a direct link between physical fitness and good nutrition to academic achievement. The combination of physical fitness and nutrition is essential to a child’s well being and physical and emotional growth.

This policy will be reviewed each year.

Rationale:

The link between good nutrition and health has been studied extensively in recent years and is well documented. Healthy eating and physical fitness are particularly important for the nation’s young people. As our young people learn good eating habits and exercise on a regular basis, there is a strong likelihood they will avoid life - threatening problems such as obesity and other chronic diseases as they grow into adulthood.

Program Goals and Responsibilities

It is understood that a District Nutrition and Physical Education Policy is the responsibility of the members of the school district and community. Wellness includes school personnel and families as well, although responsibilities will depend on the nature of the activity and group, as listed in the following paragraphs.     

Food Service

The food service department will promote healthy meals and meal alternatives which will in turn support the mission of the District regarding good nutrition.

All meals served through the National School Breakfast and Lunch Programs will meet and follow all U.S. Government Nutritional Standards.

The food service department will participate in educational activities that promote good food and healthy living choices by students and staff.

The food service program will not sell food of minimal nutritional value at any time.

The food service program will provide a positive atmosphere for students.

Health Curriculum

The health curriculum will educate students to develop the knowledge, attitudes, skills and behavior for life-long healthy eating habits and physical activity.  The district has adopted curriculum standards and learner outcomes for health education that include an emphasis on good nutrition, disease prevention and healthy living.  The nutrition portion of the curriculum supports the philosophy that the quality of life is dependent on the student’s interactions with his of her total environment, which includes physical, mental and social well being.  Included in the health curriculum (as a performance goal) is that students will learn good eating habits to build and maintain good health.  This goal is promoted throughout the Pre- K-12 nutrition curriculum.

Topics covered within the health curriculum regarding nutrition include:  eating habits, nutrients, dietary guidelines, food pyramid, serving sizes, reading food labels, weight problems, eating disorders, fad diets, food safety and preparation, food allergies, etc.

Physical Education Curriculum

The physical education curriculum is designed to teach children the importance of exercise and expose them to a wide range of physical activities so that students develop the knowledge and skills to be physically active for life.  The district has adopted curriculum standards and learner outcomes for physical education that include an emphasis on physical fitness and lifetime activities. 

Students receive instruction in the five health-related components of fitness: cardiovascular endurance, muscular endurance, muscular strength, flexibility, and body composition.  Body composition instruction includes proper diet and healthy eating habits.

School District Nutrition Guidelines

The School District of Prairie Farm encourages the sale or distribution of nutrient-dense foods for all school functions, fundraisers and other activities. Foods that provide a lot of nutrients relative to the number of calories are called nutrient dense. Examples include: lean meat, fish and poultry, eggs, legumes, dark green vegetables, citrus fruits, nonfat milk, fruits and a variety of vegetables. Schools and school groups are encouraged to follow nutrition guidelines set by the district when selling food and beverages on school grounds.

Food Items:

• Provide food options that are low in fat, calories and added sugars.
• All food items for sale prior to the start of the school day and throughout the school day will have no more than 30% of its total calories derived from fats.
• All food items for sale prior to the school day and throughout the school day will have no more than 10% of its total calories derived from saturated fat.
• It is recognized that on special occasions, the administration will allow a school group to deviate from the above guidelines.

Beverage Items:

• Sales of soda and artificially sweetened drinks will be prohibited during the school day. This includes energy drinks high in caffiene and with little or no nutritional value.
• Sales of soda and artificially sweetened drinks will be sold through concessions after school only.
• Vending machines with student access will not sell soda, juice less than 10%, and/or other artificially sweeten drinks.
• The vending sales of milk, water and beverages with more than 10% real juice may be sold throughout the instructional day.
• Students will not be allowed to carry in soda pop or other beverage items prohibited in this policy section.

Candy

• The vending of candy shall not be permitted.
• Non-vending candy may be sold after school, including at extra-curricular activities.
• Candy is defined as any item that contains sugar, (including brown sugar, com sweetener, corn syrup, fructose, glucose {dextrose}, high fructose corn syrup, honey, invert sugar, lactose, maltose, molasses, raw sugar, table sugar {sucrose}{syrup}) listed as one of the first two (2) ingredients.

Fundraising

• All fundraising projects must be approved by the administration.
• All fundraising projects are encouraged to meet District nutritional guidelines.
• Items being sold must not interfere or compete with the National School Lunch or Breakfast program. 

Classroom Incentives

• Teachers and administration are encouraged to consider non-food items as a teacher to student incentive.
• Should teachers decide to use food as an incentive, they are to use the District's Nutritional guidelines.