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Resources for Promoting Healthy Eating in Schools

Resources-for-Promoting-Healthy-Eating-in-SchoolsEvery day in every school there are opportunities for students to learn about food, and we believe it’s important to think about what food lessons schools are teaching. The Whatcom Farm to School Support Team offers several resources to help administrators, teachers, staff, and parents create a healthy eating environment at their school. These resources cover a wide range of topics from cultivating a calm cafeteria, to facilitating a healthy fundraiser or school celebration.

  • Creating a Pleasant Cafeteria Environment – The cafeteria is the largest classroom in the school where children can learn to develop healthy eating habits, nurture social relationships, and nourish their bodies. Research has shown that the cafeteria environment affects students’ physical well-being, academic achievement, and classroom behavior.

    Creating Cafeteria Environments that Promote Healthy Eating is a compilation of resources focused on many features of the cafeteria environment and highlights techniques, strategies and resources that promote healthy eating in school cafeterias.

  • Encouraging Healthy Eating – All students deserve to eat in a welcoming and positive environment – given time, support, and encouragement from adults, students can practice becoming healthy eaters. Adapted from Montana Team Nutrition, Things to Say (and not to say) in School Cafeterias walks you through an approach and language to use to encourage students to try healthy food options.
  • Hosting Healthy School Celebrations – School celebrations are an important part of a classroom and community experience. Wonder how you can make your school celebrations more healthful? School Celebration Guidelines highlights ideas for celebrating at school with healthy food options and innovative ideas for celebrating without food.
  • Raising Money with Healthy School Fundraisers – School fundraising efforts that include the whole school community and promote physical activity and healthy eating help model lifelong habits that are essential to the growth of the whole child. If you are planning a fundraising event at your school or looking for new fundraising ideas, the Healthy School Fundraisers is a great place to start.

Consider how your school can promote healthy eating in all types of activities before, during, and after school. Helping students to develop healthy habits and nurture social relationships is important for the whole child and their success in school and life.

 

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