Healthy Schools Campaign

Nominate a Teen Advocate for Health and Wellness!

We’re excited to launch our Teen Advocate Spotlight series! This summer, we’ll feature teens from across the country promoting health, wellness and sustainability. Often, youth are left out of the dialogue that affects them most -- the conversation about healthy school environments, healthy school food, and physical activity. We believe it is important for youth to have a platform to affect change in their communities, schools, and at home. At HSC, we host the Cooking up Change healthy cooking contest to engage students in transforming school food. We know that remarkable teens across the country are making a difference in their own communities. This summer we will showcase these teens speaking up for change.

Teen advocates in the first national Cooking up Change healthy cooking contest

In this series, we’ll share stories of youth leaders who are actively shaping health and wellness for their families, communities, and schools. Additionally, we will share how their leadership has inspired others to develop healthy habits.

Do you know a remarkable teen advocate who is speaking up for health and wellness or the environment? Let us know! To nominate an advocate, simply send an email briefly describing their story and how we can contact them to [email protected]. You can also share your nomination on HSC’s Facebook page or on Twitter. Stay posted for profiles this summer!

Four Tips for a Healthy Fourth of July!

The Fourth of July ushers in summertime festivities like family get-togethers, barbeques and all sorts of fun in the sun! Celebrating Independence Day offers plenty of opportunities to make health and wellness a priority. Below are our four quick tips for a healthy Fourth!

• Get active. Celebrate by being active and having fun with loved ones! Choose active games like volleyball, baseball, basketball and soccer.

• Stay cool, stay hydrated. Avoid risk of heat exhaustion and heat stroke by drinking plenty of water. A good rule of thumb: if you’re thirsty, you’re already dehydrated. Also, remember to take a break from the sun with shade.

• Add in fruits and veggies. The summer offers a variety of in-season, locally produce that you can find at your local farmer’s market. It will be fresher, more flavorful, and healthier. Consider using MyPlate’s healthy eating tips and check out HSC's blog for fun and healthy recipes!

• Have fun! Enjoy the company of your friends, family and neighbors as you work wellness into your day. Research continues to show that one of the best ways to stick to healthy habits is inviting others to join you. Invite friends to join an active game or share a healthy watermelon feta salad. Before you head home after the fireworks, make plans to go for a walk, play a game or have a healthy potluck together later in the summer!

Have a Happy and Healthy Fourth of July!

Plus: Want a fun kitchen project for Independence Day? Try our DIY BBQ sauce recipe! 

Filling the Nutrition Gap with Summer Food Programs

by Alyse Festenstein, HSC's Go for the Gold intern

Summer in Chicago is here, and for 400,000+ CPS students this means not only a two-and-a-half month break from class instruction, but also time away from school breakfast and lunch. Eighty-six percent of CPS students qualify for either free or reduced-price meals based on family income; the meals they eat at school through the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs provide the fuel students need to focus and fully participate in school. That need for healthy meals does not end with the last school bell.

Nationally, school food leaders are recognizing the challenge this poses for millions of American families. In a recent USDA blog, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack highlighted the importance of addressing children’s nutritional needs throughout the year. “Proper nutrition is critical for a child’s ability to learn, grow, and be ready to achieve their dreams – and hunger is one of the most severe roadblocks to the learning process,” Vilsack wrote. “Lack of nutrition during the summer months may set up a cycle for poor performance once school begins again and can make children more prone to illness and other health issues year-round.”

To address the challenge of ensuring children are well-nourished through the summer months, the USDA implemented the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) in 1975. The program is administered at the state level by state education agencies like the Illinois State Board of Education and sponsored locally by organizations such as schools, summer camps, or community non-profits. These groups can provide free nutritious meals to children 18 and younger in communities where at least half of the resident families earn incomes at or below 185% of the Federal poverty level.

In addition to SFSP, the USDA has rolled out a new program, The Seamless Summer Option, to encourage school food providers to continue service throughout the summer and during school holidays.  The assistance these programs provide is vital for low-income families, especially because research shows greater food insecurity during these summer months. Last year, over 4,700 sponsors participated in the program and served more than 137 million meals to kids in need of a healthy meal through the summer break. Because of efforts to increase sponsoring sites, Secretary Vilsack notes that these numbers are expected to grow this summer.  

While there is undeniable need for SFSP program in the Chicago area and across the nation, both national and state wide data indicate that the program is underutilized and many children are not receiving the services they need. Most recent statistics show that during the summer proceeding the 2009-2010 school year, only 14.3 children in Illinois participated in the program for every 100 children in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), which is fairly consistent with the national averages. This participation rate actually represents a 15% increase from the previous year and a 25% increase in the number of sponsoring sites throughout the state. Somehow the overwhelming majority of children in need are not accessing these summer food programs.

The crucial question remains: why are children not receiving these healthy meals in the summer?

