Tips on Creating a Healthy School Lunch Program
The first step in creating a Healthy School lunch program is to educate the students on nutrition itself. According to National Institute of Education Statistics, about 99% of public schools provide nutritional education somewhere in their curriculum. The key thing to remember in nutritional education is to not focus on pushing the students to change their ways, it is to give them the knowledge of nutrition so that they are able to make the decision themselves. According to the National Standards for Nutrition Education, The nutrition curriculum should include what type of nutrients their body needs to function daily, the type of food that provide these nutrients, and how to maintain and promote a healthy. Education on nutrition should be implemented as early as possible, primarily in elementary school, and should be reinforced throughout their educational career. Education of Nutrition does not only fall under the school staff's responsibility, but the school should work together with the parents of students in order to maximize the child's education on nutrition. The parents and guardians can act as prime role models for the students in order to create good eating habits and eat healthy meals. An example of how schools can work together with the students' guardians is shown on the right. This picture depicts a letter that the school sent to the parents, describing them their school lunch program and educating the parent's on how to keep their child healthy and fit. Finally, it is the school's responsibility to keep up with the USDA standards for a healthy lunch program. For example, USDA recommends that schools restrict soda and chips in their lunch, so the schools should comply to these recommendations. The school should be knowledgeable on what type of food is required for the student and what type of food to avoid. The school lunch plan should act as the best guideline for their students to create their own diets. The video below provides a prime examples of great nutrition programs that work with the whole family. This program was created at Iowa State University, but works with several high schools and elementary schools to provide a factual nutritional education program. In addition, the flow diagram depicts the factors to better nutrition for students.