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TRACKING THE ISSUES...
School Nutrition
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| New state and federal laws
regarding nutrition have been enacted. So, can you still make those
cupcakes for your child's in-school birthday party?
CLICK HERE to
learn about "The Cupcake Dilemma". |
HELPFUL LINKS...
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To combat the childhood obesity epidemic, schools
must make changes by providing to students only healthy foods and
beverages and by increasing students' physical activity. PTA's can be
instrumental in encouraging the same at home.
TO ASSIST YOU IN THIS ENDEAVOR, WE SHALL CONTINUE TO
PROVIDE INFORMATION TO YOU ON A CONTINUING BASIS.
Peg Perillie,
Connecticut PTA Health & Welfare Commissioner |
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March, 2006
Kids' Weight: Time to See the Light
Parents, Doctors Need to Break the Silence on Weight
Issues, Experts Say
Parents often don't recognize that their children are
overweight or aren't concerned about those extra pounds, a new study shows.
The study, published in Pediatrics, included 223 children.
Nearly 40% of the kids were overweight or at risk of becoming overweight.
"Few parents of overweight and at-risk-of-overweight children
recognized their child as overweight or were worried," write Kathryn Eckstein,
MD, and colleagues, noting that past studies have had similar results.
Eckstein's team wants that pattern to change, since
recognizing a weight issue is the first step toward treatment. So they came up
with several ways parents can take control of the touchy topic of kids' weight.
To read the rest of this story, visit WebMD:
www.webmd.com/content/Article/119/113451.htm 
January, 2006
Action Guide for School Nutrition and Physical Activity
Policies
The State Department of Education recently published the
Action Guide for School Nutrition and Physical Activity Policies. This Action
Guide provides comprehensive guidance for school districts on developing and
implementing local policies to promote healthy eating and physical activity. It
was reviewed by an outside committee representing 21 health and education
organizations in Connecticut and was adopted by the State Board of Education on
January 11, 2006.
The Action Guide will help school districts meet recommended
state and national guidelines and the requirements of U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA) Public Law 108-265. This legislation requires that school
districts participating in USDA's Child Nutrition Programs must develop a School
Wellness Policy by the start of the 2006-2007 school year (http://teamnutrition.usda.gov/Healthy/wellnesspolicy.html).
The Action Guide for School Nutrition and Physical Activity
Policies is intended to guide local school districts in establishing and
implementing policies and practices that: promote students’ improved nutrition
and increased physical activity; encourage families to support and participate
in programs and initiatives that are intended to improve their children’s
health; and encourage schools to collaborate with community organizations to
provide consistent health messages and to support school-based activities that
promote healthy eating and physical activity. The Action Guide translates
research-based policy development concepts and models into real-life strategies
that work at the local level, based on the experience of 10 Connecticut pilot
school districts.
We initially received just enough copies of the Action Guide
from the printer to hand out to the attendees of the February 1 School Wellness
Summit. The balance of the printing order is now complete and we are in the
process of getting the Action Guide mailed out to schools (hopefully within the
next two weeks). Mailing groups include Curriculum Directors, Family and
Consumer Sciences Teachers, Health and Physical Education Coordinators, Health
Educators, Physical Education Teachers, Principals, PTA/PTO presidents, School
Board Chairs, School Food Service Directors, School Medical Advisors, School
Nurse Supervisors, School-Based Health Center Directors, Special Education
Directors, Superintendents and Local Directors of Health. The Action Guide has
also been distributed to state organizations and associations (e.g., Action for
Healthy Kids, School Nutrition Association, American Heart Association, etc.)
In the meantime, the Action Guide for School Nutrition and
Physical Activity Policies is now online at
www.state.ct.us/sde/deps/Student/NutritionEd/index.htm. You can download the
entire document (276 pages) or download each individual section. Additional hard
copies can be obtained by emailing me with your request and address.
If you need any additional information, please contact me!
