Speak Out: Every Child Deserves to be Healthy
Here at NEA HIN, we believe that every child deserves to be healthy – don’t you? It is something that everyone can agree on. And schools are a great place to teach children healthy habits since they are there to learn and grow.
Did you know that childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years? In fact, more than one third of children and adolescents were overweight or obese in 2012 according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
What can be done? Studies show that physical activity not only aids in weight-management, it also supports academic achievement, and well-nourished kids learn better.
Launched by Action for Healthy Kids in 2013, Every Kid Healthy Week™ highlights the need to support our kids through healthy endeavors. Every year, schools, students, parents, and community members come together to recognize their school’s wellness achievements through fun and interactive health-promoting events. More than 1,000 schools are participating from April 19-25, 2015!
Our friends at Action for Healthy Kids have some great tips for healthy events at schools:
- Host a family fitness night
- Organize a health and wellness fair
- Refurbish your playground or cafeteria
- Gather the community for a fun run
- Plant a school garden
- Ask a local yoga or Zumba instructor to teach a class at school
- Serve fruits, veggies, and whole grains at a taste test
You can find more resources and tips on the Action for Healthy Kids website. Speak out and do your part to help make sure every kid is healthy!
Is Your School District Ready for Community Eligibility?
Students poised for academic success need to fuel their minds and bodies with nutritious meals every day – not just on test days. The Community Eligibility Provision, created by the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010 and now available nationwide, enables high-poverty schools to offer all of their students a free and nutritious breakfast and lunch each school day. Now is the time to see if your school district could benefit from this remarkable opportunity in the 2015-2016 school year.
Thousands of schools – more than 14,000 – and more than 6.5 million students are seeing the educational and health benefits of community eligibility. Offering free breakfast and lunch to the entire student body transforms the school culture, allowing students to enjoy school meals without feeling stigmatized. Schools that implement community eligibility see participation in both breakfast and lunch increase, which means that more children have the energy they need to learn throughout the day.
Community eligibility also benefits schools by reducing administrative burdens. School meal applications are not collected, which reduces administrative costs and frees up staff time. Additionally, increased meal participation allows schools to take advantage of economies of scale, resulting in lower cost per meal. Offering meals for free to all students also means that schools don’t have to try to collect unpaid fees or cover the cost of meals when families struggle to pay.
To take advantage of this incredible opportunity, keep these dates in mind:
- Today: Start a conversation about whether or not community eligibility is the right choice for your school or school district. For more information on the provision, check out the Food Research and Action Center’s Community Eligibility Resource page. Find out which schools and districts in your state have implemented community eligibility or were eligible for the 2014-2015 school year using the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities’ Community Eligibility Database. Use this model PowerPoint presentation to inform others.
- May 1, 2015: Each state agency will publish a list of schools and school districts that qualify for community eligibility. Review the list to see which local schools qualify.
- August 31, 2015: To implement the provision for school year 2015-2016, make sure your school district submits an application no later than August 31, 2015.
Book ’em: What We’re Reading
If you haven’t already read R.J. Palacio’s beautiful, moving and sometimes heartbreaking book, Wonder, run — don’t walk — to your library or favorite bookstore and pick it up. While it’s worth the read regardless, it has such potential as a vehicle for talking about and teaching all sorts of social-emotional learning concepts, like kindness, compassion, character development and bullying. It could also be used to discuss school climate in general. Wonder would be great as part of staff development, a PTA Book Club or using with students.
So curl up with a cup of tea and, OK, perhaps a box of tissues — or download it in audiobook form and listen to it on your commute or while running errands. We promise you won’t wonder why we suggested this powerful book. It will stay with you long after you turn the last page.
Happy reading, Bethe
P.S.: Looking for an easy free app to download eBooks and audio books? Check out Overdrive, which is available for both Apple and Adroid systems.
Thanks for the Memories, ESPs!
When I think about New Orleans, I think about Mardi Gras, Bourbon Street, jazz music and Bananas Foster (mmmmmmm!). After this past weekend at the 2015 NEA Education Support Professionals (ESP) Conference, I now think about passionate and engaged professionals, hands-on learning, lots of great conversations, laughter and smiles. (Um, and Bananas Foster.)
It was my very first ESP conferenece, and I have to say, I absolutely loved it! From the awards dinner, to the sessions, to the rousing speeches — it was an inspiring, energetic and educational experience, which is what every conference hopes to be. Connecting with ESP members and getting to hear all the stories, issues, challenges and ideas was so illuminating for our team and will certainly help inform our work in the months and years to come.
NEA HIN offered four well-received sessions on a variety of topics, including Addressing Challenging Behaviors, Common Core and Whole Child Education, Student Health and Academic Achievement and Stress Management. I taught the Stress Management session with ESP Karen Blackwood, and we had a total blast — 50 ESPs joined us at 8:30 on a Sunday morning to talk, move and learn. It was so rewarding to see people so engaged with the topic, the instructors, but more importantly, each other!
So thanks for the memories, ESPs and New Orleans! Check out a few highlights from our conference experience.
ESP Awards Dinner
Annelise sharing resources and a smile!
Happy Stress Management participants!
Fun + processing what you learned = happy ESPs!
Participant Mind Maps on Whold Child Education
Jennie and Libby really ARE super heroes!
Kids Need Breakfast to Succeed
This guest blog is written by Ellen Dillon with Action For Healthy Kids and is part of our week-long celebration for National School Breakfast Week.
In honor of National School Breakfast Week (March 2-6), we are taking a deeper look into why breakfast is so important! We have all heard our mother say, “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” She was right, but many students start their day without eating a nutritious breakfast. Action for Healthy Kids, along with NEA HIN, dedicates resources, technical assistance, and funding opportunities focused on school breakfast to increase participation in the school breakfast programs.
As a mother and former educator, I know the value of eating a healthy breakfast. Without one I am sluggish and my children drag until they are fed. During my teaching days, students came to school sleepy or complaining of stomachaches or headaches mid-morning due to lack of a nutritious breakfast. Many of you as educators know the witching-hour, around an hour before lunch, when kids can’t focus and need to see the nurse because they aren’t feeling well. As a result well planned lessons are interrupted and students aren’t able to make the most of their school day. The culprit is hunger due to not eating breakfast.