It’s a complicated issue, but there seem to be many more variables involved during this time that prevent children from getting their meals. According to a study conducted by National Food Service Management Institute, barriers to program success exist both from the sponsor’s point of view and that of eligible children. Sponsors cited the volume of paperwork and unprepared staff as the main reasons they might not want to continue with the program. Additionally, they reported that many children could not participate because they lacked transportation, or their families did not know about the program or its benefits. The 2010 Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act made slight changes to SFSP that may help address these barriers in the future.  Schools are now required to help with summer food outreach, sponsoring agencies will see a decrease in required paperwork, and there is no longer a cap on the number of sites or children served.

Organizations in many U.S. cities are working together to design creative, local programs to ensure children in their community are able to have healthy meals this summer. New Haven Connecticut’s Tim Cipriano, the executive director of school food services, has been featured in the news recently for the city’s new food truck program. By delivering meals to children and harnessing the buzz around food trucks, he is addressing the transportation issue and stigma associated with summer meals at school. His idea has inspired other school districts, and this summer he plans to serve 40,000 bagged lunches. Chicago has also taken steps to improve summer nutrition. Through the effort of The Chicago Summer Food Work Group, participation rates have increased 9% in the last year alone. The group worked to include informational fliers in all backpacks of CPS students and collaborated with the Illinois State Board of Education to develop a mapping tool used to target the neighborhoods in greatest need.

Hundreds of locations across Chicago will sponsor free meals and snacks for children this summer. For information regarding locations and dates of program service, contact the Illinois Hunger Coalition at 1-800-359-2163 or visit the Chicago Housing Authority website for an interactive map of sponsoring sites. Let’s work together to make sure our children have healthy meals this summer and can return to school ready to learn in the fall.

Institute of Medicine Recommends Holistic Approach to Obesity Prevention

By Ashley Hofmann, HSC public policy intern

Last month, the Institute of Medicine released a comprehensive report outlining necessary changes to American culture to combat the rising obesity rates among children and adults. With so much focus on the current obesity epidemic, this report stands out because it offers multiple strategies that, when working together, can speed up prevention efforts and turn around the increase in obesity rates in just a few years.

For an in-depth look at the complete five recommendations and corresponding action steps the The Committee on Accelerating Progress in Obesity Prevention prescribed, the 462-page document can be found here. For a quick overview, check out the "at a glance" infographic at the end of this post.

The committee used a systems approach to analyze obesity prevention measures that would be most effective when implemented together. They specifically looked at how strategies would reinforce each other to have a greater impact or create unintended side effects. An important factor in these strategies is time: the committee focused on changes that can be implemented now to prevent rising obesity rates over the coming decade. With this whole-system approach, five areas, or environments, were identified as places where it will be most important to make changes in the daily lives of Americans. These areas include:

• Increased opportunities for physical activity
• Wider availability of healthy foods and beverages
• Marketing and education messages to the public emphasizing physical activity and nutrition
• Health care systems and places of work that offer obesity prevention support
• Schools as a national focal point of obesity prevention

For each environment, the report makes suggestions of who should be involved and what steps they can take to assist in obesity prevention. Everyone plays a role in this effort, from local city councils to members of Congress, from foundations to private business leaders, from local education agencies to the USDA.

A significant feature of this report is that schools were identified as one of the most critical places to implement changes.

The committee points out that children spend half of their waking hours at school facilities and consume one third to one half of their calories while at school. As a result, any positive changes made in this environment can have a huge impact on current childhood obesity rates. They can also have a powerful impact on the future rates of adult obesity, because many overweight or obese children grow up to become overweight or obese adults. The committee proposed three strategies to prevent obesity in schools:

• Require 60 minutes of physical activity for students every school day
• Increase the nutritional standards of the foods made available to students
• Teach students the knowledge and skills to make healthy choices for lifelong wellness

The committee takes thoughtful steps in mentioning the important role of leadership and community participation in making the recommended changes for obesity prevention a reality, further acknowledging that low-income families often live in neighborhoods without access to many health resources and lack the organized voice to fully represent their views.  

This recommendation connects closely to work HSC does on the ground, empowering students, parents, teachers and many others in communities most affected by health disparities to create healthy environments where all children can grow and learn.

Students who participate in HSC’s Cooking up Change healthy cooking contest learn to create and cook healthy menus. The team of Parents United for Healthy Schools, an HSC-led coalition, has advocated successfully for recess and stronger nutrition standards in Chicago Public Schools. Teachers who complete the Fit to Learn professional development program are taught practical ways to bring health and wellness into the classroom experience. Through the Go for the Gold campaign, over 75 Chicago schools have made improvements in health and wellness.

HSC continues to work closely with many stakeholders to improve health and wellness opportunities in Chicago and across the nation and applauds the committee’s efforts to shed light on the system-level forces that are shaping the obesity epidemic and the multi-level changes needed to reverse the trend.

Plus: Check out the "report at a glance" graphic from the Institute of Medicine, below, for an overview of the issues and recommendations!

