Healthy Schools Campaign

Healthy, Efficient and Innovative: Green Schools Legislation Draws Broad Support

by Rochelle Davis, HSC Founding Executive Director

Thanks to all the legislators who made big strides this month toward creating a high-quality learning environment for America’s public schools, reducing schools' negative impact on our environment, and keeping cash in our schools’ coffers to use for education rather than high utility bills.

The 21st Century Green High-Performing Public Schools Facilities Act, just passed by the House of Representatives, would provide school districts nationwide with $6.4 billion to modernize and renovate school buildings -- improving schools’ energy efficiency, bringing schools closer to green building standards, and promoting a healthier environment for students and teachers.

This act marks the first time since 2001 that schools would receive meaningful funding to upgrade facilities, and the first time ever that lawmakers have put green facilities front-and-center, a move that will save significant cash over time. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, energy-efficient schools can reduce their energy usage by 25 percent, creating a nationwide savings of $1.25 billion and 23 million fewer tons of carbon emissions.

By 2013, 90 percent of this act’s funding would be put toward green projects, ensuring that benefits will keep rippling through school districts as they improve indoor air quality and use greener construction methods.

HSC works to promote healthy, energy efficient schools through resources such as our Guide to Healthy, High Performing Schools and events such as our recent breakfast briefing on schools and climate change. HSC also successfully advocated for legislation requiring that all new schools built in Illinois meet energy-efficient green design standards.

We applaud the lawmakers who supported this important federal legislation, and look forward to continuing the work of helping schools protect our environment while providing the best possible learning experiences for children.

Food for Thought -- and School Board Action

by Rochelle Davis, HSC Founding Executive Director

I couldn’t have said it better. 

The June 08 issue of American Schools, the monthly publication of the American School Board Association, focuses on school food.  One of the articles, “Children’s Nutrition is a Governance Issue”  is written by David Tokofsky, a former teacher,  Los Angeles Unified School board member and board member of  the California School Boards Association. The article encourages school board members to give serious attention to their district’s school food program because of the important role that nutrition can play in a child’s performance at school. 

He points out that schools seem to acknowledge the importance of breakfast, as many school districts offer breakfast on test days.   He asks his readers, “What about non-test days when the children are expected to learn the information for the test?”  (This reminds me of HSC wellness director Jean Saunders’ blog on test-day snacks.)

He also makes the point that a board’s key responsibility is as custodian of public money.  This fiduciary responsibility requires school board members to understand the school food budget and review the operations of the school’s food program with thoroughness and care. 

I was especially pleased that Mr. Tokofsky recognized the importance of school food staff.  He suggests that a well-paid and well-trained staff is an important element to a successful school food program.

“It is not surprising when well-trained employees with a sense of ownership about their work actually reduce costs,” he writes. 

Thank you, Mr. Tokofsky, for providing such good food for thought. 

What a Good Idea!

by Rochelle Davis, HSC Founding Executive Director

I recently came across a job posting for a Farm-to-School Coordinator for the state of Washington.  What a good idea!  How sensible, with today’s concerns about childhood obesity and high energy prices, to prioritize farm to school programs and hire a coordinator to ensure that the initiatives are successful and effective.

What do childhood obesity and high energy prices have to do with each other?

As the position description says, “This position will lead the new state Farm-to-School Program (created by SB 6483) to increase the purchase of Washington-grown foods by Washington schools, thereby improving student nutrition and benefiting local farmers.”

Schools, farmers, public health advocates and policy makers are beginning to recognize the value of local procurement programs to bring the freshest, healthiest fruit and vegetables to our children at school. 

As we all know, getting children to eat more fruits and vegetables is an important challenge in combating the obesity epidemic -- and what better way than to provide them with the freshest and most tasty produce available?   

In addition to the benefits for student nutrition, we know that local procurement (or “farm to school”) programs benefit local economies and support local farmers.

Since most food travels more than 3,000 miles from farm to plate, these initiatives are taking on even greater importance.  With food prices raising as a result of higher transportation costs, local procurement programs are increasingly making the most economic sense for schools. 

We applaud the state of Washington for recognizing the many benefits of farm to school programs and taking the very sensible step of making local procurement a priority.

Danger in the EXIT Sign

by Rochelle Davis, HSC Founding Executive Director

Did you know that many self-luminous EXIT signs commonly found in schools and other public places contain radioactive tritium that can create harmful exposures to humans? The dangerous exposure can occur if signs leak and when they are disposed of.

The issue of dangerous chemicals inside the ubiquitous EXIT sign highlights the need for us to consider the possible health impact of each detail that goes into a school building. Children are especially vulnerable to this type of exposure.