Kids don’t eat breakfast for many reasons: they don’t like to eat when they first wake up, they don’t have time in the mornings, their bus arrives too late to visit the cafeteria, and those that qualify for free and reduced price meals don’t partake because of the stigma associated with eating breakfast at school.
There is a way to combat all of these obstacles. When all children in a school are provided with the opportunity to participate in school breakfast, and it is moved out of the cafeteria school breakfast participation increases without fail.
Action for Healthy Kids’ Learning Connection report provides the science behind the connection of health and learning. It shows kids who eat school breakfast miss less days of school, have fewer trips to the nurse, do better on standardized tests and have fewer discipline issues. You can help support school breakfast: 
- Remind kids to eat breakfast every day and not just on testing days
- Learn more about alternative models of service, like Breakfast in the Classroom or Grab and Go (Check out AFHK’s new Breakfast Case Study)
- Ask kids if they ate breakfast
- Let students see you eating a school breakfast (check out this video of a group of teachers eating and promoting their school’s Grab and Go program).
- Join your school’s wellness team
- Work with others to write a grant to make changes at your school. Learn more about AFHK’s School Breakfast Grants opening this week!
In honor of National School Breakfast Week, celebrate the most important meal of the day this week and all year long!
Action for Healthy Kids is the nation’s leading non-profit and largest volunteer network fighting childhood obesity and undernourishment by helping schools become healthier places for kids to learn. Visit www.actionforhealthykids.org for more information.
Listen To Your Mother: Breakfast is Important!
This guest blog is written by Etienne Melcher with the Food Research and Action Center. This blog is part of our week-long celebration for National School Breakfast Week.
Growing up, I remember my mother, an educator, telling me ‘breakfast is the most important meal of the day.’ And as a kid, sometimes I brushed her off, not thinking too much of it. But like many kids who think they know better, I was wrong and my mother was right. And in this case (and probably many others), the research backs her up.
Kids who eat breakfast see an increase in their math and reading scores; improve their speed and memory in cognitive tests; and perform better on standardized tests than those who skip breakfast or eat at home. And those are just some of the educational benefits. I haven’t even mentioned the countless health benefits.
Yet, there are many children who don’t eat breakfast every day for a number of reasons. Low-income parents can’t afford enough food, there’s still stigma attached to eating breakfast in the cafeteria, and late buses mean children arrive as breakfast is ending — just to name a few.
Thankfully, there is a diverse group of stakeholders, including educators (like my mother), school nutrition professionals, school administrators, anti-hunger and health advocates, USDA, elected officials, and — of course – parents, working tirelessly to break down those barriers to ensure that all children have access to the most important meal of the day. One group that’s leading the charge is the Partners for Breakfast in the Classroom, of which the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) is a proud member.
All of these groups have zeroed in on what works, and that’s getting breakfast service out of the cafeteria and making breakfast part of the school day. They are using alternative breakfast service strategies, like breakfast in the classroom, which removes many of the barriers preventing students from participating in school breakfast.
These efforts are delivering results. According to FRAC’s recently released School BreakfastScorecard and School Breakfast —Making it Work in Large Districts, 320,000 more children participated in the School Breakfast Program in the 2013-2014 school year—that’s a 2.9 percent increase from the previous school year—with a total of 11.2 million low-income children participating.
While it can be daunting to create and implement a new system in your school, there are initiatives in place to help interested schools. For example, the Partners for Breakfast in the Classroom (PBIC) — a consortium of Food Research and Action Center, National Education Health Information Network (NEA-HIN), School Nutrition Foundation and the National Association of School Principals — provide grants and technical assistance to high need districts in target states to expand participation through building out breakfast in the classroom programs.
So if you’re looking for a way to improve academic achievement in your schools, we have the solutions and resources that will ensure your success. School breakfast is a win-win for everyone. It eliminates hunger, reduces childhood obesity and provides the ingredients necessary to allow children to reach their full potential. Just ask my mom — she is always right.
A Principal’s Perspective on Breakfast in the Classroom (BIC)
This blog is co-written by HIN staff member Annelise Cohon and Principal Daisy Greene as part of our week-long celebration for National School Breakfast Week.
As you may have seen this week, NEA HIN released three new videos about the importance of school breakfast and programs like Breakfast in the Classroom (BIC). I was able to catch up with one of the stars of the video, Principal Daisy Greene from Francis Elementary School in Richmond, VA to ask her a couple of questions about her school’s BIC program.
AC: Principal Greene, how does school breakfast help your students in the morning?
DG: The school breakfast program provides a meal for every student. It helps our students to power-up their bodies and minds for learning.
AC: What does a typical day in your school look like with the addition of the breakfast in the classroom program?
DG: With the addition of breakfast in the classroom the school day is off to a great start! We have a smooth transition and opening and all students are listening to the morning announcements. We do not see the same distractions or behavior issues among students. Teachers are also able to keep a more accurate account of attendance, they do not have to worry about monitoring students in the cafeteria in the morning, and teachers feel it builds trust with their students. Our custodial staff is also less stressed about having to clean the cafeteria before lunch. Breakfast in the classroom has helped us to compensate for any late buses and it’s great to know that all students will receive breakfast without interruptions so instruction starts on time.
AC: How are things different from when breakfast was served in the cafeteria?
DG: Everything!
AC: What would you say to other principals thinking about starting a breakfast in the classroom program at their school?
DG: Do not wait. Breakfast in the classroom will help children start their day with a well-balanced meal and all of the above that happens on a typical day. I love it!
AC: Will your school be doing anything special for National School Breakfast Week. If so, can you explain what?
DG: Yes, we will have a writing contest about the topic of “Is breakfast in our school worth it?” Selected students will attend a basketball game and will read their paper over the school intercom for everyone to hear.
AC: Is there anything else you would like to share?
DG: Serving breakfast in our school has reduced many stress factors as it relates to morning openings for students and staff. Our teachers greet our students first thing in the morning and set the tone for the day. With breakfast in the classroom our students are more relaxed because they do not have to encounter several adults (on duty) before they start their day. Our school opening is calm and everyone is on target! Everyone knows what the expectation is: arrive to school at 8:40, have breakfast in the class, listen to announcements and the most important thing of all instruction starts on time.
