Growing School and Community Connections for Healthier Food

1. Growing School and Community Connections for Healthier Food Gail Hoxie-Setterstrom, MA, RN,LSN ISD 192 Health Services Coordinator Co-Chair District Wellness Committee Member of Minnesota AFHK Steering Committee

2. Today’s Goal Discuss the use of Wellness Policies to foster access to healthier food. Suggest ways community organizations and agencies can become involved to create bigger change.

3. Farmington Schools Home of the TIGERS South Suburban District • 6773 students • 5 elementary schools • 2 middle schools • 1 high school • 16.1% qualify for free and reduced meals • 86.2% Caucasian

4. 2004 Child Nutrition WIC Reauthorization Act mandated that school districts develop and adopt a Local Wellness Policy. 2010 Reauthorization Act revision

5. 2004 to 2010 Comparison 2004 2010 Directs local educational agencies (LEAs) to have a LWP in place for each school under its jurisdiction. Goals for nutrition education, physical activity, and other school-based activities to promote student wellness, as well as nutrition guidelines for all foods available on school campus. Involve parents, students, and representatives of the school food authority, the school board, school administrators, and the public in the development of LWP. Strengthens LWPs and adds public participation, transparency, and implementation. Include goals for nutrition promotion. Add PE teachers and health staff

6. 2004 to 2010 Comparison 2004 2010 LEAs are required to inform and update the public (including parents, students, and others in the community) about the content and implementation of the LWP. No public notification. Develop a wellness policy. Involve stake holders in implementation and periodic review. Inform stakeholders and public about progress. Name specific individuals or groups responsible for implementation.

7. Our Nutrition Environment 6 years ago

8. Vending Machines

9. Hope on the Horizon!!!!! Dakota County Public Health(DCPH) approached ISD 192 6 years ago to partner and write a grant to Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) to promote healthy eating for staff and students. Added student wellness opportunities to the small staff wellness committee. Other school districts a part of the grant. $$ and technical assistance provided

10. Smart Choices in Dakota County Schools Community Connection # 1

11. Smart Choices Goals • Sustain healthy nutrition efforts through policy, systems, and environmental changes • Create a norm in schools and the community that leads to improved eating behaviors • Improve health of students and staff to reduce chronic disease and escalating health care costs caused by poor diets

12. State Health Improvement Plan State Health Improvement Funding (SHIP) also available to schools. More opportunities to reinforce what we had started and increase interventions.

13. Building a local network • Wellness Committee expansion • Building champions from each school • Food Service • Community Education • Human Resources • Teachers • Parents • Students • Administration • Community members

14. Stretching the Committee Focus Addition of student nutrition added to a staff focused committee Monthly meetings Grant requirements to increase access and consumption of fruits and vegetables Expectation to create change Assessments, action plans, reports and evaluations Accept technical assistance Committee evolution

15. Getting school staff to pay attention GIVE them FOOD!!! Taste testing of fruits and veggies at elementary schools Snack cart available daily at each elementary school Food Service sponsored student education. Emails, handouts, staff wellness boards Wellness Walk

16. Snack Cart at Akin Road Elementary

17. Wellness Walk • Year 1: Fruit and veggies sampling, healthy breakfast options for welcome back to school meeting. PRIZES! • Walk around the high school track/football field. • Year 5: • Healthy lunch, yoga, Zumba, stability ball demonstrations, ¼ mile walk, Health related booths for staff. • Highlight staff efforts to promote student health practices. • BETTER PRIZES and MORE of THEM!!! • Community Resources i.e. AFHK, Midwest Dairy Council. • Thinking beyond the school community.

18. Moving beyond food DCPH and BCBS expected results. What Policy, System or Environmental change did you make as a result of your intervention? In discussions about moving forward it became clear we needed to dust off the wellness policy and revise it to help create change. We needed a policy with clarity and power.

19. Development of an Effective Policy Action for Healthy Kids 2013

20. Policy revision Wellness committee commitment, technical assistance and support from Dakota County, BCBS Lengthy process involving countless meetings, revisions, discussions and more discussions, administrator presentation Adoption of best practice and nutrition environment assessment directed focus of change

21. Goal of Policy Revision Clarify responsibilities of administrators, food service and wellness committee Make policy and procedures specific Create a culture change where healthy eating is the norm Guide implementation and evaluation of wellness policy initiatives Create Policy, Systems and Environmental changes Demonstrate health promotes academic success

22. Policy, Systems and Environmental Changes All district buildings have a wellness champion All three secondary buildings have eliminated soda from the building. Sale of non-food items as part of school fundraising. IOM Nutrition Guidelines are followed for school meals, vending and snack shop and for before and after school snack offerings. Vending machine removed at Community Ed preschool site.

23. ….more PSE All elementary schools offer a healthy snack cart daily. Marketing at school is consistent with nutrition education and health promotion. Promotion of healthy foods, including fruits and vegetables, whole grains and low-fat dairy is encouraged. Nutritional needs of students will take precedence over profit generation.

24. Culture Shift Improving healthy options in vending, school store, and a la carte at the high school School Store Before ↓ School Store After ↓

25. 2010 Requirements Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids • Local Wellness Policy Changes proposed with goal to strengthen policies. • Work group studying this since 2011 and will have a ruling in early 2014. • Emphasis on implementation and evaluation, community involvement and transparency. • Local education agencies inform and update public (parents, students, community) on progress toward meeting goals of the wellness policy. • Assessment of policy implementation and how does it compare to a model policy? • http://teamnutrition.usda.gov/healthy/lwp5yrplan.pdf

26. Technical Assistance Increase the skill of districts to meet or exceed Federal requirements for wellness policies. Increase capacity of state educational agencies, associations, organizations, partners to provide technical assistance to districts such as training, grant writing and funding opportunities. Improve strength and quality of wellness polices to ultimately increase access to healthy food.

27. Getting Involved…. Call your local school district’s wellness committee chairperson. Find out what the school district is doing to improve their nutrition environments. Can you help somehow? Voice support to school board for strong wellness policies and healthier food access. Share information about your organization and brainstorm how you might become involved in the school wellness committee. Plan a community event incorporating the school district and wellness committee/programming. Prevention is multi- faceted and agencies and organizations have an opportunity to cooperate and collaborate to promote a similar message at school and in community settings, daycares, faith communities, organizations. Let’s work together to build a healthy school environment not only at school but in the community too.

28. Building Bridges and Raising Awareness Invite schools to participate in grant opportunities, offer technical support, encouragement. Offer to assist in evaluating districts compliance with wellness policy implementation. Use existing events to communicate wellness information, ideas and support. Involve food producers/supplier in our discussions. Voice your ideas to policy makers, school boards, community. Vocalize positive things that the school district is doing and encourage supporting schools efforts among community groups.

29. Relational Work • Use teachable moments or opportunities to discuss wellness plans with administrators, teachers, parents, parent and community groups. • Keep healthy eating and importance of physical activity in the conversation. • Spread the work out to build support for healthy eating practices. Build a stronger base of support. • Be creative! • Familiarize yourself with resources • AFHK, Midwest Dairy Council, USDA, etc….

30. Questions? gsetterstrom@farmington.k12.mn.us

31. Resources http://teamnutrition.usda.gov/healthy/lwp5yrplan.pdf Hoxie-Setterstrom & Hoglund, School Wellness Policies: Opportunities for Change, October, 2011. http://www.actionforhealthykids.org/resources/wellness-policy-tool