This press release was forwarded to me today, which I thought was important for my visitors to read. As always, feel free to send along press releases using the contact form above.
A Push For Healthier School Snacks And Drinks
National Education Association Health Information Network helps school communities take action against childhood obesity
Bag the junk–that’s the goal of a new website recently launched by the National Education Association Health Information Network (NEA HIN). BagtheJunk.org aims to educate, mobilize, and empower members of the school community to help them improve the nutritional quality of foods and beverages sold in school a la carte lines, vending machines, and stores.
The site was launched just weeks before the U.S. Department of Agriculture released its new proposed national nutrition standards for snack foods and beverages sold in schools, which call for schools to offer more snacks with whole grains, low-fat dairy, fruits, or vegetables as their main ingredient.
“The proposed updates to national nutrition standards for school snack foods are long overdue,” said Nora Howley, NEA HIN’s Acting Executive Director. “It’s critical that we end up with a strong national baseline, but states and school districts can also do a lot on their own to ensure that all students have healthy options available before, during, and after the school day.”
During the 2009-10 school year, 76% of high school students, 63% of middle school students, and 47% of elementary school students could buy unhealthy snack foods at school. Sugar-sweetened beverages, including soda, sports drinks, and high-calorie fruit drinks, also were widely available to students of all ages. Yet evidence suggests that restricting sales of unhealthy snacks and beverages in schools can improve children’s diets, reduce weight gain, and even increase school food service revenues.
“Replacing junk food and sugary drinks with healthy options will be a win-win–for students and for schools,” said Howley. “Schools across the country already are making these changes and they’re seeing great results. We’re encouraging our members to get involved and help their students have better choices.”
BagtheJunk.org highlights stories about schools that are already offering healthier snacks and beverages to students and provides free resources, including video, infographics, fact sheets, and organizing activities that can help school employees and parents create healthy changes in their own schools. The site also features blog posts from experts and news about trends and research related to school foods and the national movement to prevent childhood obesity. Support for the website was provided by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
To read the full press release…..Click here