Erie Pennsylvania Sets the Stage for Breakfast-in-the-Classroom
This guest blog is written by Christina Uticone with Partners for Breakfast in the Classroom and can also be viewed on www.beyondbreakfast.org. This blog is part of our week-long celebration for National School Breakfast Week.
As the Partners for Breakfast in the Classroom (PBIC) initiative enters its third round of funding, the founding partners—NEA HIN, the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC), School Nutrition Foundation (SNF), and the National Association of Elementary School Principals Foundation (NAESPF)—are working to increase access to school breakfast for students around the country. In Erie, PA, students at twelve elementary schools and one middle school will be receiving breakfast-in-the-classroom (BIC) for the 2014-15 school year; breakfast is already being served in five of those elementary schools, as well as the middle school. We recently sat down to talk to Jenny Johns, Assistant Food Service Director with Metz Culinary Management, the company that provides foodservice to students and staff each day in Erie’s Public Schools, about her passion for school breakfast and her mission to bring the morning meal to her school district.
Jenny began exploring breakfast-in-the-classroom several years ago, but had a tough time getting principal buy-in. “Our breakfast numbers were rather low, so I decided to call some principals to ask if they would consider a BIC program. None of them were floored by any means; one principal expressed interest but ultimately decided to pass.” After some time passed, Jenny approached the district superintendent, laying out her case for the benefits of BIC—and the superintendent was convinced. At the same time, the opportunity to apply for a PBIC grant presented itself, and the stars seemed to align. “The grant opportunity gave me some leverage to go back and ask, “Can we give this a shot?” Our superintendent, the business administrator, the dietitian on staff, and I went to a principals meeting and we talked about the positive effect this could have on our kids, and then we asked for volunteers for a pilot program.” Several principals expressed willingness to try the pilot program, and Johns set to work writing the grant.
“I already had a good idea of my participation counts. I took a look at the enrollment numbers and what I hoped the growth would be, and we took it case by case, school by school,” said Johns of the self-assessment and application process. “As I filled out the paperwork, thinking about the process, I figured out what equipment would I need and how [BIC] would affect staffing. It wasn’t difficult! It was time consuming in terms of the thought process, but it wasn’t hard—I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”
In Erie, Johns took a conservative approach to implementation, rolling out one school at a time. “It gives us the opportunity to be present, and to work out any problems. That has worked really well for us.”
A slow, one-school-at-a-time approach has also helped with stakeholder buy-in among teachers, custodians, and administrators. It gives school nutrition staff the time they need to communicate with school staff to address their concerns, while teachers and custodians have the opportunity to feel included, and that their voices are being heard.
“Our [custodial manager] had a lot of concerns, from spills in the classroom, schools with carpeting vs. tiles, and concerns about pet control,” said Johns. “We decided to take it one school at a time, and now he’s one of my biggest supporters, and he has helped me implement in other schools.” Teachers also expressed concerns, and Johns found that when principals acted as advocates, teacher support followed; holding meetings with stakeholders prior to BIC kick-off created an atmosphere of collaboration, where everyone could work together to bring the benefits of breakfast in the classroom to students. “Right now there is anecdotal evidence that [BIC] is working,” said Johns. “Principals say classrooms are quieter, kids are paying attention, and there are fewer trips to the nurse. And now I have principals approach me who say, “I was at a principals meeting recently and heard how great BIC is—can you start it at my school?” I really love that.
Participation has more than doubled in the schools where BIC has been implemented, and the response from students and staff has been overwhelmingly positive, said Johns. The classroom delivery model has worked best for Johns in her schools, though she stresses that BIC is extremely flexible and customizable, allowing schools to tailor it to their specific needs. Cafeteria staff handles the morning meal delivery at 8 a.m., and then returns to the cafeteria to begin breakfast prep for the next day; by the time breakfast is over—around 8:20 a.m.—breakfast for the next day is complete, and it’s time to pick up the breakfast equipment from the classrooms.
Overcoming early challenges—like a lack of storage space, and a school with four floors that lacked an elevator—was possible through teamwork and creativity. To solve the delivery problem for the elevator-less school, Johns added to her labor costs to keep delivery efficient while reducing physical stress on her staff. When she needed to find temporary storage space until a permanent solution could be found, she found a somewhat dramatic solution—the school’s stage! “Like many districts, ours is having financial difficulty, and we really have to watch spending,” explained Johns. “Our custodian was really quite cool about the whole thing—we couldn’t fit our BIC supplies in the kitchen yet, so we borrowed the stage to store [everything]! Now we have shelving cages, but that was a huge challenge and [the custodian] gave up his stage for us for a time, which really helped.”
If you’re thinking about breakfast-in-the-classroom for your school, don’t give up, said Jenny. “When people hear “breakfast-in-the-classroom” they are fearful of the commitment, of how employees will handle it, and whether they can pull it off,” explained Johns. “The planning is the hardest part; after that, you fall into a routine and it’s very simple.” The kids love it, Johns said, and instead of getting wound up in the cafeteria and then heading into their classrooms, now the kids start their morning in a calm, relaxed atmosphere with their teachers and classmates. “The benefits for the kids and the district are phenomenal” enthused Johns. “Absolutely worth all of the time and effort. We love it!”
Visit the PBIC website to learn more about Partners for Breakfast in the Classroom, and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
National School Breakfast (Appreciation) Week
March is one of my favorite months of the year for a number of reasons. First, it’s usually the ushering in of spring, warmer weather and longer days. Second, for many school districts March means spring break and a much-needed reset for educators. Lastly, March 2-6 is National School Breakfast Week, a time when our public schools’ unsung heroes (like the school food service professionals or custodial service professionals) get recognition for their hard work and service. This week, we are honoring all school staff that make school breakfast and programs like breakfast in the classroom possible.
We’re also launching a new video today featuring educators at Francis Elementary School in Richmond, VA. These individuals work tirelessly for their students and we are proud to feature them in a short video for National School Breakfast Week. From March 2 to 6, we will also be promoting the benefits of school breakfast all week long. This means that you can enjoy a week’s worth of blogs from our partners, fun facts, images, and resources on NEA HIN’s School Breakfast Week website. Here are some easy tips to help you maximize your school breakfast fun with us:
- Follow NEA HIN on social media: Like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitterto get important information on the importance of breakfast and ways to increase student participation through programs like breakfast in the classroom. Don’t forget to use our hash tag #NSBW15
- Share our Breakfast Videos: NEA HIN is releasing three new videos featuring National Education Association Secretary-Treasurer Princess Moss at Francis Elementary School in Richmond, VA.