Susan S. Fiore, MS, RD, Nutrition Education Coordinator
Connecticut State Department of Education
Bureau of Health and Nutrition Services and Child/Family/School Partnerships
25 Industrial Park Road
Middletown, CT 06457
Phone (860) 807-2075
Fax (860) 807-2127
October, 2005
Team Nutrition Grant (TN 2004)
The Connecticut State Department of Education was selected to
receive funding for a USDA Team Nutrition grant for the period of September 30,
2004 through September 30, 2006 (CLICK
HERE to see an Overview of TN 2004)
The goal of Connecticut's 2004 Team Nutrition grant is to
provide a technical assistance support system to enable child nutrition
foodservice professionals in schools and child care programs to plan, prepare
and serve nutritious meals that appeal to children. An overview of the grant is
enclosed.
The grant includes two strategies to help school foodservice
personnel in public schools plan and prepare healthy meals for children:
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A 12-hour course, Creating
Your Own Produce Bazaar: Focus on Fruits and Vegetables in School Nutrition
Programs, focusing on providing foodservice personnel with the knowledge,
skills and resources needed to (1) prepare and serve a variety of quality
fruits and vegetables, (2) integrate cafeteria and classroom (nutrition
education), and (3) promote fruit and vegetable consumption to students. The
course is planned to start in spring 2005. More information will be sent at a
later date.
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Local level hands-on technical
assistance to help school districts with local efforts to prepare, serve and
promote quality school meals, with a focus on increasing fruits and
vegetables. Technical assistance will begin in late fall 2004.
CLICK HERE for
information regarding the procedures for applying to (1) receive technical
assistance, or (2) become a member of the Team Nutrition consulting team.
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CLICK HERE
for the document "School TA Flyer and Application TN 2004" contains
information on Creating Your Own Produce Bazaar: Focus on Fruits and
Vegetables in School Nutrition Programs - an exciting new program to help
schools bring more fruits and vegetables to children. The application
deadline is October 29, 2004.
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CLICK HERE
for the file "Consultant Flyer and Application TN 2004" provides a summary of
the requirements for becoming a Team Nutrition consultant and includes the
application form for consultants (School Foodservice Consultant Application
Form). Connecticut's Team Nutrition is seeking individuals with school
foodservice and nutrition education expertise, who are interested in becoming
a member of the Team Nutrition school consulting team. The application
deadline is October 29, 2004.
This information will also be available on the Child Nutrition
website within a few days:
www.state.ct.us/sde/deps/nutrition/SchoolNutrIndex.htm
For more information, contact:
Susan S. Fiore, MS, RD, Nutrition Education Coordinator
Bureau of Health and Nutrition Services and Child/Family/School Partnerships
Connecticut State Department of Education
25 Industrial Park Road
Middletown, CT 06457
Phone (860) 807-2075
Fax (860) 807-2127
June 14, 2005
Governor Jodi Rell has vetoed the Nutrition Bill.
Since it didn't win in the house by a large enough majority,
an override to the veto is unlikely.
We will see this legislation in some form again, but if you
are unhappy with the outcome, by all means contact the governor's office and let
her know!
The number for the Governor's office is 860-566-4840 or
1-800-406-1527, or you can email her at
Governor.Rell@po.state.ct.us
June 9, 2005
The bill was transmitted to the Governor’s office this
morning!
Last heard, it seemed that she and her staff have not made up
their minds. We do know they have been getting a lot of calls from BOE members &
Supts. who want her to veto the bill.
If you know a BOE member/Supt., can you ask them to please
call the Governor, identify themselves as a BOE member/Supt. and ask her to sign
Bill 1309.
This is a health matter not a local control matter!
Peg Perillie, CT PTA Commissioner for Health and Welfare
June 8, 2005
Peg Perillie (CT PTA Commissioner for Health and Welfare) and
Marne Usher (CT PTA VP Legislation) were asked to attend a press conference in
Hartford today about the nutrition bill. The points that Peg and Marne made were
that this is a health issue rather than a local control issue and that parents
want the choices they make at home for their children supported by the schools.
One of the items that came out at that conference was an
article from the NY Times (see below) about a nutrition policy in New Jersey
that came directly from the governor.
NY Times, June 7, 2005
School Policy in New Jersey to Take Junk Off Lunch Tray
By JOHN HOLLSOUTH ORANGE, N.J., June 6 - New Jersey
students will soon say goodbye to soda and other lunchtime junk foods under
a new school nutrition policy announced Monday by Acting Gov. Richard J.
Codey.
The policy, which will take effect on Sept. 1, 2007, will
apply to all public schools and private schools that provide federally
financed meals and cover students from pre-kindergarten to high school. New
Jersey is the latest of a handful of states to limit or ban foods considered
minimally nutritious.
