Healthy School Fundraising

You can make a difference in your local school! Use these tips to start a conversation with the principal about how healthy fundraising can be profitable and foster learning readiness. [“Healthy School Fundraising” PDF version]

Cite the Facts:

• Childhood obesity is an urgent public health threat. Since 1970, obesity rates have quadrupled in children (age 6-11) and tripled in teens (age 12-19), putting children at increased risk for heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, cancer, and diabetes. ^(i-ii)
• Despite high rates of childhood obesity, many schools sell sugar-sweetened drinks (like fruit drinks and sports drinks) and unhealthy snack foods (like chips and cookies) to students through vending machines, school stores, cafeteria à la carte lines, and fundraisers. ⁽ⁱⁱⁱ⁾ These junk foods and sugary drinks are available to students of all ages, especially middle and high school students.
• Schools have a big impact on children’s diets – children and teens consume 35 to 50 percent of their total daily calories at school. ^(iv-v)
• Research shows that students eat less of their lunch, consume more fat, take in fewer nutrients and may gain weight when schools sell unhealthy snack foods and beverages outside of meals. ^(vi)
• Schools and school districts across the country are finding that proceeds from selling healthy snacks and drinks and from non-food based fundraisers can fill funding gaps just as well as selling junk foods. ^(vii)

 

Share your Story:

• Talk to the principal at your local school about how unhealthy foods impact your family (if you’re a parent) or your classroom (if you’re an educator).
• Students buy and consume fewer unhealthy snack foods and drinks when there are school policies in place to prohibit or restrict the sale of these items in school. ^(viii)
• Selling low-nutrition foods in schools sends children the message that good nutrition is not important and conflicts with what children learn through nutrition education. In reality, what students eat and drink is critical to their long-term health and well-being.
• Raising money for school programs by selling junk foods and sugary drinks undermines the efforts of schools across the country to offer healthier school meals.
• It is shortsighted to supplement school budgets at the expense of our children’s health. In the long run, we are sure to spend more on diet-related health-care costs than we can raise by selling sugary beverages and junk foods in schools.
• Many assume that schools will lose money if they replace junk foods and sugary drinks with healthier foods and beverages. Research and case studies from schools across the country show that this is not the case. ^(vii)

 

Suggest Sample Policy Language:

To ensure all foods and drinks sold in school are healthy, consider developing a policy to set standards for what types of foods can be sold before, during, and after the school day. Sample language for district, school, and classroom-level policies for fundraising are below: ^(ix)

Sample District Policy

Western County Public Schools will not allow the sale of food items for fundraising unless they meet specific nutritional criteria defined by the District. A list of approved food and non-food fundraising items will be generated and distributed to the district principals.

 

Sample School Policy

Western Elementary school will not allow the sale of any food items for fundraising during normal school day hours on school property. A list of approved non-food fundraising items will be generated and distributed to administrators, teachers, staff, and parents.

 

Sample Classroom Policy

Ms. West will not allow her students to sell food items of any kind for fundraising purposes in the classroom during normal class hours.