- Download our list of favorite books to read over breakfast: We believe that reading and breakfast go hand-in-hand. Share our list of books with a school or student!
- Sign up for NEA HIN’s newsletter: Get more information about NEA HIN’s breakfast program and partnership with Partners for Breakfast in the Classroom at www.neahin.org.
Whether you’re an educator, paraprofessional, bus driver, parent, principal, or food service director you are making a difference in ensuring every student starts their day with a full stomach. NEA HIN thanks you for your service! Please let us know your plans for National School Breakfast Week and we look forward to hearing from you.
2.4.15 I’m Bananas For You
One of nature’s tastiest tropical fruits also has a nifty trick on its sleeve! Did you know that bananas are great for sending a secret message? It’s true!
To get started, use a firm banana that doesn’t have too many brown spots. If your banana is overly ripe, it will be harder to read the message. Then, using a toothpick, draw a pattern or write a sweet message on a banana. The message will be barely visible.
If you’re packing the banana in a lunch box, wrap the banana in a napkin to prevent bruising that might make the message hard to read.
In about an hour or two, your message will look like this:
This makes for a great Valentine’s Day treat, or just an great way to make healthy snacks extra special!
11.20.14 Healthy Me, Better Year Update: Kia McLeod
I can still remember it as if it were yesterday: hearing the voice of my daddy, the army sergeant, “Training wheels are for wimps”. Then he lifted me up into the air and down onto my first bike. Standing behind him were my sister and brothers who were ALL chuckling, while anxiously waiting for me to hit the ground. Then daddy grabbed the back of the bike, pushed and shouted, “PEDAL.”
At first, I was shaking so much that I could barely hold on to the handlebars. For a moment, I had lost control and the bike started wobbling from side-to-side. Then, I heard a wave of laughter roaring from behind me. But I was determined not to give my siblings the satisfaction of watching me fall; so I pushed my feet down and up and up down a little bit harder, while focusing on that repetitious circular motion that daddy had explained to me. Before I knew it, I felt the wind blowing against my face as I looked straight ahead and pedaled as if my life had depended on it.
During that first ride and every one since, I have relished in the overwhelming feeling of independence and freedom that comes from cycling. I also have enjoyed the great health benefits associated with hitting the road. According to Women’s Health Magazine, a 135-pound woman pedaling 12 to 14 miles an hour blasts 488 calories in 60 minutes.Cycling also improves energy levels by 20 percent and decreased fatigue by 65 percent by triggering the brain to release the neurotransmitter dopamine, which is linked to energy, says Women’s Health Magazine.
The fact of the matter is that we can all use a boost every now and then. That’s why I made the commitment to move my body for at least 15 minutes every day as a part of the Healthy Me, Better Year Pledge. Unfortunately, I rarely have the time to hit the biking trails anymore. Today, I am taking a spin class on the weekends at the local YMCA.
Whether you choose to spin, bike, jog or run in place behind your desk, taking the Healthy Me, Better Year Pledge is an opportunity to put yourself first and be healthier and happier YOU! I hope to see you soon on a biking trail or in spin class!
10.16.14 Let’s Celebrate School Lunch!
National School Lunch Week is one of my favorite weeks of the year. Not only because I am reminded of the wonderful school nutrition professionals that made sure I had something warm to eat every day, but because of the important role school meals play in a student’s ability to grow, learn, and be successful. 
What is National School Lunch Week?
This observance was created by President John F. Kennedy in 1962 as a weeklong celebration of the school lunch program. October 13-17 is National School Lunch Week and this year’s theme is “Get in the Game with School Lunch.” Did you know that more than 31 million students eat school lunch every day? That’s a lot of fruits and veggies consumed by students.
Why Are School Meals Important?
There is a clear link between good nutrition and learning. Research shows that continuous low nutritional intake affects motivation and attentiveness, which can have a negative impact on learning. In addition, children who are undernourished or hungry have lower math scores and are more likely to have to repeat a grade. They are more likely to be hyperactive, absent and tardy, in addition to having behavioral and attention problems more often than other children. Thanks to First Lady Michelle Obama, the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act made the first major change to school meal nutrition standards in over 15 years, and is helping to raise a healthier generation of children. We know that NEA members are supportive of these nutrition standards and are dedicated to serving nutritious meals to students to help them learn and thrive.
What Are NEA Members Doing to End Child Hunger?
Food is a right that every child should have access to–especially at school. NEA members see the benefits of the school lunch program daily and know first-hand that hungry children cannot learn. NEA members from across the country have become champions for programs like Breakfast in the Classroom, which help increase participation in the School Breakfast Program. They also advocate for summer meals, after school snacks, and weekend backpack programs to ensure that students have access to healthy food 365 days of the year.
In order for every child to get the proper nutrition they need Child Nutrition Programs must be better funded to combat childhood hunger. This year, NEA and NEA HIN are proud to have signed on to a letter with more than 1,000 organizations to urge President Obama to invest in child nutrition programs and ensure that every student has access to healthy school meals.
What Can I do?
School Lunch Week doesn’t have to end after this week! Keep up the momentum and let us know what actions you’re taking to celebrate and promote the importance of nutritious school meals so that no child goes hungry. You can also tell us via social media on Facebook and Twitter.
10.1.14 October is National Farm to School Month!
NEA HIN is proud to be a partner with The National Farm to School Network in promoting National Farm to School Month. The National Farm to School Network (NFSN) is an information, advocacy and networking hub for communities working to bring local food sourcing and food and agriculture education into school systems and preschools. This blog post was written by NFSN Staff and was originally posted on www.farmtoschool.org
October 1st marks the beginning of National Farm to School Month. For the next 31 days, schools and preschools across the country will celebrate the local food served in their cafeterias, the gardens in their schoolyards and the food and agriculture education happening in their classrooms. Some will engage with farm to school for the first time; others will enjoy the harvest from years of farm to school success.