If you would like to learn more, check out this online course offered by the US. EPA Office of Radiation and Indoor Air. 

Good News and Bad News in New Childhood Obesity Data

by Rochelle Davis, HSC Founding Executive Director

Last week the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) published an important paper about the trends in childhood obesity.  Dr. Katherine Kaufer Christoffel, MD, MPH, the Medical/Research Director for the Consortium to Lower Obesity in Chicago Children (CLOCC) offered this useful analysis of the data:

This week, the Journal of the American Medical Association published an important paper about trends in childhood obesity in the US, entitled, High body mass index for age among US children and adolescents, 2003-2006. The study, by a group at the National Center for Health Statistics led by Cynthia Ogden, PhD, contains some good news, some bad news, and, of course, some questions that remain unanswered. CLOCC members -- and others working to combat the childhood obesity epidemic -- need to be familiar with all of these.

The good news is that childhood obesity rates have been stable for almost a decade. Analysis of 4 waves of data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES 1999-2006) shows that levels of overweight and obesity have been stable during this time for several groups defined by age, sex, and race/ ethnicity.  Thus the rapid rise in rates that occurred between the 1970s and the 1990s has slowed, if not ended. (Earlier analyses, which did not include the latest data, indicated that rates rose through 2003-2004, but this stronger analysis does not support that finding.)

The bad news has at least three parts. First, rates remain high, particularly for the most obese.  This study reports on rates of BMI above the 85th, 95th, and 97th percentiles for age and sex. The NHANES data on children ages 2-19 years allow for 2005-2006 national estimates: 11% above the 97th percentile, 15% above the 95th percentile, and 30% above the 85th percentile. The percentile norms are from years before rising child obesity, so the recent levels are well above historical ones. Further, about 2/3 of those with BMIs above the 95th percentile have BMIs above the 97th percentile, indicating much severe obesity.

Second, disparities remain by age and race/ethnicity.  In general, rates of overweight are higher for older children than for preschoolers, and higher for minorities than for white children. For example: Among Mexican American boys, those above the 97th percentile BMI included 16% of 2-5 year olds, 21% of 6-11 year olds, and 16% of 12-19 year olds. Among 12-19 year olds, those above the 97th percentile BMI included 20% of non-Hispanic black girls, 18% of Mexican American boys, and 9% of white girls.

Third, NHANES is not designed to provide data at the State or City level. Thus we do not know if the national rates reported in this study apply directly to Chicago and Illinois.

By promoting healthy food and physical activity in schools, HSC continues our efforts to combat the health disparities and very high rates of childhood obesity that affect today’s students.

Study Links Exercise in Adolescence to Lower Rates of Breast Cancer

by Rochelle Davis, HSC Founding Executive Director

We all know that exercise is an important part of a healthy lifestyle.  At HSC, we are strong advocates of incorporating physical activity into the school day. 

It was interesting to see a new study which documents that women who were physically active as teens and young adults were 23 percent less likely to develop premenopausal breast cancer than women who grew up sedentary.

As research continues to document the many, many benefits of physical activity, it’s our work to ensure that all students have the opportunity to be active.

Young Lives at Risk: Series Explores Perspectives on Childhood Obesity

by Rochelle Davis, HSC Founding Executive Director

Beginning on May 17, The Washington Post launched an extensive five-day series on childhood obesity.

The series explores the issue of childhood obesity from many perspectives, ranging from the latest medical research to public health information, efforts to address the problem, and policy solutions including responses from Senators Clinton, McCain and Obama. A number of stories in the series discuss the role of schools in addressing childhood obesity.

One of the articles quotes acting U.S. Surgeon General Steven Galson, who labels childhood obesity nothing less than "a national catastrophe." The article goes on to document the alarming fact that if the obesity epidemic is left unchecked, obesity related illness will cause this generation of children to be the first to live less healthy lives and to die younger than the previous generation.

We commend The Washington Post for giving this issue such serious and comprehensive treatment and encourage you to take a look at the series of articles. Click here to view the series. (A free registration to the Washington Post is required.)

Examining the Socio-economic Determinants of Health

by Rochelle Davis, HSC Founding Executive Director

Last week someone gave me a copy of Reaching for a Healthier Life, a report that examines the socio-economic determinants of health.  The report points out that we generally think about health as something fixed by our genetic heritage while in fact health is greatly shaped by a person’s socio-economic status.

Several points of particular interest stood out to me.  First, the authors point out that those disparities between socio-economic groups and the impact that these differences have on health vary from country to country.  In the U.S., the gulf between the rich and poor is large and the impact on health is great.   After listing a number of statistics, the authors reach the conclusion that “the power of social status to impact the most precious resource we have--life itself--is enormous and pervasive.”   