Source: Institute of Medicine

Green Ribbon Schools and You: A Healthy School Includes IAQ

By Tracy Enger, U.S. EPA IAQ Tools for Schools

You may know that your kids have healthy food options at school, but do you know how healthy the air is that they breathe? Ensuring a healthy school environment involves more than just nutritious lunches, gym class and recycling programs. Indoor air quality (IAQ) and a proactive IAQ management program are critical to children’s health, wellbeing and productivity.

The U.S. Department of Education’s new Green Ribbon Schools initiative gives green and healthy schools the recognition that they deserve. Green Ribbon Schools is the first federal recognition program to showcase schools from across the country that save energy, reduce costs, feature environmentally sustainable learning spaces, and protect the health of their students and staff.

To be considered a Green Ribbon School, schools must be taking specific actions to ensure a green and healthy environment. We at EPA are proud that the IAQ Tools for Schools guidance is prominently featured as a recommended resource for improving the health and performance of students and staff, and can be used to meet “Pillar Two” of the Green Ribbon Schools application.

The IAQ Tools for Schools guidance is widely used throughout the country and provides school districts with the framework and tools to create and maintain an integrated IAQ management program. Implementing the low- to no-cost solutions in IAQ Tools for Schools guidance can have a measurable and profound impact on the health, productivity and attendance rate of our teachers and students.

In fact, 11 Green Ribbon Schools winners are previous IAQ Tools for Schools National Award winners as well!

To learn more on how to create a green and healthy school by proactively managing indoor air quality, I invite you to participate in the U.S. Department of Education’s first Green Strides Webinar: Discover Why Good IAQ is Essential for Green and Healthy Schools on Thursday, June 21, 2012, from 1 – 2 p.m. EDT.  

During this webinar, Omaha Public Schools, NE and Montgomery County Public Schools, MD ─ both Green Ribbon Schools and IAQ Tools for Schools National Award winners ─ will discuss why IAQ is an essential component of their school environmental health management programs. These two school districts will also share specifically how IAQ Tools for Schools guidance helped them create a comprehensive and effective IAQ management plan.

With so much happening in the green and healthy schools movement, I encourage you to sign up for this free webinar and learn how IAQ Tools for Schools can help you create healthier learning environments and become a 2013 Green Ribbon Schools awardee.

Hop, Skip, and Jump Your Way to Fitness: A Fun Physical Activity to Stay Healthy!

By Kristi Cox, HSC training + program manager

Today, we'll spotlight the art of jump rope! As students and adults across the country get ready for summer, this activity offers a fun and easy way to work physical activity into your day.

According to the Jump Rope Institute, just 10 minutes of jumping rope provides the same health benefits as 30 minutes of jogging, two sets of tennis singles, 18 holes of golf, or 720 yards of swimming! This simple yet complex training technique is a bone builder, tones the legs and develops the left and right hemispheres of the brain. Ideal for adults and children alike!

Here’s how to get started:

First, you’ll need a good pair of sneakers and a jump rope. Jump ropes come in a variety of designs including ones that are both adjustable and weighted. These are great to boost your workout intensity. Ropes range in cost from $8 to $30. This $8 rope gets great reviews!

Next, find a spot with plenty of room to accommodate your workout. This can be in a gym, basement, or outdoors.

Now, start jumping! Start off with trying to jump non-stop for one minute. Rest. Start up again, slowly building up to 10 minutes without resting. For some, this may take a few weeks.

Explore the variety of jumping styles that can be used as part of your workout here.

Now go hop to it!

A Jaw-Dropper: Day Campers Asked To Bring Four Liters of Soda, Two Dozen Cookies Per Week

By Kristi Cox, HSC training + program manager

As I turned on my computer this morning, I noticed a headline from one of my favorite blogs, The Lunch Tray: "Day Campers Required To Bring Four Liters of Soda, Two Dozen Cookies Per Week". 

I thought, what? That can’t be right. Then I started to read the post and my jaw literally dropped open as I continued to read. A parent had sent The Lunch Tray a copy of literature from the day camp, stating that it required parents to send with their children four liters of soda per week (preferably Coke, Dr. Pepper, Orange, or other “standard flavors” in regular or diet) as well as two dozen cookies or brownies ... per week!

As I continued to scan the blog, I noticed the camp’s lunch menu was included. Here are the offerings:

Monday-Domino’s Pizza

Tuesday-James Coney Island (hot dogs)

Wednesday- Chick fil-A (fried chicken sandwich)

Thursday- James Coney Island (hot dogs, again)

Friday-Domino’s Pizza (again)

Yikes! Where’s the fruit? How about a few vegetables?

At a time when childhood obesity rates are reaching epidemic proportions, this is clearly sending the wrong message.  Trying to get kids to embrace healthier food choices is hard enough. As a parent with two “tweenage” kids, I know they’ll eat whatever is in front of them, healthy or not. Even though we eat healthy at home, making these types of foods readily available at camp or school only undermines the healthy habits I’ve worked so hard to establish.