At the National Farm to School Network, we consider Farm to School Month itself to be the product of a successful harvest. Our organization was founded in 2007 to connect and strengthen the many facets of the farm to school movement, and advocating for the creation of Farm to School Month was one of our first national campaign successes. The passage of House Resolution 1655 in 2010 demonstrated the growing importance of farm to school as a means to improve child nutrition, support local economies and educate children about the origins of food.
But we didn’t stop there. We also successfully advocated for mandatory funding for farm to school grants through the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act and for the creation of the first-ever USDA Farm to School Census. State policy is equally import to the success of farm to school, which is why we release an annual survey of farm to school policy across the country. According to our survey, in 2012 and 2013 alone, 20 states passed farm to school legislation and 17 others introduced legislation. But there’s more to be done, and we need the support of local food advocates, child health advocates and anyone else who believes in farm to school’s potential to transform lives and communities.
This Farm to School Month, will you help us spread the word about the importance of farm to school and the impact it is having in your community? Here’s how you can get involved:
- Visit our Farm to School Month page to find resources and information.
- #F2SMonth – Use this hashtag to share photos and stories about farm to school in your community.
- @FarmtoSchool – follow us on Twitter and Facebook and share our messages with your audience.
- Download our Farm to School Month Fact Sheet and share it with your community: parents, teachers, school nutrition professionals, producers at your local farmers’ market … anyone!
- Use our Communications Toolkit to spread the word about your farm to school events and successes.
- Order promotional materials to wear and share: posters, stickers, aprons and shirts.
- Become a member of the National Farm to School Network to stay informed about farm to school policy and events.
- Tell us your story: Use the Share Form on our website to ell us about farm to school in your community! Stories help us advocate for and raise awareness about farm to school.
- Donate to support our work. The National Farm to School Network is the leading nonprofit working to connect and strengthen the farm to school movement.
Here’s one more reason to get involved: Everyone who fills out a membership form and/or a “Share Form” on our website during October will be entered to win a drawing for $1,000 to spend on a farm to school or farm to preschool project in their community! Five additional drawing winners will also be eligible to apply for a free Project Learning Garden™ lesson kit from Captain Planet Foundation that is valued at $1,000; however, winners must have an existing elementary school garden to qualify. Check out the full contest details.
As a special offer during Farm to School Month, Organic Valley is offering a downloadable coupon for NFSN members only, which can be accessed on our members-only page. Become a member today, then sign in to our website to download your coupon!
The farm to school movement has already seen great success: Farm to school practices are in place at more than 40,000 schools in all 50 states and D.C. and in preschools across the country. This Farm to School Month, help sow the seeds for our next big harvest!
9.17.14 Take the Healthy Me, Better Year Pledge!
Summer has come and gone as have all the Back-to-School ads on TV and essentially everywhere you look.
It’s back. We’re back. The time is now, and the new school year is in full-gear with no signs of letting up for quite a while. Deep breath.
OK then, let’s stop and take a moment to do a self-check-in. Yes us, the adults. Most of us get so focused on everyone else that we forget that taking care of ourselves is vital for providing a great school year for the students. Whether you work inside or outside the classroom or are a parent – or both! – you and your health and wellness are key ingredients for the school and student success recipe.
To that end, NEAHIN is challenging all of us to take the Healthy Me, Better Year Pledge! Yes, our staff is taking it too! It’s a simple pledge to say,
“Hey, I value myself and my health and happiness. I am going to do X, Y and/or Z to help ensure I am bringing my best self to the school community each day.”
A little high on the pop psychology scale? Perhaps; but as you know goals and intentions become more concrete when we write them down, so we are asking you to do exactly that.
It’s as easy as 1 – 2 – 3:
- Click here to take the Healthy Me, Better Year Pledge
- Print the pledge certificate and hang it up as a reminder to take your wellness action(s)
- Let us know how you are doing. Send a tweet, post to Facebook or leave a comment on this post. We want to hear how it is going and cheer you on!
So three cheers for a healthy, happy school year for students and adults alike! Join us in taking this simple step to help keep ourselves on track this year.
Add your comments below! What are you going to do this year for YOU? Let us know! We love to hear from you.
Winning Your Way to Wellness
NEAHIN is all about wellness, so we couldn’t think of a better raffle prize to offer at the 2014 NEA Expo than the Pulse O2 Personal Fitness Tracker! Tracking calories, activity, heart and pulse rate and even your sleep, this little beauty is like having a tiny personal wellness assistant on your shoulder, helping you look out for you.
You know YOU, the person that so often gets overlooked in life.
We had almost 500 people enter the raffle in Denver and are excited to announce the winners!
Congratulations to the NEAHIN Raffle Winners:
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Kayla Kolbe, Minnesota
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Nadine Hale, New Jersey
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Thomas Holstein, Rhode Island
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Sue Mattry, Pennsylvania
Your prizes are in the mail and you are just days away from a new road to personal wellness. Thanks to all of the entrants – we truly appreciate your support.
On a personal note, I was so impressed by this little gadget I have decided to treat myself to one. I am a person who could really use a “tiny personal wellness assistant” to get me going and keep me motivated. Do you use some sort of fitness tracker? We would love to hear about it! Send in your fitness tracker tips, stories and pictures to [email protected].
Three cheers for wellness,
Bethe
Reflections of an NEA RA Expo Newbie
Armed with my best booth smile, comfortable shoes and 1,000 lip balms to give away, I set out for Denver to get caught up in the pre- Representative Assembly (RA) energy I had been hearing about since joining the organization six months ago. I was excited to see the setting for the RA and to get the chance to meet some of the members we serve.
I was not disappointed.
The vibe, the energy, THE BUZZ I had been hearing about– it was all there. People were truly excited to be there, which is at the heart of any successful event. It was so great to talk to so many members from across the country. Working at headquarters, I don’t get that opportunity often enough, so I made-up for lost time in the Expo’s Hall of Health and Safety.
You told me about the concerns you have about health issues in your schools. You told me how much you love the students you work with. You told your stories, shared your frustrations, asked great questions, and made myself and the rest of the NEA Health Information Network’s team proud to work with and for members like you! Passionate, dedicated, smart, funny people who work so hard to make each day better for the students you serve. In my book, America cannot ask for anything better than that.
So thanks for all that you do, and thanks for the Denver memories! The NEAHIN team looks forward to seeing you all next summer in Orlando. And don’t worry, we’ll bring the lip balm.
