The claim that breakfast is the most important meal of the day has an abundance of sound science behind it. A brief compiled by the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) outlines the correlation between breakfast and school performance among …
An Introduction to: Team Nutrition
Vision
In 1995, the School Meals Initiative for Healthy Children regulations updated nutrition standards to ensure that school meals were consistent with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The USDA recognized that schools needed help putting these rules into action. School …
An Introduction to Share Our Strength
Background
Share Our Strength began in the basement of a row house on Capitol Hill in 1984, in response to the ‘84-‘85 famine in Ethiopia. Moved by the famine, siblings Billy and Debbie Shore founded Share Our Strength to help …
Gourmet School Lunches with Chefs Move to Schools
First Lady Michelle Obama is calling on chefs to join the fight against childhood obesity by adopting a school and working with teachers, parents, school nutrition professionals, and administrators to show students that healthy eating can be fun. The Chefs …
Food Service in Schools: How it Works
The average school lunch price for elementary students is $1.93 and $2.20 for a high school meal1. This is a very small price to pay if you consider everything it must cover. It is a common misconception that …
School Gardens Promote Healthier Eating and Better Learning
Hands-on learning provides students with the know how to apply their lessons to real-life situations. Nutrition education may be a component of your school’s wellness policy, but have you considered a hands-on approach? School gardens have been shown to increase …
From Plant to Plate: Benefits of Farm to School Programs
Goals
There are many farm-to-school programs, at the national, state, and regional level. The overarching objectives of these programs are uniform; to incorporate fresh, local produce into school meal programs. The basic principles of farm-to-school programs are:
- Improve student health
The Special Milk Program: An Introduction
Background
The Special Milk Program (SMP) was established in 1955 to increase the milk consumption by children in schools and childcare institutions that do not participate in other Federal meal service programs. In 1966, the Special Milk Program was incorporated …
An Introduction to the Child and Adult Care Food Program
The Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) is a federal assistance program provided by the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service. The program provides states with grants for daily-subsidized food service to low-income participants. The program was created in 1986 …
The School Day Just Got Healthier! A USDA Initiative
According to Bill Ayres, Co-Founder and Executive Director of WhyHunger, “Many children eat half their calories at school lunch and breakfast — improving school meals is the best opportunity we have to reverse the steady march towards obesity and …