The report goes on to identify policies that we can adopt that buffer the adverse conditions of being lower on the socio-economic ladder. Improving the nutrition of school lunch programs, a key goal for the Healthy Schools Campaign, was identified as an important policy to address the health disparity problem in this country.

Many of us who advocate for healthier school food are often marginalized  for trying to make healthy school food a priority for our country.  This report makes an important statement on how important this work is.  Click here [pdf] to view the full report.

USDA Report Highlights Need for School Food Funding

by Rochelle Davis, HSC Founding Executive Director

For almost seventy years, the federal government has been providing school meals to low-income students.  Last month, the USDA released a report [pdf] examining the cost to schools of providing a school meal to students. They found that the federal programs only paid 82 percent of the full cost of the meals during the 2005-2006 school year.   

This brings up several important points. First, this is particularly burdensome for school districts, such as Chicago, where the vast majority of students participate in the federal school food programs.  The district is not able to offset this deficit with revenues from other students paying for school meals.  Second, this study was completed for the 2005-2006 school year—before the steady increase in food prices. 

Next year Congress will be taking up the reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act, which includes the school food program. I hope that our political leaders will take note of this study and provide school districts with the funding that they need to provide students with healthy school meals.

Richard Simmons: Amend NCLB to Encourage Physical Education

by Rochelle Davis, HSC Founding Executive Director

Fitness Guru Richard Simmons has been hitting the talk shows in a build-up to support American Heart Association’s national lobby days to promote the FIT Kids Act.

As we’ve discussed in previous blogs, one of the unintended and dangerous consequences of No Child Left Behind has been a dramatic decrease in physical education and the time that children have to be physically active at school.  The FIT Kids Act would enable schools to prioritize PE along with other subjects.

Take a look at this clip from MyFox New York where Simmons says that the intent of NCLB was to make sure our children have a well-rounded education, but the result is that they are now “well-rounded” themselves. Click here to learn more about the FIT Kids Act.

Soaring Foods Costs and School Food

by Rochelle Davis, HSC Founding Executive Director

As most of us have noticed in our weekly trip to the grocery store, food prices have been increasing.  While economists debate the reasons for these increases (rising transportation and energy costs, increased demand to use corn for fuel), a recent article in the Washington Post discussed the impact of higher food prices on schools’ ability to offer healthy lunches. 

Schools receive $2.47 per lunch served - this must cover food, labor and other related costs – which is only a 3 percent increase over last year’s funding, although prices have increased much, much more than three percent. (Milk prices went up 17 percent, bread prices went up 12 percent). 

Next year, Congress will be considering the Reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act, which includes the school food program.  It will be important for them to make sure that schools have the appropriate resources to offer students a healthy meal.

Connecting the Issues of Food and Global Climate Change

by Rochelle Davis, HSC Founding Executive Director

Anna Lappe  (a bestselling author and advocate for sustainability and food justice) has just launched a new website on the connection between food and global climate change as she researches a new book, “Eat the Sky: Food, Farming and Climate Change.” 

Given Healthy Schools Campaign’s dual priorities on environmental issues and food and fitness, it is interesting to see how these two issue become connected. 

For us, the connection has been made around our work on healthy and high performing school construction.  For those of you familiar with the term “healthy and high performing,” you know that “healthy” generally refers to  healthy indoor air and “high performing” refers to energy efficiency.  The guidance document that we worked on with more than 40 stakeholders here in Illinois integrates a broader notion of health by incorporating recommendations that include kitchen facilities that can produce healthy food.   

Anna Lappe makes the connection between our two program areas even stronger when she connects food production and distribution to climate change.  We will look forward to reading her book.

Updates & Resources from the Green Schools Caucus

by Rochelle Davis, HSC Founding Executive Director

Last Wednesday, the U.S. House of Representative’s Green Schools Caucus met to continue the discussion of the benefits of green school construction.  In addition to saving money on energy costs, green schools can support student learning and promote health among everyone who uses the building. 

I was really looking forward to hearing from Dr. Richard Abernathy, a Superintendent from Arkansas who built the first green schools in that state, and from Franklin Brown of the Ohio Department of Education, who spoke about Ohio’s commitment to green school construction.  Unfortunately, I was one of the many travelers flying on American Airlines who did not make it to my destination last week.   

I will try to attend the next meeting and, for now, I will stay in touch through the Green Schools Caucus website – it’s a great resource for everyone interested in the issues surrounding green schools.

New Research Shows Impact of Healthy Diet on Academic Performance

by Rochelle Davis, HSC Founding Executive Director

It is always nice to see when scientific studies document what common sense and mother’s experience tells us.  A new study in the Journal of School Health shows that children with healthy diets perform better in school than children with unhealthy diets. 