Mr. Codey made the announcement at South Orange Middle
School, one of several schools in the state that already prohibit junk
foods. He noted that of New Jersey's 1.4 million students, roughly 20
percent were obese and that another 18 percent were overweight and faced
added risks for diabetes, heart disease and even depression. The new rules,
he said, will "give our children a head start on a longer, healthier and
more enjoyable life."
The Codey administration is putting the new rules into
effect by revising the state's school nutrition guidelines and thus avoids
the need for legislative approval. In Connecticut, the Legislature recently
approved its own junk food ban, but exempted diet sodas and sports drinks in
high schools after hours. The legislation now goes to Gov. M. Jodi Rell.
Under the New Jersey plan, soda, candy and foods listing
sugar as the first or principal ingredient will be banned from school
cafeterias. Snacks and drinks with more than eight grams of total fat per
serving and two grams of saturated fat will be banned, and cafeterias will
have to restrict amounts of foods with trans fats.
The only beverages that can be served in amounts of 12
ounces or more will be water or milk with 2 percent fat or less.
In lesser amounts, elementary schools will be restricted
to water, milk or 100 percent fruit or vegetable juice. In middle and high
schools, at least 60 percent of the beverages offered, in addition to milk
and water, must be 100 percent fruit or vegetable juice. Soda will still be
prohibited, but sports drinks and bottled iced teas will be available.
The policy applies to all vending machines, school stores
and snack bars, à la carte lines, fund-raisers during the school day, and
after-school programs. There are exceptions for special events, like a
classroom pizza party.
School districts must agree on a nutrition plan by Sept.
1, 2006, and put it into effect by Sept. 1, 2007. Schools that do not adopt
the nutrition guidelines face the loss of state and federal financing, said
Kathy F. Kuser, director of food and nutrition for the New Jersey Department
of Agriculture.
Joy Johanson, senior policy associate at the nonprofit
Center for Science in the Public Interest in Washington, D.C., said that New
Jersey was taking a significant step toward promoting nutrition.
"We hope that other states will follow suit," she said.
But not everyone is happy with the changes.
"I think it's whack," Malcolm Jones, 13, an eighth grader
at South Orange Middle School, said while munching on a baked chicken patty
sandwich. A carrot stick sat untouched on his plate. "They took away French
fries, pizza, all the good stuff. A lot of students aren't happy."
In the middle school's cafeteria, many vegetables, like
corn on the cob and celery sticks, were discarded in trash bins.
Robert Earl, senior director of nutrition policy for the
Food Products Association in Washington, D.C., said there were flaws with
the plan because it excluded many foods that children want and need as part
of a whole diet.
"Things like cheeses, nuts, peanut butter, flavored milks
and normal foods that are part of a healthful diet could be excluded," Mr.
Earl said. "It seems like the better objective is perhaps having a lot of
variety instead of restrictions."
Education officials also expressed reservations with the plan, among them
the potential loss of revenue that soda vending machines can bring to school
districts.
"There are some that really rely on that extra income,"
said Frank Belluscio, a spokesman with the New Jersey School Boards
Association.
But over all, Mr. Belluscio said, the plan could help in
the classroom. He said teachers had reported that students were less likely
to misbehave and more likely to pay attention in class after having a
nutritious meal.
State officials said schools probably would not suffer
economically because soft drink companies would be able to replace their
carbonated sodas with their own bottled water and fruit juices.
Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
During a
press conference of The CT Academy of Pediatrics and The CT State Dental
Association, the Governor was urged to sign the Bill. Please read the
following letter by Dr.
Barry Boyd's to the Governor:
Dear Governor Rell,I am a
medical oncologist, affiliate member of the Yale Cancer Center and a board
member of Environment and Human Health, Inc (EHHI). As you may be aware,
EHHI completed a comprehensive assessment of school nutrition and physical
education throughout the Connecticut school system, finding major problems
that promote the risk of adolescent obesity. A major motivation for this
study was my own work on obesity and cancer, a problem only recently coming
to light from major epidemiologic studies. I have been particularly
concerned between the links between adolescent and young adult weight gain
and the risk and mortality of later adult cancers, particularly
post-menopausal breast cancer. These ARE NOT THEORETICAL RISKS but well
defined now in the cancer epidemiology literature. I understand that you are
reluctant to sign this bill. I believe it would be truly ironic for you to
veto this crucial, historic bill, a major step in limiting childhood
obesity, a clear risk factor in adolescent and adult obesity. I strongly
urge you to place public health above party politics.