Bethe
Associate Executive Director
Community Eligibility Can Mean Free School Meals in Low-Income Areas
Educators know that children who are hungry cannot learn. Hunger is an everyday reality for millions of children across the country – in a series of recent surveys, one in four families in the U.S. with children reported being unable to afford enough food.
School employees are all too familiar with “hunger headaches,” and know that these are the children who are more likely to be absent and tardy, and often have a hard time focusing and behaving in class. Education professionals see first-hand how all of the federal, state, and local dollars spent on education have little impact if classrooms are full of hungry students.
Now schools across the country have the opportunity through the Community Eligibility Provision to ensure that low-income children have access to school breakfasts and lunches at no charge – while reducing administrative burden and streamlining the school meal programs. This will allow more students to eat, and more time for school staff to focus on the nutritional and educational needs of their students rather than on paperwork.
Less Paperwork for Schools
Besides increased participation in school meals, the biggest difference schools will see under community eligibility is the application process. Schools that adopt Community Eligibility are still reimbursed through the regular process, but instead of being based on applications, reimbursements are based on a formula tied to the number of low-income students who are automatically eligible for free school meals through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly the Food Stamp Program) − or another designated program serving low-income families.
To qualify for community eligibility, 40% or more of the total enrollment in a school, group of schools, or the district must be certified for free school meals without a paper application. These are children who are in foster care or Head Start, are homeless, migrant or living in households that receive SNAP, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families cash assistance or the Food Distribution on Indian Reservation benefits. Community Eligibility is currently available in 10 states plus the District of Columbia and will become available for districts in all states beginning with the 2014-2015 school year.
A Win-Win for Schools – But the Clock is Ticking
Community eligibility is a good call for school districts, but the clock is ticking: School districts have until June 30 to decide whether to participate for the 2014-2015 school year.
The 4,000 schools where Community Eligibility already has been implemented have realized huge benefits. According to a 2013 report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and the Food Research and Action Center, “Community Eligibility: Making High-Poverty Schools Hunger Free,” Community Eligibility is making a profound difference for students and schools. Schools in Illinois, Kentucky and Michigan (three states that participated in Community Eligibility for two years) saw lunch participation rise by 13 percent – an increase of more than 23,000 additional children eating lunch daily. Breakfast participation increased by 25 percent, resulting in more than 29,000 additional children eating breakfast daily.
The benefits don’t end there. Community Eligibility is a catalyst for other improvements to the school meals program. For example, in West Virginia where they are in their second year of implementation, community eligibility is helping schools employ innovative breakfast strategies, like breakfast in the classroom. Participation in breakfast has increased, leading to reduced costs and higher quality meals.
TAKE THE NEXT STEP
- Find out if your school is eligible for Community Eligibility.
- If you want to bring Community Eligibility to your school district, visit FRAC’s resource section for more information. Then talk to your school district about why Community Eligibility is a win for schools and students. Use FRAC’s Community Eligibility fact sheet (downloadable PDF file) to help you have that conversation.
What Makes a School Food SMART?
Beginning this fall, school snacks and meals will become even more nutritious thanks to new Smart Snacks guidelines being implemented in schools nationwide.
But what makes these foods so smart? And how can school employees and families be sure foods meet these new healthy standards?
On Monday, May 12 at 8 pm Eastern, join Bag the Junk, the NEA Health Information Network and MomsRising for a webinar exploring what Smart Snacks will mean for teens and kids.
We’ll answer your questions, and share resources, tips and ideas for making Smart Snacks a simple choice for today’s busy students!
Don’t miss out on this Smart Snacks webinar – register today!
Is Your Local School Eligible for FREE School Meals?
Today is the deadline for states to publish which schools are eligible to participate in Community Eligibility for free school meals.
What is Community Eligibility you ask? Community Eligibility is the newest opportunity for schools with high percentages of low-income children to provide free breakfast and lunch to all students.
And what’s especially great about this news is that school districts with eligible schools will have the option to expand free school meals to all schools within the area.
Helping to Tackle Childhood Hunger
Community Eligibility is part of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, created as a common-sense strategy to tackle a widespread problem impacting millions of children in the U.S.: hunger and lack of access to healthy foods. Nearly 16 million children and teens lived in food insecure households in 2012.
Community Eligibility was developed out of the recognition that the factors that hinder access to nutritious food — such as poverty and food deserts — impact communities broadly. Students in densely low-income areas may still be impacted by these factors, even if on paper they might not otherwise qualify for free school meals.
Currently, there is sometimes social stigma that can be associated with free school meals, preventing those who need these healthy meals from accessing them. Fortunately, there is a way to break down this social stigma that can be associated with free school meals — by making free meals available to ALL students, and using creative strategies like “grab and go” cafe carts or programs like NEA HIN’s Breakfast in the Classroom.
School Meals Can Make a Difference in a Child’s Life
Through our Breakfast in the Classroom program, NEA HIN and educators see the positive impact school meals can have on children’s well-being and academic performance. Educators have seen student’s test score performance increase, tardiness decrease, and infrequent trips to the nurse’s office. Nutritious school meals — however they’re served — can truly make a difference in the life of a child or teen.
Community Eligibility can increase participation in the school meal programs, reduce labor costs for schools, and play a critical role in fighting childhood hunger. It’s clear that schools and students benefit from Community Eligibility, and school districts should make this program available wherever possible.
Is your local school eligible for Community Eligibility? See the list of eligible schools in your state.
Little Rock Educators Believe That No Child Should Go Hungry
Actor Jeff Bridges (National Spokesperson for No Kid Hungry) with Cathy Koehler (President of Little Rock Education Association)
Recently, I was able to catch up with Cathy Koehler, President of the Little Rock Education Association (LREA). Little Rock, Arkansas was one of the first school districts selected by NEA HIN and the Partners for Breakfast in the Classroom to receive a grant to pilot an alternative breakfast program in sixteen schools during the 2010-2011 school year. Since then, the program has received national recognition. Jeff Bridges, the famous actor, even visited Little Rock to shine a spotlight on the school district and the importance of school breakfast.
What is Breakfast in the Classroom?
