Nutrition Education

Our Goal

Wisconsin schools and childcare facilities are making effective strides to address the nutritional health and fitness of children and families. The goal of this website is to share those successes, to provide the tools and materials necessary to assist other schools and childcares in their efforts and to encourage all schools and community partners to become involved in addressing children's nutrition and fitness.

Team Nutrition

Team Nutrition is an integrated, behavior-based, comprehensive plan for promoting the nutritional health of the Nation's school children. The U.S. Department of Agriculture - Food and Nutrition Services developed Team Nutrition in response to the need to improve the nutritional quality of meals served in schools and the school nutrition environment.

For an online Team Nutrition application go to http://teamnutrition.usda.gov/team.html.

Resources

Wisconsin Team Nutrition Training Grant
For more information about the current Team Nutrition grant, see our grants page.

Farm to School
Nutrition education is an important part of a successful farm to school program.

• Nutritious, Delicious, Wisconsin: Connecting Nutrition Education and Local Foods - DPI 2011
  • Nutritious, Delicious, Wisconsin Poster
• The team nutrition 2008 project worked with AmeriCorps volunteers to implement a farm to school nutrition education program. View training materials here.

The Importance of Family Meals
Celebrate Family Day Every Day

Family Day promotes the family dinner as a way for parents to become actively involved in their children's lives. Support materials include:

• Family Day Brochure.

Nutrition Education Academic Standards
To learn more about using the nutrition education standards in your classroom, two recent workshop presentations are posted here for your review.

• Nutrition Education Standards presentation from the New Wisconsin Promise, January 2009. (NWP 109)
• Nutrition Comes Alive presentation from the Adolescent Health Conference, February 2009. (Nutrition Comes Alive 2009)

Action for Healthy Kids

• National Initiative
• WI Action for Healthy Kids Coalition

School Wellness
Improving the School Nutrition and Physical Activity Environments
Supports for schools include:

• What's Right for Kids 2: Building a Healthy School Nutrition Environment Booklet
• What's Right for Kids - Improving the School Nutrition Environment Booklet
• What's Right for Kids - Eat Smart. Be Active, Walk the Talk Poster
• "Helping Wisconsin Youth Reach Their Full Potential" - This publication was developed by the Wisconsin Action for Healthy Kids Coalition and includes nutrition and health information; and guides for healthy foods and beverages, and physical activity in schools.
  • Helping Wisconsin Youth Reach Their Full Potential Folder
  • Guide to Healthy School Breakfast
  • Guide to Healthy Classroom Choices
  • Guide to Healthy School Stores and Vending Machines
  • Guide to Physical Activity in Schools
  • Guide to Healthy School Fundraising
• Healthy Fundraising: a central online resource for promoting healthy activities, especially fundraising, in our schools.
• DPI School Wellness Policy website.
• School Wellness Policy Implementation Resources
  
  • Pre-Assessment Form
  • Focus areas: Component Descriptions
  • Evaluation Form
  • Evaluation Resources
    - Evaluating Local School Wellness Policies
    - Maintain, Measure and Evaluate the School Wellness Policy
    - Measuring and Monitoring/Review of Local Wellness Policies
• Parent Guide to Healthy Eating Please note the error in Appendix A5: the correct measurement for fats and oils is grams, not ounces.

School Wellness Policy Implementation WisLine Web Presentation
If you missed any of the WisLine Web presentations, the power point handouts for each session are available here.

• Selling your Wellness Policy and Healthy Choices to Students, November 28, 2006
  This session presents ideas to obtain student support for your wellness policy.
  Selling Your Wellness Policy handouts and the Oconto USD policy.
  This session is also available as an archive.
• Implementing Nutrition Guidelines without Losing Your Mind, Your Money and Your Customers, January 23, 2007
  This session highlights nutrition guidelines as part of wellness policy implementation.
  WisLine Web handout.
  This session is also available as an archive.
  
• Raising Support and Reaching Out - Working with Parents and the Community, February 27, 2007
  This session highlights parent involvement and engagement with school wellness policies.
  There are two WisLine Web handouts: Handout 1 . Handout 2.
  An archive of the meeting is also available.
• Teaching by Example . . . How School Staff Can Influence Student Wellness Choices, March 27, 2007
  This session highlights staff wellness ideas.
  It is available as a handout and as an archive.
• Where No Wellness Policy has Gone Before . . . Taking Your Wellness Policy Into the Future, April 24, 2007
  This session highlights evaluation of wellness policies.
  There are two handouts available: handout 1 and handout 2.
  An archive of the meeting is available here. Note: the sound starts after about 90 seconds.

HealthierUS Challenge and Wisconsin's School Health Award

If you've completed the Wisconsin School Health Award, it is the perfect time to complete a national award application. Have you considered the HealthierUS Challenge Award? The HealthierUS Challenge award recognizes schools that take a leadership role in helping students to make healthy eating and activity choices. It also is a chance to bring recognition to your program. This award has bronze, silver, gold, and gold award of distinction level awards.

In order to complete the application, you must be a TEAM Nutrition school. The award has criteria for menus, physical activity and nutrition education that must be met.

There are helpful tips and information on the DPI website and the USDA website.

Child Care

Improving the Childcare Nutrition Environment
Supports for childcare centers and homes include:

• Nutrition Education for Early Childhood
• What's Right for Young Children II: Childcare Gardens
• WI CACFP Wellness Grant

Last updated on 5/2/2012 12:49:43 PM