In this study, researchers surveyed around 5,000 Canadian fifth-graders and their parents. They found that students with an increased fruit and vegetable intake and less caloric  intake from fat were less likely to fail a literacy assessment.

“We demonstrated that above and beyond socioeconomic factors, diet quality is important to academic performance,” the authors concluded. “These findings support the broader implementation and investment in effective school nutrition programs that have the potential to improve student’s diet quality, academic performance, and, over the long term, their health.” 

With these research results in hand, we hope that policymakers and school administrators will incorporate a focus on the importance of good nutrition into their decision-making.

Happy Birthday, Healthy Schools Campaign!

by Rochelle Davis, HSC Founding Executive Director

This week marks the sixth anniversary of a Healthy Schools Summit that was organized by Generation Green (the organization that I was working for six years ago), Safer Pest Control Project, and Citizen Action/Illinois. (HSC Board member Lynda DeLaforgue is also Co-Director of Citizen Action/Illinois - she has been here from the beginning!)

Two hundred people from 75 organizations plus a group of high school students attended the summit.  Speakers included Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, Congressman Danny Davis, Ron Burke (now Deputy Director at Illinois EPA) and Dr. Vicky Persky. 

This event was followed by a similar event in Springfield and eventually gave birth to the Healthy Schools Campaign.   

It’s interesting to reflect on the ways that our organization continues to be shaped by this powerful event six years ago:

Student participation:  A group of Chicago public high school students attended the summit and provided dramatic first-hand testimony to some of the conditions they face.  In the last year, we have been able to reengage with students through the Cooking up Change healthy cooking contest. Just last week, we celebrated with culinary students at Chicago Vocational Career Academy when the healthy meal they designed was served in high school cafeterias throughout Chicago Public Schools.

Green Cleaning:  Kim Hall from Rochester Midland (now a sponsoring company of our Quick & Easy Guide to Green Cleaning in Schools) attended the summit.  She introduced me to the concept of green cleaning and introduced me to Steve Ashkin. Steve is now the author of our Quick and Easy Guide to Green Cleaning in Schools.

Latino Community Participation:  Idida Perez, the executive director of West Town Leadership United and our current partner on the Partnership to Reduce Disparities in Asthma and Obesity in Latino Schools, attended the summit.  When the Spanish-language TV station Univision covered the event, Idida became our on-the-spot media spokesperson. Our work in the Latino community continues to expand, particularly through the Parents United for Healthy Schools / Padres Unidos Para Escuelas Saludables coalition. Univision’s Enrique Rodriguez has been a wonderful supporter of our work, speaking at our Parents’ Rally for Healthy Schools and serving as master of ceremonies at our annual benefit, Cooking up Change.

Chicago Community Trust:  Chicago Community Trust gave a grant to help us organize the summit that led to HSC’s creation. Ada Mary Gugenheim attended the event and has been a strong supporter ever since.

On a personal level, the last six years have been very exciting and rewarding.  I feel very blessed with all of the friends and colleagues that I have made over the last six years.  I look forward to working with all of you as we continue to work toward making meaningful change.

Fresh Fruit, Nutrition Ed, Local Purchasing: Senate Farm Bill Includes Some Good News for School Food

by Rochelle Davis, HSC Founding Executive Director

After much debate, the Senate has voted on a farm bill that includes some good news for school food and nutrition education.

The bill expands the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program to all 50 states and increases funding from $9 million to $225 million per year. This will expand the number of schools that are able to offer and promote free fresh fruits and vegetables and dried fruit throughout the school day.

As a pilot, this program has been successful in increasing student exposure to fresh produce and increasing student consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables. It also introduces children to a variety of fruits and vegetables that they may otherwise not have the opportunity to try, an important part of establishing lifelong healthy eating habits.

This simple step is especially important in a climate where children have easy access to so much unhealthy food and often have limited access to good, fresh produce.

The farm bill also includes a clarification of language that now specifically allows schools to designate a geographic preference in purchasing food. This means that schools can now specifically request locally-grown ingredients in their food purchasing plans.

An important complement to providing fresh, healthy food is offering students the nutrition education that helps them make smart food choices. The farm bill includes funding to encourage the expansion of nutrition education by providing grants to projects that can be replicated in schools. 

The School Nutrition Amendment that I discussed in a previous blog did not come up for a vote, so it will not be part of this year’s farm bill. The activity surrounding the amendment built a strong coalition in support of school nutrition standards and the amendment’s main sponsor, Sen. Harkin, has announced his intention to bring up school nutrition legislation when the Senate re-convenes in January 2008.