In case you haven’t heard about Breakfast in the Classroom (BIC), it’s an innovative way for more students to participate in the federally-funded school breakfast program by moving breakfast from the cafeteria and into the classroom. Studies have shown that when breakfast is moved into the classroom, after the start of the school day, more students are able to reap the benefits associated with the morning meal. As a result of eating breakfast, students show improvements in academic achievement, have better attendance records, and exhibit fewer behavioral problems.
Little Rock
In Little Rock, NEA HIN and their partners worked with LREA and Ms. Koehler to engage educators, parents and community members about the health and learning benefits associated with school breakfast. Since the BIC program started, the school district has received national attention for its efforts to fight childhood hunger and increase the number of students participating in the morning meal.
As a result of the Breakfast in the Classroom program, Ms. Koehler reports that LRSD teachers have noticed significant improvements in students ‘ability to concentrate in class, a decrease in behavioral problems, and a decrease in student tardiness. Ms. Koehler said that, “students love eating breakfast in their classroom with their classmates and teacher”. This was evident at the recent media event with Jeff Bridges. Mr. Bridges spent time with students at Stephens Elementary School and even drew pictures of healthy foods with them during breakfast time.
How You Can Get Involved!
Are you interested in starting a Breakfast in the Classroom program at your school? Here are a few tips from our own Breakfast in the Classroom Champion, Cathy Koehler:
1. Prior to rolling out the program, pass around educational materials to school staff and parents regarding the academic, behavioral, and health benefits of breakfast.
2. Be sure to involve all affected school staff in planning the program before it is rolled out.
3. Don’t forget to consult with your school administrator to ensure breakfast time can count as instructional time.
4. Arrange a training session for all affected school staff on Breakfast in the Classroom logistics and implementation.
5. Be patient! The first few days or weeks of BIC may be challenging but stick with it.
To find out more information about Breakfast in the Classroom visit our website: www.neahin.org/breakfastintheclassroom and check out these great resources:
- NEA Health Information Network’s Start School With Breakfast Guide
- School Nutrition Foundation’s Breakfast in the Classroom Resource Center
- Food Research and Action Center’s Breakfast for Learning
- National Association of Elementary Schools Principal Foundation Breakfast in the Classroom Resources
It’s Time to Clean up Our Work Meetings
It’s spring cleaning time: time to open the windows again and spruce everything up a bit. In addition to cleaning up our homes and workspaces, let’s clean up our meetings too.
It can be difficult to eat well in our junk food culture. One way to make healthy eating more possible is to change the food environment to make it more supportive. A great place to start is at work, where most of us spend a lot of time (and do a lot of eating). If work is not a supportive environment, it will make it that much harder to achieve healthy eating goals.
Studies show a strong relationship between the physical and social environments of the workplace and the health behaviors of employees. Nearly half of our waking hours are spent at work, and many of those hours are spent in meetings and conferences. By adopting healthy meeting practices, your organization can help to create a supportive environment that helps employees and members eat well and be physically active. Adopting healthy meeting practices sends the message that an organization or company cares about its employees and members. And, it’s a way to support health at little or no additional cost. Our Healthy Meeting Toolkit offers healthy and delicious food ideas, suggestions for free physical activity breaks, tips for tobacco-free environments, and sustainability practices.
This year, do a little spring cleaning of your work environment, pledge to have healthy meetings, conferences, and events. The National Alliance for Nutrition and Activity (NANA) has developed the Healthy Meeting Toolkit to help institutions make this pledge a reality. The toolkit contains helpful tips on how to serve healthier foods, work with hotels to contract for a healthy conference, talk to a caterer or chef about serving healthier options, integrate physical activity into meetings, and more.
Organizations, institutions, government agencies, or businesses that pledge to have healthy meetings can be recognized on our healthy meeting webpage.
If you already have a healthy meeting policy, please take the healthy meeting pledge now to show your organization’s support for providing a healthy work environment. You can take the healthy meeting pledge by emailing [email protected].
If you haven’t adopted healthy meeting practices, we hope you will find the Healthy Meeting Toolkit a useful resource to help you begin offering healthier food and beverage options, physical activity, a tobacco-free environment, and sustainability practices during your institution’s meetings and conferences. And if you need more information or help, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Today’s Health Educator {Part 1)
What do you remember about learning health when you were in school? Can you remember how you learned about the health risks involved with drug and alcohol abuse? Can you remember learning about the Food Pyramid? What about how to manage your stress? The truth of the matter is when asking these questions of educators today the responses of the “what” are just as vast as the responses of the “how”.” Some of you will describe experiences that occurred during a formal school experience, such as during an actual health class – we will call that “formal” health education. Some will describe experiences and memories with friends or a health-related conversation with a parent or older sibling or in other classes – we will call that “informal” health education. And, whom are we kidding? Some won’t remember what they had for breakfast earlier in the day day!
Luckily, whether you remember every detail or just a glance, throughout our lives we have all learned messages and information about our health. Curriculum is the “what” that encompasses the knowledge, skills, and experiences of learners. It is both the planned (“formal”) and unplanned (“informal”) experiences students have in schools, both of which result in learning. When looking at the planned experiences, we can examine voluntary National Health Education Standards as well as what each state and/or school district has in place to set forth what health topics and learning objectives will be met.
State and local education agency laws or policies and procedures for implementing health education will vary greatly and dictate things such as the “who” (identify the educator/role at any given school chiefly responsible for providing ‘formal” health instruction) and the “how” (the courses and methods to be used). For example, according to the CDC’s 2012 School Health Profiles system, about 50% of schools (in the 43 participating states) reported that they require students to take two or more health education classes. Conducted every two years, the School Health Profiles is a system of surveys assessing school health policies and practices in states, large urban school districts, territories, and tribal governments. In some instances, where specific/separate health courses are not required, Health education is integrated or shares time with other content areas and the amount of time students will spend learning about health (“formally”) may be set forth through laws or policies as well. Though, health education is rarely formally assessed.
Even when a student is fortunate enough to have a formal health education experience from a certified health education specialist, is that the only health education he or she will receive? Think back on your own experiences. Think about it like this: within the school setting itself, either in other classes (outside of a formal health education setting), before and after school (on buses or in sports activities), and certainly at lunch time – our students encounter MANY unplanned experiences related to their health. That’s the thing about health, its everywhere. How do you choose to eat in the cafeteria? Why is it important not to be sedentary for long periods of time?
