Monday, July 20, 2015

NEW SCHOOL BOARD POLICY ON FOOD, RECESS CONSIDERED TONIGHT

The Board of Education tonight will consider a revised Wellness Policy that appears to provide more specific restrictions on items to be sold in schools and promotes recess as a way to improve physical activity.

The policy provides new guidelines stating that recess should take place before lunch whenever possible, withholding recess should not be a form of punishment, teachers should not keep children out of recess to complete academic work, and should promote physical activity during recess.

The new food policy says, in part:


Any food sold in schools must:

     Be a “whole grain-rich” grain product; or
 
     Have as the first ingredient a fruit, a vegetable, a dairy product, or a protein food; or  

     Be a combination food that contains at least ¼ cup of fruit and/or vegetable; or
 
   Contain 10% of the Daily Value (DV) of one of the nutrients of public health concern in the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (calcium, potassium, vitamin D, or dietary fiber).
 
   Meet the minimum nutrient requirements stated in the New Jersey State Department of Agriculture guidelines.
 
Nutrition Standards for Beverages:
  
All schools may sell:  

  All beverages offered for sale do not exceed 12 ounces, except water.  

  In elementary schools only water, milk (non-fat or unflavored 1%) and 100% fruit or vegetable juice is offered for sale.

  In middle and high schools, at least 60% of all beverages, other than water and milk (non-fat or unflavored 1%) must be 100 % fruit or vegetable juice.  

   In middle schools and high schools the 40% “other” beverages that are offered meet the standards set forth in the adopted nutrition policy.
   Elementary schools may sell up to 8-ounce portions, while middle schools and high schools may sell up to 12-ounce portions of milk and juice. There is no portion size limit for plain water

The entire agenda and a link to the full policy is HERE.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Is flavored calorie-free water (ex. Fruit2O) considered plain water?