Now, the Senate version and House version of the farm bill will go to a committee that will work out differences in the two bills. 

School Nutrition Amendment to Farm Bill Represents a Step in the Right Direction

by Rochelle Davis, HSC Founding Executive Director

The U.S. Senate is preparing to vote on the farm bill.  While the debate about farm subsidies dominates the headlines, it is important to realize that the provisions of the farm bill address many aspects of U.S. food policy, including school food.  (Federal school food programs are part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.) 

One of the amendments that senators will soon vote on would establish national standards for food available in schools.  There has been much public attention to the problem of childhood obesity, and the prevalence of junk food in schools has been well documented.   

The common-sense notion that it is important to offer students nutrition education reinforced by the availability of healthy food and the opportunity for physical activity is well supported by research. 

The School Nutrition Amendment to the farm bill, offered by Sens. Harkin and Murkowski, provides a national standard for food available in schools.  This standard, which is far better than the federal government’s outdated definition of foods with minimum nutritional value,  offers food manufacturers one standard to create products that are healthier for our children, rather than having to negotiate many state standards that have minor differences.

While this amendment has attracted the support of a diverse coalition of public health advocates and industry leaders, it has also generated controversy from critics who worry that it oversteps the appropriate role for the federal government and, on the other hand, those who worry that the standards it sets are not strict enough.

Healthy Schools Campaign supports the amendment because it represents a strong and much-needed step in the right direction.

Like all legislation, it required compromise and is not a perfect solution: but it is an important step forward and sends a clear message that school wellness and children’s health are significant issues worth addressing on a large scale. In fact, federal requirements already exist for school food but were written before vending machines and junk food had such a huge presence is schools. This amendment would bring a critical update to these important but obsolete standards.

The national standards would supersede standards set by states, but allow school districts to set their own standards that are stronger than the national ones. Close analysis of state standards and the proposed national standards shows strengths and weaknesses of each, but that the national standards would be at least as valuable overall as state standards. And, national standards offer the additional benefit of providing a set structure within which companies can develop affordable healthy products for schools.

Applauding Healthy School Food in Chicago – And Creative Student Chefs

by Rochelle Davis, HSC Founding Executive Director

It was truly a delight to meet the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) culinary students and teachers who participated in the healthy cooking contest at Cooking up Change, HSC’s annual benefit, and to check out the dishes they entered in the "healthy school lunch" category of the contest.

The category was filled with delicious, healthy meals:  a whole wheat chicken burrito with Mexican rice, roasted sweet potato soup with southern herb greens and smoked turkey, and the winning lunch, red beans and rice with smothered apples and candied carrots.

This was even more exciting because the students’ work to create healthy school lunches is part of a much larger school food transformation at CPS.

The school meals that students prepared met the "Balanced Choices" nutrition guidelines designed by CPS partner Chartwells-Thompson to set a high standard of health and nutrition for school meals. CPS high school students can choose a meal prepared to meet these guidelines every day – and in Jan., they will be able to choose the school meal designed by their peers when the winning lunch is served throughout CPS high schools.

In the past year, CPS food service has made other impressive changes, adding more fruits and vegetables while removing trans fats and whole milk. Deep fryers are no longer used by any elementary schools in the district or by 55 high schools, and the fryers will not be used in any CPS schools by 2009.

These changes will make a very real difference for the hundreds of thousands of children who consume the majority of their daily calories at school, and are even more impressive when I consider that CPS serves nearly 72 million school meals each year for less than a dollar per meal for food.

Involving students in a dialog about making healthy eating choices – as with the healthy cooking contest – will make the changes more relevant and will help pave the way for success.  I applaud CPS for taking these impressive steps for students’ health.

HSC's Founding Executive Director Rochelle Davis Wins Chicago Tribune Good Eating Award

Congratulations to HSC founding executive director Rochelle Davis for winning the 2007 Chicago Tribune Good Eating Award!

Check out the profile and photo in the Tribune and join us in congratulating Rochelle at Cooking up Change, HSC's annual benefit, this evening.

The profile explains that "Davis helps others realize the positive connection between good food, good living and good health."

Congratulations to Rochelle for an award that recognizes years of hard work, vision and commitment to protecting children's health and our environment.

Chicago Teachers’ Contract Includes Staff Wellness Initiatives

by Rochelle Davis, HSC Executive Director

I am glad that the Chicago Teachers Union and the Chicago Board of Education reached an agreement about their contract without a strike and very glad that this contract recognizes the importance of teachers’ health. 

While I do not have the expertise to provide an overall evaluation of the contract, it’s great to see that the contract includes a number of programs which promote staff wellness,  including  a health care plan which covers office visits, providing teachers and other staff with access to free health assessments. The contract also includes lifestyle coaching, access to smoking cessation and weight loss programs and reduced rates at health clubs.   

