Whole School Approach Food $ense Approaches to improve student health and performance as part of a Policy, Systems, and Environmental Approach to Wellness

Empower students to make better food choices. Strive to improve academic performance through increased physical activity and better food choices. Increase consumption of fruits, vegetables and whole grains among students, staff and families. Build relationships with students, teachers, staff and parents to foster healthy eating habits. Support improvement plan and classroom curriculum with nutrition education. Whole School Goals

Nutrition in the… Cafeteria Increased consumption of plain over chocolate milk Classroom Fiber Relay Race Garden Measuring plants

Nutrition and … Athletics Healthy bag lunches for games away from Shelton & Chocolate Milk following home games Sponsored by Shelton Climbers Touchdown Club Nutrition Educators offered samples of pasta salad, recipes, and educational displays at Community Pride Night

Nutrition and … Healthy Concessions Food $ense can offer resources for Healthy Concessions to provide families with healthy options to choose from when eating at concession stands. A survey conducted last spring at SHS during a Weight Lifting meet showed that customers would prefer more healthy choices.

More strategies to use as part of the Whole School Approach Farm-to-School Behavioral Economics/Smarter Lunchroom School Wellness Policy

Farm to School/SNAP-Ed* F$ Bulletin Boards F2S school wide taste tests info F2S Harvest of the Month flyers F$ Classroom/School Announcements Link current F2S and F$ topics F2S Harvest of the Month messages F$ materials use in F2S Activities Fruit/Veggie skits in F2S garden clubs * Examples from Walla Walla

In Whatcom County, Food $ense partners with Whatcom Farm-2-School to promote the Harvest of the Month.

What is Smarter Lunchroom Design? 1.Environment affects our choices 2.Food decisions are automatic 3.Cornell University 4.Food psychology

Smarter Lunchroom Activities Data 1.Waste study 2.Production records 3.Taste tests 4.School wide attitude survey Student work 1.Chef for a day 2.Photograph posters 3.Videos 4.PowerPoint Focus groups 1.Student perceptions 2.Naming salads 3.Chef for a day

Behavioral Economics Key Concept: Nudge An environmental cue or structure that influences people to behave in a certain way.* *Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth and Happiness. Neork; Knopf

……nudges can be implemented anywhere in the environment and anytime during the day or week. Take every opportunity to nudge.

F$ Classrooms Identify favorite foods of teachers/staff Display student art emphasizing healthy foods Cafeteria/Food Service Participation Give healthy foods FUN names Feature/create brand loyalty for local foods Put chocolate milk behind plain milk More Nudges* *Examples from Walla Walla

Resources are in your packet. Interested community members who would like to sit on the wellness policy advisory committee include: Sarah Fulkerson, Registered Dietician, MGH Kim Goldsby, Girls Fastpitch Coach, SHS Jeanne Rehwaldt, Food $ense Supervisor

Federal legislation stipulates that wellness policy address the following areas: Goals for nutrition education, physical activity, and other school-based activities Nutrition guidelines Guidelines for reimbursable school meals A plan for measuring implementation of the policy Stakeholder involvement (parents, students, representatives of the school food authority, the school board)

What’s Next? Mapping Our Way Forward Which of these ideas might work for Shelton School District? Schools can use different strategies What are your questions?

R. Jeanne Rehwaldt Food $ense Nutrition & Master Gardener Programs Ext. 688