Schools Getting Nutritional Overhaul

Many state governments are taking a major step toward improving school eating environments by revising their school nutrition policies. 

"Limiting temptations is essential to make eating healthy easy for kids,” said Dr. Karen Cullen, a CNRC behavioral nutrition scientist who works with Houston-area schools.

Some new policies states are adopting include:

  • Limiting snack-bar, vending-machine, and school-stores snack food packages to specific sizes. For example, limiting regular chips to 1-ounce packages, baked chips to 1.5 ounces, cookies to 2 ounces, bakery items to 3 ounces and sweetened beverages to 12 ounces.
  • Setting limits for the amount of fat and added sugars per package of snack foods available in school.
  • Limiting serving sizes of French fries or other fried potato products to three ounces and availability to three times per week. Limiting student purchases to one serving at a time.
  • Requiring that low-fat milk, bottled water, and fruit and/or vegetables be made available where ever competitive foods* are sold.
  • Prohibiting a la cart, snack bar, and vending machine sales of individual foods in elementary schools.
  • Prohibiting the sale and service of competitive foods during meal periods.

“Improving the school eating environment to make it easier for kids to eat healthy sends a powerful message about the importance of good nutrition,” she said.

Additional Resources::

Team Nutrition – Healthy School Nutrition Environment(USDA)
http://www.fns.usda.gov/tn/Healthy/index.htm

CNRC Healthy Eating Poster Gallery for Schools
http://www.kidsnutrition.org

 


CNRC Home | BCM Public Site | BCM Intranet | Privacy Notices
© 2004 Baylor College of Medicine
USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center
1100 Bates Street, Houston, Texas 77030

Phone: (713) 798-7002 | Fax: (713) 798-7098
Houston, TX 77030

Contact Webmaster
Modified April 19, 2004

 


Contents

Mealtime Routine Key to Girls' Bone Health


Snack-Bar Temptations Derail Kids' Diets

Schools Getting Nutritional Overhaul

No hiding baby fat from PEA POD


CNRC Researchers Publish Stable Isotope “Bible”

My tummy hurts!” But what causes this childhood complaint?

Houston-area Volunteer Opportunities














April 2004
Vol 14   No 2