At Healthy Schools Campaign, I help run a program called Fit to Learn. This teacher professional development program is designed to help teachers create classroom environments that support health and wellness, from their lessons to their management strategies to the way they approach celebrations and much more. One idea we offer our teachers is to eliminate junk food in the classroom -- as rewards, for fundraising or in celebrations -- and to offer other incentives or healthy food instead.

Teachers who participate in this program understand the importance of health and wellness and how this affects students’ ability to learn. They’re working hard with their administration, co-workers and parents to make these changes in their schools. Making health and wellness part of their daily dialog is what is going to make a difference. They realize that it’s up to the entire community to help these kids develop healthy habits. All of us who care about kids’ health and learning – teachers, parents, coaches and even the community leaders who organize day camps in the summer – have a chance to support children’s wellness not just through what we say but also with the snacks we serve and the examples we model.

The Lunch Tray post asks, "will we ever get to the point when nutritious, wholesome food is the baseline fare for kids?" I hope we will, and am so impressed with the Fit to Learn teachers who are making this the norm in their classes. To read more about their efforts, check out some of the stories here. 

Media Spotlights Cooking up Change Student Chefs

Not too long ago, students from across the country gathered in our nation’s capitol to help transform the future of school food. Cooking up Change is a spectacular platform for students to join the national dialogue around healthy school meals. The student chefs were the stars of the day, at the event and in the media! Thanks to the local and national news teams that came to spotlight these talented student chefs.

Photographers capture photos of Arne Duncan’s visit with the Cooking up Change student chefs

Prior to preparing their meal, student chefs from Chicago, Denver, Jacksonville, Santa Ana, St. Louis, and Winston-Salem met with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, who wished the students good luck.

The Cooking up Change Chicago team shared the importance of healthy cooking and eating in addressing childhood obesity with PBS Newshour:

 

Following the contest, the student chefs spoke at a briefing on school food with Pew Charitable Trust. Cooking up Change National co-chair Karen Duncan highlighted their leadership, creativity, and efforts to transform school food.

We’ve already shared the Santa Ana team’s excitement and hopes. Back home, they were featured in the local paper and on television. They also presented their meal with Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez and their chef mentor Katy Clark after winning the contest. The Orange County Register also blogged about their win here. Cooking Teen also focused on the winning team.

Check out some of the other exciting media features below:

• Scripps Howard Foundation Wire - “Students revamp school lunches at national competition” (5/24/2012) Coverage also appears on Infozine.
• McClatchy DC - “Students give Congress a mouthful” (5/23/12), video also available on Medill DC.
• Prevent Obesity’s blog - “"Cooking Up Change" with Student Chefs” (5/22/12)
• Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale) - Hungry? (5/22/12)
• Department of Education’s “Homeroom” blog - “National Healthy Lunch Finals Held at ED” (5/22/12)
• Associated Press - “Winston-Salem students to compete for lunch title” (5/21/12) Article also appears online at Washington Examiner, The Ledger, Press Democrat, and Herald Tribune
• WFLD-TV (FOX affiliate) - “Chicago Cooking up Change Winners Exhibit Award-Winning Recipe” (5/16/12)
• James Beard Foundation’s “Delights and Prejudices” blog - “JBF Partners with Cooking up Change in the Fight for Better School Lunch” (5/15/12)

We’d also like to thank Washington D.C.’s local news service for spotlighting the contest. 

Congratulations to the amazing student chefs who participated in Cooking up Change!

 Bonus: Check out the Department of Education’s Flickr photos from the Cooking up Change event.

Cooking up Change National Healthy Cooking Contest Winners Reflect, Look Ahead

It has been quite a whirlwind for Cooking up Change champion Santa Ana student chefs Alex, Ivan, and Ashley since they won first place in the national healthy cooking contest.

We had a chance to catch up with the Valley High School culinary students as they reflected on their national win.

“It feels really emotional, really exciting,” said team member Alex. “We worked really hard to create a dish that was under a dollar and with the nutritional processes. It was quite challenging, but overall it was amazing.”

The first-time competitors prepared lemon and spinach chicken with Tuscan bean salad and cinnamon poached pears. (Pictured left)

A tearful chef instructor Monica Aguilar described the winning moment: “I was breathless, I was so very excited, beaming with pride for my students and what they've accomplished.”

“For the last three years, I’ve seen them grow amazingly,” she added. “In this last year with Cooking up Change, its been like a growth spurt for them. To see their character, their skill level, just the people they’ve come. It’s amazing and to see the transformation, it’s incredible.”

Each team member received a scholarship to further their education. All three aspiring chefs plan to attend Orange Coast College beginning this summer. Ivan is looking forward to starting his career. His teammate Ashley said her goal is to “continue our path, become culinary artists” and to continue to “take into deep consideration how being healthy is a actually a lifestyle. I’m looking forward to doing it in the future.”

