Food for Thought – by Lydia!
February 22, 2012 by KathyG · Leave a Comment
So it’s been a slow week, but I’ve had NuVal on the brain, and I’ve also been paging through a lot of fashion magazines. What does this result in? Lots of weird doodles of foods as fashion models. Here are some of my favorites (with their NuVal scores)!
Besides this, we’ve been chugging away at school. Quite a few people have remarked lately that they’d use NuVal more if it was available in the lunch line, so that’s food for thought. (haha get it? FOOD for thought? 
Yours,
Lydia
The Vital Role of School Wellness Policies
Have you read your school’s Wellness Policy? While most schools are required to have a policy in place, some have policies that need to be updated while others simply need to enforce their policies to reflect our changing times. With the rising childhood obesity epidemic, many school officials and parents are asking some tough questions in regards to policies, like, ”does my school have the best policies in place to ensure a healthy environment for students to learn and grow?” We’ve put together a few questions to ask at your next school conference, school board meeting, or PTO meeting.
School Wellness Policy Questions:
- Does your school provide a copy of its Wellness Policy to parents?
- Where can I find the Wellness Policy?
- When was the last time the Wellness Policy was reviewed and/or updated?
- Does the Wellness Policy address vending machines in the school?
- Does the Wellness Policy address healthy fundraising for the school?
- Does the Wellness Policy address classroom celebrations?
- Does the Wellness Policy address rewards? Does it limit the use of food or beverages as a form of reward?
- Does the Wellness Policy address physical education and recess time? How much time is allowed each day, each week for these activities?
- Do all kids have access to water at lunch or throughout the day? Are personal water bottles permitted in the classroom? In the lunchroom?
While all these topics may not be covered in every school’s Wellness Policy, these are great topics for discussion with your child’s school leaders, classroom teacher and school’s PTO/PTA.
Here’s an example of a typical School Wellness Policy:
Rewards. All school sites within the district will limit the use of foods or beverages as rewards for academic performance or good behavior (unless this practice is allowed by a student’s individual education plan or behavior intervention plan), and will not withhold food and beverages (including food served through school meals) as a punishment. Rewards and incentives will be used that do not undermine the health of students and/or reinforce unhealthful eating habits. Non-food rewards and incentives will be used as the first choice to encourage positive behavior.
Celebrations. Schools should limit celebrations that involve food during the school day. Classroom celebrations, should encourage healthy choices and portion control.
Fundraising. Fundraisers that involve the sale of food must be approved by the building administrator. To support student health and school nutrition-education efforts, schools will encourage fundraising that promotes the sale of non-food and nutritious food items. Schools will encourage fundraising activities that promote physical and or academic activity.
What are your thoughts on School Wellness Policies? We’d love to hear from you.
Minnesota Bike Summit on Capitol Hill!
February 17, 2012 by KathyG · Leave a Comment
Are you a bike advocate? Do you enjoy biking on MN trails, encourage your children to bike to and from school, or want safer accessibility for all bicyclists and pedestrians on MN roadways?
The second annual Minnesota Bike Summit on Capitol Hill on March 5th, 2012 wants to bring together advocates to educate our legislative leaders about BikeMN’s 2012 Legislative Agenda. The Minnesota Bike Summit is an event sponsored by BikeMN (Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota) – an organization committed to providing leadership and a unified voice for bicycle education, advocacy and efforts to make Minnesota more bicycle friendly so that more people will ride bicycles more often.
Advocating to…
Fund a State Safe Routes to School Grant Program. Increase the opportunity for children to be physically active before, during and after the school day. Support state bonding initiative to fund State Safe Routes to School program
Authorize the Mississippi River Trail (MRT) State Bikeway. To plan the route and work with other state and local units of government on the implementation of Minnesota’s first state bikeway. From Itasca State Park to the Iowa border this state bikeway will impact the health of individuals, communities, the environment and the economy.
Register today to attend the second annual Minnesota Bike Summit on Capitol Hill!
Help make history with the authorization of Minnesota’s first State Bikeway and by becoming the first state to support Safe Routes to School with state funds. Share with friends!
For more information, visit BikeMN. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and subscribe to our newsletter to stay informed of legislative updates as they pertain to BLEND initiatives.
Teacher Approved – by Lydia!
February 15, 2012 by KathyG · Leave a Comment
I was talking to my teacher Mr. Oistad and he said he wanted to give me a quote. The quote is “I like NuVal.” So there you go! Teachers like NuVal too! In fact, I feel like a lot of teachers have been talking to me about my NuVal blog lately, so I decided to ask a few how they felt about NuVal.
Mr. Brady, another one of my teachers said, “I do realize that when I eat my clementine it’s a 100 so it’s healthy and when I eat my two apples a day – they’re a 96 – that that’s healthy too.” As he was telling me this he was selecting a donut, and he said “Oh that’s too big” then picked a smaller one!
Mrs. Fredrickson, a social sciences teacher and my Student Council advisor said. “I love it actually because it is making me say ‘Yeah if I’m going to eat that and spend the money, I’m going to eat something that actually has some value for my body.’ Especially grocery shopping. It has changed my choices.”
“I was very impressed that the NuVal scores were in the staff vending machine. Because of that I chose Doritos over Cheetos.” Mrs. Benson, an English teacher said. (See?? The Doritos being a 23 is a big deal!!!)
R.K. Anderson, also an English teacher told me, “I wish we had a NuVal score for more things.” Which is actually a pretty common statement. Many people I talk to say they want NuVal in our lunch lines.
So there you have it! Teachers are aware of NuVal too and they generally have fairly positive things to say about it!
Yours,
Lydia
P.S. Since we’re talking about teachers, maybe you want to take this surprising NuVal quiz! Play Nutrition by the Numbers game and see how you score!
Heart on the Hill
How do we as a community bring about positive change? When the goal is healthier communities, then honest and timely conversation between concerned citizens, health professionals and law makers is essential. That’s why the BLEND team will be attending the Heart on the Hill event on March 7, to advocate for public policies that will help improve the health of all Americans.
Heart on the Hill is an event sponsored by the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association committed to addressing Minnesota Public Policies that include preventing and reducing childhood obesity.
Prevent and Reduce Childhood Obesity
- Improve the availability of healthy foods in Minnesota’s schools and reduce availability of unhealthy foods. Lay groundwork for stricter standards for competitive foods.
- Increase the opportunity for children to be physically active before, during and after the school day. Support state bonding initiative to fund State Safe Routes to School program.
At the Heart on the Hill event, BLEND will have a chance to visit with legislators and encourage their support of a $3 million initiative for the state Safe Routes to School program. Minnesota’s Safe Routes to School program, administered by Mn/DOT, provides grants to school districts and local units of government totaling about $1.5 million/year. The program is funded as part of the federal transportation allocation to Minnesota. The Safe Routes to School program seeks to increase physical activity among school children and decrease transportation costs.
BLEND encourages school districts, cities, counties and other supporters of Safe Routes to School to pass a Resolution of Support. Please print and sign the Resolution of Support document today and send back to us!
For more information, visit Heart on the Hill. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and subscribe to our newsletter to stay informed of legislative updates as they pertain to BLEND initiatives.