At the Healthy Schools Campaign, we call upon policy makers and school officials to create school environments which promote healthy eating and active lifestyles. Teachers play a critical role in this equation. 

Teachers who practice healthy lifestyles are more likely to incorporate nutrition education and physical activity into the classroom. And, let’s face it, teachers who are practicing what they preach will be more credible messengers of the healthy lessons. Making schools healthier working environments for teachers also creates healthier learning environments for students.

I urge the district and the union to work together to implement the staff wellness provisions of their contract.  And I hope that other school leaders around the country will consider the importance of staff wellness in creating healthy schools.

Midwest Academy’s Organization of the Month

by Rochelle Davis, HSC Executive Director

It’s not an Academy Award, but we’re proud just the same: and we’d like to thank Midwest Academy for acknowledging the Healthy Schools Campaign as their organization of the month. 

As mentioned in the organizational profile, I am a graduate of Midwest Academy training programs -- and so are many Healthy Schools Campaign staff. Mark Bishop, Guillermo Gomez and Claire Marcy have all been involved in Midwest Academy’s training, and HSC uses the Academy’s unique model of organizing in our program work.  The lessons learned from Midwest Academy have helped us in our efforts to advocate for policies that support healthy school environments.

Click here to check out HSC’s profile and learn more about Midwest Academy.

FIT Kids: Supporting Physical Education and Activity as Part of NCLB

by Rochelle Davis, HSC Executive Director

Student wellness and physical activity are powerful contributors to children's academic achievement and social development.

That's why HSC is joining the American Heart Association in championing the federal FIT Kids Act, which will amend the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act to support quality physical education and physical activity for school children.

To help improve children's health through school-based activity and education, we're encouraging our congressional leaders to sponsor this legislation, which will:

Hold schools accountable for offering regular physical education so that schools are able to make physical activity and education a priority.

Provide information to parents and the community about students' access to physical education and activity at school, including the amount of time available for physical education, the amount of space available for activity, and the percentage of teachers who are licensed or certified.

Ensure that children get the support they need to make healthy choices, by providing nutrition education and structured physical activity in communities as well as schools.

Support professional development for educators to promote children's healthy lifestyles and physical activity so they provide up-to-date information in a way that boosts students’ ability to learn.

Fund research on effective ways to combat childhood obesity and encourage healthy living for all children.

School leaders will have difficulty devoting resources to physical education and activity as long as they are not addressed in NCLB, and as long as NCLB remains the focus of attention for school districts throughout the nation.

FIT Kids holds promise in combating obesity and making children’s health a true priority at school.

Healthy Harvest: Reforming the Farm Bill to Promote Child Nutrition

by Rochelle Davis, HSC Executive Director

The debate in Congress is heating up around the reauthorization of the Farm Bill, which not only addresses agriculture policy but also covers many important nutrition issues.

This New York Times article and this San Francisco Chronicle article illustrate the unique buzz surrounding this year's Farm Bill reauthorization (which occurs every five years) and its connection to health and obesity issues.

As I mentioned in HSC's blog earlier this year, HSC supports reforming the Farm Bill because we understand that an agriculture policy that stresses healthy sustainably grown food is important for children's nutrition both in and out of school. We've joined hundreds of other organizations in signing on to a report titled "Seeking Balance in U.S. Farm and Food Policy" (PDF), which calls for a more balanced Farm Bill.

Specifically, we'd like to see changes that will have an impact on what children eat at school, where they consume many of their daily calories. HSC is encouraging our congressional leaders to authorize a Farm Bill that will:

Establish Appropriate Standards for Food Offered in Schools. The Farm Bill should authorize the USDA to develop standards for all food offered in schools, not only those foods available from school lunch in the cafeteria. Food sold in vending machines, school stores, and cafeteria a la carte lines are currently not subject to any minimum nutrition standards.

Promote Children’s Fruit and Vegetable Intake. Programs that have been successful in increasing children's fruit and vegetable consumption – thereby reducing their risk of disease and providing the nutrition they need to learn – need funding to reach students in need.

Support Healthy School Food Programs. The Farm Bill has the opportunity to support fresh, healthy food for children's lunch while also supporting healthy local agriculture systems. Initiatives to do this include farm to school grant programs and clarification of language that will allow school districts to specify local or regional foods in their bidding process.

The Farm Bill is one of the largest and most complex pieces of federal legislation in place today, making it a powerful force in shaping our food and nutrition practices. It's exciting to consider the tremendous potential for change in these sensible yet innovative reforms.