Although they’ll be graduating this year and no longer eating school lunch, they understand the impact their meal has in creating meaningful change. “It might not impact us directly because we’re about to graduate from school, but we’ve seen the changes that people are trying make,” Ashley  said. “The fact that my niece and my little sister can have different food in school is better for everyone.”

The Cooking up Change Santa Ana student chefs Alex, Ashley, and Ivan

A proud Alex expressed his hopes for the future. “I hope we get a chance to serve our meal in our community and maybe local markets, present it and tell people more about it,” he said. “Thats my vision, I want to make a change. We are going to cook up change, we are going to change how everyone eats.”

Since returning home, the students have been featured in their local paper. They have also been spotlighted on NBC Los Angeles. Check out a special segment below:

Kudos Santa Ana!

Health in Mind: Improving Education Through Wellness

This week, we’re excited to share more about our newest initiative, Health in Mind: Improving Education Through Wellness. Tomorrow, May 9, we will release policy recommendations from Health in Mind to Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius at a special event in Washington, D.C.  Stay posted for updates!

Educators know that healthy students are better prepared to learn and succeed in school. Yet current health and education policy misses several simple, vital opportunities to boost academic success through health promotion and school wellness. The nation’s children are struggling academically and could become the first generation to live shorter and less healthy lives than their parents. At the same time, our nation faces a growing achievement gap that research increasingly connects to health disparities.

It is for this reason that HSC is partnering with Trust for America’s Health on this exciting new initiative. This effort focuses on policy recommendations for immediate, practical changes at the federal level to help close the achievement gap and create a healthy future for all children.

The Challenge

The link between health and learning is clear. Healthy, active and well-nourished children are more likely to attend school, be engaged, and be ready to learn. Often, however, the school setting does not support health. In today’s school environments, all too many students spend their days in buildings with unhealthy air, do not have the opportunity to be active, and do not have access to fresh water, nutritious food or a school nurse. Many students come to school with one or more health problems that compromise their ability to learn. The prevalence of chronic diseases — including asthma, obesity and diabetes — has doubled among children over the past several decades. This has implications not only for children’s long-term health but also for their opportunities to learn and succeed at school.

This challenge is especially critical in light of the vast health disparities that exist in our nation. Low-income minority students are at increased risk of health problems that hinder learning. These same students are more likely to attend schools that do not provide health-promoting environments; for example, they often attend school in buildings with unhealthy indoor air and lack opportunities such as recess to be physically active during the day. Research continues to link health disparities to the minority achievement gap and suggest that unless we address these health disparities, efforts to close the education achievement gap will be compromised.

The Obama administration has made addressing the achievement gap a top priority. In the past two years, the federal government has also demonstrated a strong commitment to disease prevention and health promotion with initiatives including the First Lady’s Let’s Move campaign and the release of the National Prevention Strategy.

The purpose of Health in Mind is to delineate strategies that federal agencies can deploy to create the conditions for health and learning in our nation’s schools. These immediate, practical strategies can serve as a starting point for broader change in the health and education sectors.

Creating the Conditions for Health and Learning

To truly support learning, schools must create the conditions for health. Given the strong connection between health and learning, this is central to schools’ core mission of student learning.

What does it mean for schools to support student health? A healthier school environment is one which supports students’ well-being and in which student health builds a foundation for learning. In this environment, good nutrition, physical activity, basic safety, clean air and water, access to care, and education about how to make healthy choices allow students to thrive. In a healthy school, students learn—through lessons and through example—to value their own health and wellness.

These recommendations reflect a new approach to making health and wellness part of the school experience. This means that wellness is not relegated to an occasional health lesson or physical education class—it is part of math, science, lunch and everything in between. It means providing teachers with professional development related to children’s physical and emotional development, and integrating health into every subject, reward system and classroom management strategy.

Achieving this ultimate vision will require leadership and commitment at many levels, from classrooms to Washington, D.C. The goal and challenge of Health in Mind is to make concrete recommendations that fall within the federal government’s role and can have a significant and sustainable impact on two national priorities: reducing the achievement gap and transforming our health care system.

Tomorrow, we will present these recommendations to Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius. Stay posted for updates and the full recommendations!

Students Tour Farm, Prepare to Share Lessons with Congress about Chicken Raised without Antibiotics

By Brittany Wright, HSC media and outreach specialist

CVCA students at Miller Poultry

Last week, I accompanied a group of Chicago Vocational Career Academy (CVCA) culinary students, including the winning team from the Cooking up Change Chicago healthy cooking contest, to Miller Amish Poultry Farm.

The CVCA team won top honors at Cooking up Change Chicago with a lunch featuring freshly-baked chicken drumsticks; that chicken was raised without antibiotics on Miller Farms. Students in Cooking up Change are limited to ingredients that school dining managers are able to order for school lunch and this year for the first time, that list includes fresh chicken raised without antibiotics. Chicago Public Schools recently began serving this chicken as part of its lunch program.  You can learn more about the freshly-baked chicken in Chicago schools here.