So, this is where magic meets logic – we, as educators who may or may not be “officially” responsible for formal health education know how important health education is. We also know that whether we plan for it to happen or not, students are naturally learning about their health all day long at school. This logical knowledge results in the following magical aha moment: wouldn’t it be helpful if we were all somewhat familiar with the actual planned health education experiences? So that when topics naturally occur, we can at least be on the right field, in the right arena, on the right train as to what students should be learning about health.
Doesn’t education work better if we all support one another’s efforts to teach our students what is intended for them to learn? This doesn’t necessarily mean you have to know how to explain technical health knowledge to students if you are a mathematics educator. What this means is, as a mathematics educator, you will be better at teaching your subject, if you can connect math skills that involve interpreting data, to real life problems such as teen prescription drug abuse. You will enable your students to make connections between the skills they learn in school and their real world applications. Educators are going to do this anyway; supporting health education with intent when making these practical connections is what we, at HIN, hope to be able to help you to do.
You are about to embark on a journey, we will be taking a look at health education, where has it been and where could it be going; we will share experiences of educators like yourselves from all types of school settings (from classroom teachers to school nurse; representing health education in both formal and informal contexts).
Your charge is this: learn how every educator can support health education and advocate for the quality of implementation that our students deserve.
There are resources to help support your efforts and we want to share those too, we will call those “souvenirs” from our tour. You can start today by exploring two of HIN’s most recent heath curriculum resources which can be utilized in both classroom based and non-traditional education settings (i.e., by before or afterschool program leaders, food service professionals who work with students during lunchtime, etc.). Check out Healthy Steps for Healthy Lives (Nutrition and Physical Activity lessons) and Rx for Understanding: Preventing Prescription Drug Abuse (lessons to address teen prescription drug abuse).
Health education has many faces and you will see one of those faces by simply looking in the mirror. Everyone is a “Health Teacher” in some way, so please join us for our Tour of Health Education blog series. Our next stop – the Recipe for Effective Health Education – we hope two see you there!
National Public Health Week is Here
There are many ways to get involved throughout the week and beyond, so be sure to check the NPHW website. Also, each morning of NPHW, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will be creating a new #PHNerd graphic to go along with our daily themes! Plus don’t forget to use the hashtag #NPHW and follow @NPHW on Twitter and ‘like’ APHA’s Facebook page.
A Public Health Approach to Prescription Drug Overdose Prevention
Join APHA and CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control for a dynamic panel presentation discussing the importance of prescription drug overdose prevention. Hosted by Emory University Rollins School of Public Health, the live presentation will take place Tuesday, April 8, at 12 p.m. EDT. Viewers will be able to log in the day of the event.
Leading health indicators webinar
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and APHA will cosponsor a webinar on the leading health indicators on Tuesday, April 8, at 2 p.m. EDT. Join us to learn about progress in improving the leading health indicators, which are key components of the Healthy People 2020 initiative. The webinar will feature HHS Assistant Secretary for Health Howard Koh, MD, MPH, and APHA Executive Director Georges Benjamin, MD. We will also hear from a state agency that has incorporated the indicators into its state health improvement plans.
New health reform tool for public health workers
The first 40 people to register for a new health reform planning toolkit during NPHW (#NPHW) will receive a 1G flash drive with all of the materials they need to get started! “Leading Through Health System Change: A Public Health Opportunity” is a free toolkit that is already helping more than 600 users in 49 states to think more adaptively, engage in important conversations, and plan strategically with their colleagues and partners. Visit www.acaplanningtool.com to register and learn more.
Other NPHW events
- Twitter chat: Wednesday, April 9, at 2 p.m. EDT
- Chronic Disease, Air Pollution & Public Health: Wednesday, April 9, from 3:30-4:30 p.m. EDT
- Food Justice, Obesity & the Social Determinants of Health: Thursday, April 10, at 2 p.m. EDT
- NPHW Active Transportation Hangout on Air: Friday, April 11, at 2 p.m. EDT
Food Fight! Improving the Quality and Profitability of School Food Service Programs
This month, Education Support Professionals (ESPs) got together in San Francisco, CA for our national NEA Education Support Professionals conference. This included three days of workshops to help us network, advocate and find our voice for a wide variety of issues facing our professions.
The title of my workshop, “Food Fight!” was a play on words. No actual fight with food took place. However, it had a dual meaning for school food service workers. There seems to be a food fight everywhere we turn. Someone, some organization, some government entity is shouting to anyone that will listen, their philosophy of how to better serve school children with their understanding of nutrition issues. There is a constant fight to ensure their way is administered.
Food service workers (“Lunch Ladies” as we are known to our students) have a different understanding of how nutrition issues play out each day across the nation in our schools. From obesity to food scarcity, we see them all.
Our workshop (Food Fight) focused on improving the quality and profitability of school food service programs to promote student health and build support for school foods. We discussed the necessity of healthy, wholesome foods and the positive impacts it has for students. There are, of course, challenges for school food service programs to implement the new nutrition guidelines successfully. But we also learned that, the majority of schools are getting it right. From portion sizes to whole grains, we are seeking to implement healthier standards in our schools.
However, when schools are in direct competition with other food sources, we ourselves are in danger. The danger comes in the form of threats of outsourcing, finger pointing and loss of moral. We must advocate for our professions so that administration and school boards will not mistakenly believe that outsourcing will relieve their administrative and financial headaches. Involving all ESP’s, teachers, parents, and community members to help raise awareness about nutritious school meals that will help students succeed in the classroom and ultimately in life.
In our discussion from child nutrition professionals around the nation, we realized that we play a part in the fate of our children, their health and wellness, through school meals. We must continue to encourage students, and in some cases ourselves, to make healthy food choices. Our goal is to use our knowledge to help each student reach their full potential, thereby becoming tomorrow’s productive citizen. In America, we all (should) get a chance, what we do with that chance is our decision. Worrying about healthy, wholesome food should not be on our plate as citizens of the greatest nation on earth. We need to become a nation that exemplifies healthy eating habits. Eating to live, and not living to eat.
For more information on how to improve the quality and profitability of your school food service program visit:
- NEA HIN’s Bag the Junk: www.neahin.org/bagthejunk
- National Farm to School Network: www.farmtoschool.org/
- Let’s Move!: www.letsmove.gov