The administration and staff of the Seaman USD #345 school district recognize that good nutrition and physical activity for students can lead to better academic performance and fewer behavioral problems as well as establishing life-long healthy eating habits.
Healthy Eating Practice –
| • | All foods are good in moderation. Students, staff and parents are encouraged to look at nutritive value in selecting food choices at school. The US Department of Agriculture has defined foods of minimal nutritional value as those that provide less than 5% of the US recommended daily allowance per serving for protein, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, niacin, riboflavin, thiamin, calcium and iron; those that provide most calories in the form of fat and/or sugars but contain few vitamins or minerals. This includes carbonated soft drinks, candy, chewing gum, popsicles, fried chips and juice drinks. | ||||
| • | Staff responsible for duty at lunch tables encourage portion control and diversity in food choices. | ||||
| • | Provide a safe and positive atmosphere for the increasing number of students experiencing food allergies and/or needing special dietary considerations: | ||||
* |
Parents should contact the classroom teacher to make arrangements if they choose to bring treats for a birthday or other celebration. | ||||
* |
Parents should consider the risk of “food allergies” in other student’s in their child’s classroom, and should contact the classroom teacher to ensure the treats they are planning are not a threat to any other children in the classroom. | ||||
| • | The use of non-nutritive food as a reward in the classroom is discouraged. Some ideas for alternate rewards are: | ||||
* |
A paperback book | ||||
* |
Eat lunch with a teacher or other school staff member | ||||
* |
Paper “dollars” or tokens to use toward a trip to a “treasure chest” | ||||
* |
Volunteer reads special book to the class | ||||
| • | If snacks are offered in the classroom, the focus should be on healthy snacks from the Food Guide Pyramid. | ||||
| • | At class parties request that milk, ice water or sugar free beverages be provided instead of soda pop. | ||||
| • | Encourage parents to practice healthy eating behaviors at home. In particular, eating a healthy breakfast daily before school is very important to starting each day with the strength and energy necessary for successful learning. | ||||
| • | Food is an important part of our culture, and parents and school staff are encouraged to help model the practice of selecting healthy foods by providing a balance of nutritive versus non-nutritive choices at school parties and celebrations. | ||||
* |
If a pizza party occurs at school, provide fruit and/or vegetables and dip instead of cookies. | ||||
Continue reading>Page 2