On the tour, the students had the chance to meet Amish farmers and learn how Miller raises chickens without antibiotics in a cage-free, humane environment. Mark Tilbury and Kerri McClimen of The Pew Campaign on Human Health and Industrial Farming  explained the importance of antibiotic-free food production. To learn more about the use of antibiotics in food production and its connection to health, check out this excellent overview from Pew. (For another great overview of the issue that also discusses the decision by CPS to begin serving chicken raised without the use of antibiotics, check out this article in Wired science blog.)

CVCA student Kaliah explained, “This field trip has given me a chance to understand how chicken is produced.” Classmate Jerome Sims said he’d learned, “when the animal is healthier, the meat will be better.”

After the students’ hands-on experience with chickens, we headed over to the processing plant and learned about the different measures to ensure food is safe for consumption as it is prepped for distribution throughout the Midwest to customers including Whole Foods, Chipotle, a variety of regional grocery stores, and recently Chicago Public Schools.

After the trip, Cooking up Change teammate Ciara Lawson explained, “It has given me more background information on how healthy [antibiotic-free chicken] really is. It can change a person’s perspective.” Her teammate Jerome Sims added “I feel great because we used natural and healthy chicken” in the winning Cooking up Change lunch. Student chef Diamonte said, “I think this trip really gave us a better understanding on what we are cooking and on what happens to the food.”

Now, the CVCA students will bring these lessons to Congress! On May 10, the students will take part in a Congressional briefing on serving food raised without antibiotics in school lunch. That day, the lunch they created will be served for lunch the House of Representatives cafeteria! Take a moment to send a letter inviting your senators and representative to attend the briefing and try the students’ award-winning school lunch!



Later in May, the students will be back in Washington, D.C. to compete against teams from across the country in the Cooking up Change national finals. Stay posted for updates!

 

Sandoval School Assistant Principal Shares the Benefits of Breakfast in the Classroom

We recently sat down with assistant principal Caridid Garcia of Socorro Sandoval School, one of the early adopters of the Breakfast in the Classroom program, to gain insight on how the program works at the southwest Chicago school.

Socorro Sandoval School provides breakfast for nearly 1,200 students each day. The multi-track school  adopted the program in 2009 and rolled out the program after a few months of planning. 

Garcia credits the program's success and smooth transition to staff communication and collaboration. “Now it just flows smoothly," she said. "Our kids know. Kids, after a week of doing something, they just catch on." Check out the video below for assistant principal Garcia's reflections on the benefits that Breakfast in the Classroom has brought to Sandoval School.

 

Many thanks to assistant principal Caridid Garcia for sharing her story!

Plus! Visit www.BreakfastMatters.org to learn about the Breakfast in the Classroom initiative in Chicago.

A Look Inside: School Wellness Team Making a Difference

By Brittany Wright, HSC media + outreach specialist

Last week, we wrote about how the Nathanael Greene Elementary parent wellness team organized a community health fair. I was fortunate to tag along with Jovita Flores, manager of HSC’s Parents United for Healthy Schools coalition, to sit in on a wellness team meeting at Greene school focused on the results of the fair. The parent-driven wellness team created the event to spotlight health resources and demonstrate community support for healthy school food and fitness. The event also created opportunities for more parents to learn about and get involved with the school’s wellness efforts. 

Greene Elementary wellness team meeting with parents and principal Michael Heidkamp

Parents at the meeting beamed when sharing the high points of the event: student physical activity demonstrations, health testing and screening, and smoothie workshops! Parent leaders said they were happy to have so many families participate and that they are looking forward to replicating the evening’s success as they get started on the next event!

Wellness teams can connect parents and school administrators through the shared goal of promoting student health. Principal Michael Heidkamp regularly participates in wellness team meetings. He explained that parent leadership has been key in prioritizing school wellness at Greene.  

“I think it’s nice to have a strong group of parents that are constantly reminding you that their child’s experience is so much more than [testing],” he said. “They’ve been integral in expanding all that we do.”

Greene Elementary wellness team meeting

The principal encourages parent wellness leaders to share resources with others in the school to garner support for their efforts. Heidkamp recommends sending surveys and communication in newsletters to share ideas and initiatives. He suggested that the team “build your group and your committee based on the roll-out of those different resources to get your name and mission out there. That is a very powerful way to attract other parents.” At the meeting, parents discussed communication tools and updates they developed to include in the school newsletter that goes home with all students. 

The wellness team also discussed classroom celebrations. “If we’re going to make changes in regards to what parents can bring to celebrate kids’ birthdays, it’s not going to be cupcakes anymore, it’s going to be healthy alternatives,” said Heidkamp. “It’s important that parents are speaking to other parents about that, not just administrators. It’s a decision by the community for the community, that’s the most powerful way I’ve found to frame those decisions. Then it’s much more about this is why and this is the change that I’m making with my child and that you can make with your child.”