Federal Spending on Diabetes Highlights Need for Obesity Prevention

by Rochelle Davis, HSC Executive Director

When working to create school environments which promote healthy eating and lifestyles, we are motivated by our concern for children's health and ability to learn. A recently released study conducted by Mathematica Policy Research Group for the National Changing Diabetes Program calls attention to another important ramification of obesity epidemic. 

According to the study, one out of every eight U.S. Federal health care dollars is spent treating people with diabetes, one of the most common medical conditions resulting from obesity. Using 2005 data, the student found that the government spends more than $79.7 billion more to treat people with the disease, or some 12 percent of the $645 billion in total federal health care spending.

This is another compelling reason why political, corporate and education leaders need to band together to prevent obesity. Research suggests that a school environment that serves healthy food, teaches students about nutrition and provides opportunities for physical activity can have an impact on children's lifestyles. This study provides the federal government with another compelling reason to take action now to support schools in their efforts to create this type of healthy environment. 

One of the ways in which Congress could make a difference is by supporting a number of provisions of the Farm Bill that set standards for food available in schools, support farm-to-school programs or provide funding for fresh fruits and vegetables.

BMI Report Cards Don't Make the Grade

by Rochelle Davis, HSC Executive Director

The trend of schools reporting students' body mass index (BMI) to parents continues to be a hot topic in the media and among school health advocates. We addressed the issue on our blog a few months ago, and this week Jeff Stier, associate director of the American Council on Science and Health, wrote about BMI report cards at the Huffington Post. 

While Stier believes in the importance of addressing childhood obesity, he writes that BMI report cards are "misguided" and "unlikely to produce the desired effect and may even result in some serious negative consequences."

Stier goes on to suggest an approach that HSC continues to advocate: that schools and governments use public funding to address the obesity crisis in a constructive way, through wellness education and real opportunities for children to be active and eat nutritious food. Stier writes:

If we're going to approach obesity from a legislative standpoint, let's use our government's energies to launch public health education campaigns and give parents some useful resources for treating the problem, such as information on how to shop for healthy foods and how to find ways to exercise with their children, rather than simple numbers and restatements of obesity/disease links. Placing BMIs on report cards does little to motivate parents or create solutions.

I could not agree more.

As I commented on Stier's post, state governments should establish nutritional guidelines for school food, provide adequate funding so that schools can offer a healthy school meal, require schools to offer daily physical education, provide financial incentives for schools to make necessary capital improvements (such as adequate gym facilities, appropriate playgrounds, kitchen facilities and upgrades to cafeterias) and include comprehensive and ongoing nutrition education in the states learning standards.

As Stier says, the solution to our childhood obesity epidemic "might be in any number of school-based approaches, but it won't be found printed on the report card."

 

Pork Rinds & Marshmallow Fluff? The Struggle to Eat Healthily for $3 a Day

by Rochelle Davis, HSC Executive Director

Last week, Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), appeared on the "The Colbert Report" to talk about her participation the "Food Stamp Challenge."

For one week, Schakowsky spent only $3 a day on food, the amount the average food stamp recipient receives.  (Take a look at Schakowsky's blog entries from the challenge to see what she was able to eat for $21 per week –- and what she learned from the experience.) 

Stephen Colbert, known for his biting satire, asserted that $3 was plenty -- just eat pork rinds dipped into marshmallow fluff. (Of course, Colbert then snacked on this combo while talking with Schakowsky).  Check out the video here:

Colbert had a point. Healthy food is more expensive that unhealthy food.  This helps explain how we can have, at the same time, an obesity epidemic and a hunger problem. 

While Schakowsky was attempting to demonstrate the inadequacy of the food stamp program, the same could be said about the school food program. 

Maybe we should get all of the cafeterias on Capitol Hill to serve a lunch that only costs $2.40, the amount that schools have to provide a meal to students.

Obama's Healthcare Policy Includes Focus on Schools

by Rochelle Davis, HSC Executive Director

While some people might think that healthy school food and access to recess and gym class are not critical public policy issues worthy of the attention of our national leaders, we're constantly working to show how essential it is for leaders at all levels to recognize that these are public health issues that ultimately affect everyone.

It's mind boggling to consider that children today might be the first generation to have a shorter life expectancy than their parents -- all because of the increase in the rate of childhood obesity and related health complications.

Illinois Sen. Barack Obama recently released his healthcare policy [pdf] and I was very pleased to see that he recognized the seriousness of childhood obesity. In fact, he dedicated a section on school systems to the issue:

A generation ago, nearly half of all school-aged children walked or biked to school. Today, nearly 9 out of 10 children are driven to school. And once there, children are not very physically active- only 8 percent of elementary schools require daily physical education. Childhood obesity is nearly epidemic, particularly among minority populations, and school systems can play an important role in tackling this issue. For example, only about a quarter of schools adhere to nutritional standards for fat content in school lunches. Obama will work with schools to create more healthful environments for children, including assistance with contract policy development for local vendors, grant support for school-based health screening programs and clinical services, increased financial support for physical education and educational programs for students.

