Getting youngsters to try new foods and develop a taste for them is one way to introduce healthy food choices at home, according to Tami Hitt-Wyant, director of nutrition at Humboldt Unified School District (HUSD) in Prescott Valley.
“Keep trying new foods with your children,” Hitt-Wyant encouraged. “Young palates are ever-changing and it can take multiple times before a [child] accepts a new food. The rule in my house is two little bites.”
Building Block
For some American children, however, school may be their only exposure to making healthy eating a building block for their lives, says Pamela Liuzzo, HUSD’s district nutritionist.
“Children spend a majority of their waking hours in school and consume about two-thirds of their calories at school, so it makes sense that schools are the perfect environment to teach students about nutrition and wellness,” she said. “Sadly, some students have little to no nutrition or wellness education at home, which makes what we do even more important.”
Tasked with creating procedures that address all foods available to students during the school day, the district’s nutrition program encompasses meals under the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program, à la carte food service offerings, vending machine and school store sales, classroom and special event menus, and snacks for after school programs.
Other area school districts, including Prescott (PUSD) and Chino Valley (CVUSD), provide similar initiatives for their students. The three districts partnered with Mayer Unified School District on a $50,000 Farm to School Planning Grant, which helped plan more locally produced food for school meals, Hitt-Wyant says. This month, the four entities will discuss applying for an implementation grant.
The HUSD Food and Nutrition Department – much like its counterparts – is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and also receives funding from paid meals and catering. “We are not supplemented by district funds,” Hitt-Wyant explained. “Our entire budget of $2.5 million goes back into the school nutrition program to pay for operation of the school meals program.”
Active Role
Families that wish to play an active role in allocating that money and educating children about healthy eating are encouraged to join parents, grandparents, teachers, administrators and community members at local School Health Advisory Council (SHAC) meetings.
Representing school and community interests, HUSD SHAC provides advice to the district about school health policies and programs. Operating under regulations and guidance issued by the secretary of agriculture, and in accordance with Arizona Nutrition Standards, SHAQ promotes and monitors student wellness.
Key to those efforts are nutrition guidelines for reimbursable school meals, nutrition education consistent with students’ age and culture, opportunities for enhancing students’ physical fitness, and creating “a total school environment that is conducive to healthy eating and physical activity,” according to the district’s website.
“We not only want to feed them, we want to nourish them,” Liuzzo said during a Jan. 15 meeting of HUSD’s SHAC. “We listen to our students and parents about our food and try to accommodate as best we can while meeting the strict government regulations.”
Setting the Tone
Leading by example is critical to students’ nutrition says Hitt-Wyant. “The best way to ensure children are eating healthy is to be a role model. Parents can not only encourage healthy eating, but [also] share healthy meals with their families.”
Liuzzo urges parents to “come to the school and have breakfast and lunch with their child. They will see and taste firsthand how school lunch has changed since their days in school. Students have many entrée choices to choose from at each meal. All of our bread and grains are whole grain, nothing is ever fried, and everything we serve is packed with nutrients.”
Additional healthy living programs for educators, families and people 50 and older are free through Yavapai Regional Medical Center (YRMC). One of them, HealthTeacher, is an online teaching resource for K-12 educators.
Early Start
“Health literacy starts early in life,” said Robbie Nicol, YRMC’s executive director of community outreach and philanthropy, a former elementary school teacher. “It was very compelling to me to have this information available for kids in schools,” she said, characterizing HealthTeacher as a powerful resource for teachers. “And, having been in their shoes, I know how tight resources can be. It’s a tremendous program with all kinds of tools adapted to be used in a variety of classroom settings. One of the greatest benefits is pre-created lesson plans.”
The hospital also implemented another community health education program, HealthWise, consisting of handbooks and online resources for both families and older adults. The handbook, available free at both Prescott and Prescott Valley YRMC locations, comes in a larger font for seniors and a Spanish language version for families.
“The handbook covers a couple of hundred health topics and points people in the direction of things they might encounter at home, when to contact a doctor, and when to go to the emergency room,” said Nicol. “The online version has some 20,000 to 30,000 pieces of health care information.”
A third YRMC program, Partners for Healthy Students, is targeted to school children K-12 and their younger siblings.
Hitt-Wyant says breakfast is essential to a student’s ability to focus. “Eating breakfast has proved to increase test scores and improve attendance. Teaching healthy habits and providing nutritious meals aids to decrease the odds for chronic illness in the future.” QCBN
For more information about student and family wellness programs, contact the appropriate area school district or YRMC at www.yrmc.org.
By Sue Marceau
Quad Cities Business News
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