The Board of Education believes that children need access to healthful foods and opportunities to be physically active in order to grow, learn, and thrive, and that good health fosters student attendance and education.

Obesity rates have doubled in children and tripled in adolescents over the last two decades, and physical inactivity and excessive caloric intake are the predominant causes of obesity. Heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes are responsible for two-thirds of deaths in the United States, and major risk factors for those diseases, including unhealthy eating habits, physical inactivity, and obesity, often are established in childhood. Further, the items most commonly sold from school vending machines, school stores, and snack bar include low-nutrition foods and beverages, such as soda, sports drinks, imitation fruit juices, chips, candy, cookies, and snack cakes.

Therefore, the board is committed to providing school environments that promote and protect children’s health,well-being, and ability to learn by supporting healthy eating and physical activity, and will ensure that:

C. Qualified child nutrition professionals will provide students with access to a variety of affordable, nutritious, and appealing foods that meet the health and nutrition needs of students; will accommodate the religious, ethnic, and cultural diversity of the student in meal planning; and will provide clean, safe, and pleasant settings and adequate time for students to eat.

D. All schools will participate in available Federal school meal programs.

E. Schools will provide nutrition education and physical education to foster lifelong habits of healthy eating and physical activity, and will establish linkages between the health education and school meal programs, and with related community services.

All reimbursable meals shall meet Federal nutrient standards as required by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Child Nutrition Program regulations.

The following items may not be served, sold, or given out as free promotion anywhere on school property at any time before the end of the school day.

A. Foods of minimal nutritional value (F.M.N.V.) as outlined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture regulations;

B. All food and beverage items listing sugar, in any form, as the first ingredient; and

C. All forms of candy.

Schools shall reduce the purchase of any products containing trans fats.