These are all initiatives that we've been supporting. We will continue to bring these issues to the attention of political leaders -- and look at how other candidates are addressing these concerns.

A Comfortable Truth: School Buildings and Healthy Learning

by Rochelle Davis, HSC Executive Director

Who among us has ever reflected on our elementary or high school classrooms and thought: Now that was a comfortable chair.

In the article "A Comfortable Truth," published in the April 2007 issue of Edutopia, planners and architects Prakash Nair and Randall Fielding argue that our attitudes about schools and comfort are rooted in the century-old notion that physical hardship creates self-disciplined children -- and it's well beyond time for a change.

Most public schools today are twentieth-century adaptations of the schools in the original American colonies. In the industrial version, however, students became products to be passed from grade to grade until sufficiently educated to work in a factory. School buildings reflected this ultimate goal, with classroom after similar classroom aligned along each side of a corridor, and regimental rows of hard chairs symbolizing strict attention and serious purpose. […]

Though the industrial model was solidly in place as the educational standard, however, a parallel, progressive movement arose in the early 1900s that sought to humanize and personalize education. This philosophy survives and has gathered dedicated adherents along the way, but most mainstream educators at the time it was developed were unconvinced that change was needed, and schools remained much as they had always been. Even after almost a century, John Dewey's 1915 exhortation that "nature has not adapted the young animal to the narrow desk, the crowded curriculum, the silent absorption of complicated facts" remains largely unheard.

What is the rationale for justifying the lack of creature comfort in today's schools? Nothing more defensible than the old dodge "We've always done it that way." But schools wear out and are renovated or replaced by new structures. And architects know far more about how people live and work than they once did. So the factory model is slowly relegated to history, like the dinosaur it is. But questions of comfort and rigor remain unresolved. Should schools be comfortable, and if so, why?

Nair and Fielding go on to provide "eight truths" about school building and design, beginning with truth #1: comfort matters.

We couldn't agree more.

The authors call for greater investments in softer seating, cleaner/fresher air and noise controls, and they advocate for creating adaptive and flexible learning spaces with access to healthy food, smaller learning communities and environments where students can feel "both secure and significant."

A number of the issues are consistent with Healthy Schools Campaign's agenda, including healthy indoor air, acoustical comfort, healthy food and school gardening. Their suggestions are important and definitely worth a read.

It's Time for the State Board of Education to Revise School Food Standards

by Rochelle Davis, HSC Executive Director

Until very recently in Illinois, food from vending machines, schools stores or the a la carte cafeteria line was not subject to nutrition guidelines. Leaders in Illinois have put the wheels in motion to improve access to healthier foods at school. 

In October of 2006, the Illinois State Board of Education adopted nutrition standards for foods served outside the National School Lunch Program at elementary and middle schools. Healthy Schools Campaign encourages ISBE to ensure that all grammar and middle schools are informed about and have the information they need to implement those standards.

Back in 2005, the Illinois School Wellness Policy Task Force was given the mandate to develop nutrition standards for all foods sold in schools. These recommendations (PDF), which include guidelines for food served in elementary, middle and high schools (where access to unhealthy food is greatest) were presented in January of 2007.

The rules adopted in October of last year state that ISBE "shall initiate a revision to the food and beverage standards …" when the Illinois School Wellness Policy Task Force releases its recommendations. Now that the task force recommendations are available, it's time for ISBE to revisit and expand the rules to include the task force recommendations, which are greater in scope and were created with more stakeholder engagement.

In addition, we encourage ISBE to begin the rules-making process based on the recommendations of the School Wellness Policy Task Force so that these regulations can be in place for the 2008-2009 school year.

Farm-to-School Programs

by Rochelle Davis, HSC Executive Director

Earlier this month I wrote about our commitment to providing school children with the healthiest and tastiest food available and our support for the Illinois Food, Farms and Job Act.

This is part of our overall support for farm-to-school programs. Farm-to-school programs have two components: incorporating regional purchasing into school food programs; and incorporating lessons about food -- where it comes from, how it is grown, how to cook it -- into the classroom.

If you want to learn more about farm-to-school programs, take a look at the report "Going Local: Paths to Success for Farm to School Programs" (PDF). It includes a chapter about "Fresh From the Farm," an educational program in the Chicago area that was created by our friends and allies Seven Generations Ahead.