Kudos to the Greene wellness team! Keep up the great work promoting health and wellness.

Webinar this Thursday: Improving Education through Wellness

We're thrilled to announce an exciting webinar that HSC is hosting this Thursday with Dr. Charles Basch, author of Healthier Students are Better Learners. You can check out the description below and register here.  Please join us for this thoughtful and dynamic discussion.

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Health in Mind: Improving Education through Wellness

March 29, 2012 · 12:00-1:00 PM central · Webinar

Research documents what parents and educators know: healthy students are better prepared to learn. How can we put this simple fact into action to boost achievement in our nation’s schools? This webinar will provide an overview of Health in Mind: Improving Education through Wellness, a new initiative from Healthy Schools Campaign and the Trust for America’s Health. Health in Mind encompasses specific, practical policy recommendations the nation can implement to make immediate improvements without significant expense. Speakers, including Dr. Charles Basch from Columbia Teachers College, will highlight the important role schools can play in disease prevention and health promotion and will discuss the connection between health and learning.

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HSC is hosting a series of webinars throughout the spring on issues related to school food and health in schools. Check out the links below to learn more and register.

A School Nurse in Every School: Addressing Barriers to Adequate Funding for School Nursing
April 9, 2012 · 11 AM - 12 PM central · Webinar
Learn more and register here »

Quiet Innovation for Healthy School Food
April 16, 2012 · 1-2 PM central · Webinar
Learn more and register here »

The Small Business Side of Improving School Food
May 1, 2012 · 1-2 PM central · Webinar
Learn more and register here »

We hope you'll join us!

Chicken in Chicago Cafeterias and in the News!

Chicago Public Schools recently began serving scratch-cooked chicken, purchased unprocessed from the USDA and an Amish farm in nearby Indiana where the poultry is raised without antibiotics. Earlier this month, HSC took part in a teleconference with the Pew Campaign on Human Health and Industrial Farming, School Food FOCUS, Chartwells-Thompson Hospitality and Whole Foods to announce the purchase of unprocessed chicken raised without antibiotics.

This effort marks a significant milestone for school lunch and adds to a track record of innovative initiatives for improving school food in one the nation’s third-largest school district. 

Shoesmith students enjoy a healthy school meal! 

We were happy to see local and national press bring attention to this milestone! 

WIRED writer Mary McKenna said, “the Chicago schools’ announcement of their willingness to buy antibiotic-free meat isn’t just newsworthy; it’s a major step in protecting their students, students’ families, and the rest of society as well.”

The Hill commended the announcement as “a major win for public health advocates who have been warning about the rising threat of antibiotic resistance.”

Chicago Tribune’s Monica Eng said the effort “represents an important step toward meeting upcoming government guidelines calling for a reduction of processed foods and sodium in school meals.” 

Medill News observes that “the new menu offering marks a major step in the campaign to improve lunchtime options for students throughout the country.”

Check out ABC 7’s coverage of the announcement below.

Cold & Flu Season Is Around the Corner: Tips for Infection Prevention in Schools

Today we have a guest post by John Paul Surdo, North American Education Sector Leader for Diversey, Inc., a leader level sponsor of HSC’s Quick & Easy Guide to Green Cleaning in Schools. Thanks to John for this great and timely post!

Every year, schools across the country face an inevitable battle against colds and flu (Rhinovirus and Influenza). It is important that faculty and staff members work together during flu season to ensure the health and safety of their students.

By taking a few simple steps, you can help to limit absenteeism due to the spread of these infectious viruses.

One way to do so is by encouraging students and faculty to be part of the effort to keep the school healthy. Individuals should wash their hands often and avoid touching their eyes, nose, and mouth. Schools can help raise awareness of the importance of handwashing with educational posters in the hallway and restroom.

Teachers and school nurses can also engage students in handwashing activities (such as singing songs or reading stories related to handwashing) and offer regular, simple reminders. 

Finally, regular cleaning and disinfecting of common touch points can be a crucial way to maintain a healthy environment for students and staff. Although personal hygiene and responsibility are important to limit the spread of influenza, the virus is transmitted by hands and surfaces in an institution. Therefore, schools should regularly clean and disinfect commonly touched surfaces such as:

• door handles
• light switches
• desks
• lockers
• athletic equipment
• computer keyboards and mice
• phones
• vending machines
• hand railings
• drinking fountains

Green cleaning and disinfecting techniques help keep the indoor air as healthy as possible for all occupants of a building. This includes green multi-use cleaners and healthier disinfectants such as those based on hydrogen peroxide which break down to oxygen and water after use. 

To learn more about green cleaning – during flu season and beyond – check out HSC’s Quick & Easy Guide to Green Cleaning in Schools. You can access the guide online or get your free copy at www.greencleanschools.org. 

Plus: Be sure to sign up for HSC's green cleaning newsletter for the latest green clean schools news and updates!

