Schools
Nutrition and physical activity play a vital role in children's growth and development. More than 30 million children eat school lunches five days a week, 180 days a year, thus underscoring the importance of this setting. Proper nutrition and physical activity can prevent overweight/obesity, encourage strong bones and teeth and muscle development, and ensure that children grow to their full potential. There is also evidence that children who are phsyically active perform better academically.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
- Farm to School: Farm to School brings healthy food from local farms to school children nationwide. The program teaches students about the path from farm to fork, and instills healthy eating habits that can last a lifetime. At the same time, use of local produce in school meals and educational activities provides a new direct market for farmers in the area and mitigates environmental impacts of transporting food long distances.
- Edible Schoolyard:The mission of the Edible Schoolyard (ESY) is to create and sustain an organic garden and landscape that is wholly integrated into the school's curriculum, culture and food program. ESY involves students in all aspects of farming the garden and preparing, serving and eating food as a means of awakening their senses and encouraging awareness and appreciation of the transformative values of nourishment, community and stewardship of the land.
- New Jersey School Nutrition/Wellness Policy: This outlines the New Jersey Model School Nutrition Policy, which discusses providing students with healthy and nutritional foods; items that may not be served, sold or given out as free promotion anywhere on school property at any time before the end of the school day; and standards for snack and beverage items sold or served anywhere on school property during the school day.
- New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards for Comprehensive Health and Physical Education
- New Jersey Safe Routes to School Resource Center
- Action for Healthy Kids: Action for Healthy Kids addresses the epidemic of overweight, sedentary and undernourished youth by focusing on changes in schools to improve nutrition and increase physical activity.
- Healthy Youth: The webpage lists various resources, data, and evidence based practices in nutrition and physical activity for healthy schools.
- Game On! The Ultimate Wellness Challenge: Challenges children, their families and schools to incorporate healthy food and physical activity into daily life.
- Re-Charge! Energizing after School: In partnership with the National Football League, this afterschool program combines nutrition education and physical activity using team strategies for youth grades 3-6.
- Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease: Select New Jersey and a health topic and find out what programs have worked and which are promising for both children and adults.
- Test your Food Label Knowledge: A game for adolescents and adults that teaches how to read the food label.
- Team Nutrition: Resource Library: Provides a detailed listing of all the resources available to schools and child care facilities that participate in the Federal Child Nutrition programs through Team Nutrition.
- The Robert Wood Johnson Center to Prevent Childhood Obesity:
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Center to Prevent Childhood Obesity is a leading voice in the national movement to reverse the epidemic by 2015. The center is working to enable children of all races, ethnicities and geographic locations to eat healthy, be physically active and avoid obesity.
- The HealthierUS School Challenge (HUSSC) was established to recognize schools that are creating healthier school environments through their promotion of good nutrition and physical activity. Four levels of superior performance are awarded: Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Gold of Distinction.
- The Traffic Light Diet: Easy and fun approach to healthy eating and nutrition education using the traffic light diet.
- CATCH (Coordinated Approach to Child Health) Program: A research-based program brings schools, families and communities together to educate children about healthy lifestyles.
- CATCH Kids Club: Nutrition: CATCH Kids Club is an afterschool program for K-5th graders that teaches children nutrition knowledge, skills and self-reliance that empowers them to make healthy nutrition and activity choices.
- Eat Smart Play Hard Power Line: Provides lesson plans to health educators for school-aged children on nutrition and physical activity to use in school and in afterschool settings.
- CDC Obesity Prevention Guidelines
"Recommended Community Strategies and Measurements to Prevent Obesity in the United States." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. MMWR 2009; (Vol. 58 RR-7): 1-29.
"Recommended Community Strategies and Measurements to Prevent Obesity in the United States: Implementation and Measurement Guide."
- Nutrition Explorations: Materials and interactive games for educators, school nutrition professionals and parents to teach nutrition.
- Nourish Interactive: This site contains nutrition information and tools for promoting healthy lifestyles for kids, parents and educators.
- School Wellness Kit: Fuel Up to Play!
- School Nutrition Association: Bridges to Wellness Connecting School Meals and Classroom Learning: A set of interactive, nutrition education lessons for students in grades 5-10.
- Trailnet.org: Solutions for communities, school districts, policy makers, design professionals and more.
- Attention School Teachers: Apply for a Welch's Harvest Grain and win a school garden.
- Weight Management Resources for Youth: Numerous resources for parents and professionals on reducing childhood obesity can be found here.
Family Health Services