D. Barry Boyd, M.D. |
April 2005
Please be advised that "An Act Concerning School Nutrition"
has passed the CT Senate and is on its way to the house.
The following information about the major points of the bill
was taken from:
www.endhungerct.org
Bill 1309
An Act Concerning School Nutrition
- Requires a minimum of 20 minutes a day for a student to
engage in physical exercise in addition to any physical exercise requirements.
- Requires the establishment of School Wellness Committees
to monitor and implement nutrition and physical activity policies” required by
the USDA.
- Limits the types of beverages available to students.
- Requires the Department of Education to develop and make
available to school districts a list of healthy snacks that may be consumed by
students
- Increases the number of children participating in the
school breakfast program.
- Encourages the use of Connecticut grown products in school
meals.
It should be noted as the bill currently lists healthy foods
allowable for snacks that the department of education will be expected to
create. This will apply to all snacks brought in to school including school
stores and fundraising activities.
While many schools already outlaw candy sales during school
hours this could become a statewide requirement.
May, 2004
On May 5, 2004, the School Nutrition Bill passed in the House.
The law goes into effect July 1, 2004 and requires that:
- Schools offer all full day students a daily lunch period of
not less than 20 minutes.
- A period of physical exercise be included for all students
in grades K-5 (does not specify a minimum amount of time).
- Schools make nutritious low-fat drinks available when other
drinks are available for purchase, including but not limited to low-fat milk,
100% juice and water.
- Schools make available nutritious low-fat foods at all
times when food is available for purchase by students during the school day,
including but not limited to low-fat dairy products and fresh or dried fruit.
TRACK THE BILL... CLICK HERE
January, 2004
CALL TO ACTION
National School Lunch Act Amendment
CT PTA urges you to contact your U.S. Representative and two Senators to
cosponsor amendment S.1392/H.R.2987.
CT PTA is in support of these two bills. Grassroots
support is vitally important in influencing Congress and we need members to lend
their voice. Below is some background, and links to a model letter which you can
use to contact your representatives.
A bill to amend the Richard B. Russell National School
Lunch Act to improve the nutrition of students served under child nutrition
programs
Introduced by Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa, ranking member on
the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, and Representative
Lynn Woolsey of California, ranking member on the House Education and the
Workforce Subcommittee on Education Reform, this legislation would reduce the
presence of low-nutrition foods in schools. The bills would require the
Secretary of the Agriculture to work with the National Academies' Institute of
Medicine to develop regulations regarding the nutritional quality of foods sold
out of vending machines, a la carte lines, fund-raisers, and other venues
throughout the campus, throughout the school day. You can find the bills using
the following links:
While childhood obesity is skyrocketing, many of our nation's
schools raise funds by selling soda and other low-nutrition foods to children.
While there are strong nutrition standards for foods served as part of the
National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs, foods sold out of vending
machines, a la carte lines, and fundraisers do not have to meet those standards.
For more information regarding the availability and impact of
competitive foods on children's diets and health, view the following document:
http://www.cspinet.org/nutritionpolicy/Competitivefoods_Hill2.pdf
You can help by:
 | Calling your Representative and two Senators in support of
the bills. Calls are the quickest, easiest and most effective way to act. You
can get their phone numbers from the US Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121.
Once you reach the Reps office, ask for Legislative Assistant who handles
school lunch and other child nutrition programs. The conversation (or voice
mail) can be as simple as saying who you are, where you are from (that you are
a constituent) and that you urge the Member to support bill S1392/HR2987 to
get junk food out of schools and improve children's diets and health. |
| Alternatively, you can send a letter to your member of
Congress and two Senators. An easy way to email a letter is from
http://actionnetwork.org/campaign/HarkinWoolsey |
| In addition, share this information with friends, family
members, and colleagues. One letter is great, but the more people Congress
hears from the better. (If you are constrained in your ability to contact
Congress directly, it is especially important to find others who can act in
your place.) |
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