EPA Provides Online Resources for Healthy School Environments

Now that students are settling back into classrooms across the country, it's a great time to check out some of the free resources available online to make your school as healthy and green as possible!

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is highlighting key environmental education  resources to improve energy efficiency, save money, and better protect health and the environment during the school year. Check out a few of these great resources:

Parents and educators can learn practical information to promote safe, green and healthy school environments for students and staff through EPA’s Healthy Schools Initiative. 

We recently showcased the impact school bus idling has on the environment and the 24 million children who are school bus passengers. Check out EPA’s National Idle Reduction campaign for anti-idling tips.

School indoor air quality (IAQ) has a huge impact on student and staff health and well-being. The Tools for Schools action kit helps parents and educators create an IAQ management program.

Students can take action too! Use the MyEnvironment tool to learn about your community, then take five eco-actions and share your tips with sustainability advocates.

For more information and resources to make sustainable changes in the classroom, visit the EPA’s school environment page. 

Back to School Shopping: Why Go PVC-Free?

Today we have a guest post by our friend Mike Schade at the Center for Health, Environment and Justice. This post originally appeared yesterday on the CHEJ blog. Thanks to Mike for this great and timely post!

Still stocking up on school supplies? If you're like many other parents and doing some last-minute shopping, be sure to steer clear of toxic PVC plastic, the most widely used hazardous plastic in the world.

Check out our 2011 Back to School Guide to PVC-free School Supplies, which features safer alternatives to toxic PVC plastic in over 35 product categories, from backpacks and binders to lunchboxes and laptops.

We also have created a handy wallet-sized version for you when youre out shopping for some quick tips.

Top 5 Reasons to Go PVC-free:

1. Toxic additives like phthalates, lead, cadmium and organotins are commonly found in PVC children's products, which can leach out of the plastic.
2. PVC chemicals like phthalates and dioxin tresspass into our bodies and are linked to chronic diseases on the rise.They're not just in the products or released at the chemical plants, but are entering our bodies at potentially harmful levels!
3. Children are uniquely vulnerable to even low levels of these toxic chemicals, because their bodies and brains are still developing.
4. PVC pollutes at every stage of its lifecycle, from production to use to disposal, releasing cancer-causing chemicals like dioxin and vinyl chloride.
5. Safer and affordable alternatives are available! Why take an unnecessary risk with your children's health?

Stand up for your children's right to a healthy future, and check out our Back to School Guide to PVC-free School Supplies.

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Plus: Learn more about PVC in this post on HSC's blog!

Back to School with Go for the Gold!

As students get ready to head back to school this year, we are excited for another year of Go for the Gold!

Go for the Gold is a partnership of Chicago Public Schools and Healthy Schools Campaign with the USDA and Illinois State Board of Education. Go for the Gold provides leadership training, programs and resources to Chicago schools as they strive to meet the USDA's HealthierUS School Challenge, a cornerstone of First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move campaign.

In June, we celebrated as 19 schools received national recognition for making health and wellness a priority! Now, dozens more schools are on their way to making changes. We invite you to learn more and check out our latest Go for the Gold video!

 

Plus: To learn more about Go for the Gold, check out our Gold for the Gold blog updates. Stay posted for more stories and updates as the school year gets underway!

Fun, Creative Activities from the Ideas for Health and Wellness Contest

This summer, we hosted the Ideas for Health and Wellness contest, inviting you to share ideas, stories, and tips to support healthy changes in our schools. Throughout the summer, we received great  creative ideas for school wellness. Thanks to everyone who participated and congratulations to our winners, who will receive a gift card and wellness prize for their schools!

A few of the many standout ideas shared in the contest include:

Ask each child to bring in a fruit they enjoy, cut into pieces, then add them all together into a huge bowl to make a friendship fruit salad! Have a new food of the day at snacktime, where students get to taste something healthy and new, then make a bar graph with their votes.  - Jennifer L. 

Teachers are the ultimate role models! Modeling healthy food and beverage choices during the school day can have a big impact, as well as insisting on only healthy fun food items for school parties and snacks. Drinking water during the day instead of having a can of soda on the desk is huge! Telling the kids how good you feel when you exercise helps them understand the emotional significance of exercise.  Having a chart on the wall by your desk tracking how far you walk in a week, how many times you went to the gym, etc. models how tracking our exercise can help us keep up a regular routine. - Ann C.

Plant sales are often successful -- students could raise the seedlings themselves or team up with a local nursery. - Hannah T.

Have an exercise-a-thon. The children/adult volunteers could pick from one of four exercises (jogging in place, jumping jacks, touching toes, etc.), taking pledges. The children would learn fundraising techniques for their schools, get exercise, and have fun. - Kay B.

These ideas and many more will support schools in making healthy changes! Ideas shared in the contest will be featured in resources and publications to help schools across the country implement health and wellness programs.

Kudos to all the parents, teachers, community and school leaders making a difference in their schools through food and fitness with such creative projects!