Skip to content Skip to footer
(213) 381-2931

Wellness Policy

wellness policy

Preamble

Whereas, children need access to healthful foods and opportunities to be physically active in order to grow, learn, and thrive;

Whereas, good health fosters student attendance and education;

Whereas, obesity rates have doubled in children and tripled in adolescents over the last two decades and excessive carbohydrate calorie intake is the predominant cause of obesity;

Whereas, 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 and obesity often are established in childhood;

Whereas, nationally, the items most commonly sold from school vending machines, school stores, and snack bars include high-carbohydrate foods and beverages, such as soda, sports drinks, imitation fruit juices, chips, candy, cookies, and snack cakes;

 

Rationale

The link between nutrition, physical activity, and learning is well documented. Healthy eating and activity patterns are essential for children to achieve their full academic potential, full physical and mental growth, and lifelong health and well-being. Healthy eating and physical activity, essential for healthy weight, are also linked to reduced risk for many chronic diseases, like Type 2 diabetes. Schools have a responsibility to help students learn, establish and maintain life long, healthy eating and activity patterns. Well-planned and effectively implemented school nutrition and fitness programs have been shown to enhance students overall health, as well as their behavior and academic achievement in school. Staff wellness is also an integral part of healthy school environment, since school staff can be daily role models for healthy behaviors

 

Goals

All residents at St. Anne’s will be taught the knowledge and skills necessary to make nutritious food choices for a lifetime. All staff at St. Anne’s is encouraged to model healthy eating as a valuable part of daily life.

To meet this goal, St. Anne’s will adopt this school wellness policy with the following commitments to nutrition, comprehensive health education, marketing and implementation. This policy is designed to effectively utilize school and community resources and to equitably serve the needs and interests of all residents and staff, taking into consideration differences in culture.

Thus, St. Anne’s is committed to promote and protect children’s health, well-being, and ability to learn by supporting healthy eating.

 

Commitment to Nutrition 

St. Anne’s at all levels will:

    • Offer a lunch program with menus that meet the meal patterns and nutrition standards established by the USDA and California Department of Education, Child Nutrition
    • Offer breakfast and snack programs with menus that meet the meal pattern and nutrition standards established by the USDA and the CDE, Child Nutrition
    • Encourage our staff and residents to participate in school meals programs
    • Operate all child nutrition Programs with food service staff that are properly qualified according to current professional
    • Establish food safety as a key component of all food operations and ensure that the food service permit is current for the
    • Provide adequate time for students to eat and enjoy all
    • Regularly promote healthy food options to residents. By providing healthy meal posters at all designated meal areas and making sure every meal provides a well- balanced meal
    • Limit access to “less healthy” competitive foods and beverages on
    • Furnish every resident with an environment conducive to a positive dining experience, while socializing among residents and staff, with supervision of eating areas by adults who model proper
    • Ensure St. Anne’s health services provider and/or counseling, physiological, or social services provider’s identify residents with health problems affected by nutrition, so they can be referred to the most appropriate school based or community based services (examples include overweight, diabetes, or eating disorders).
    • Anne’s will develop a food service collaborate with staff to reinforce nutrition & education lessons taught on site. For example: display educational material in the dining area to reinforce lessons, provide seminars with ideas for staff and residents about nutrition and physical education.
    • To assess the effects of our effectiveness, a committee will be formed that is committed to meeting twice a year to review and make changes to this document. We view this document as a work in progress and will be bring updates to Program Administration twice per
    • Our Wellness Policy will be accessible to our residents, staff, and public by posting our wellness policy at every meal area and proving access to for viewing through St Anne’s

 

St. Anne’s Wellness Committee

STRTP Director

Director, Food Service & Conference center

Quality Assurance Director

Registered Nurse

Activities Coordinator

Resident Council

 

Meal Times and Scheduling

    • Will not be scheduled during tutoring, club, or organizational meetings or activities during mealtimes, unless residents may eat during such activities;
    • Will be scheduled meal periods at appropriate times, g., lunch should be scheduled between 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m.;
    • Will provide residents access to hand washing or hand sanitizing before they eat meals or snacks; and
    • Will provide students with at least 30 minutes to eat after sitting down for breakfast and 1 hour after sitting down for lunch;
    • Will take reasonable steps to accommodate the tooth-brushing regimens of residents with special oral health needs (g., orthodontia or high tooth decay risk).

 

Qualifications of Food Service Staff

Qualified nutrition professionals will administer the school meal programs. As part of St. Anne’s responsibility to operate a food service program, we will provide continuing professional development for all nutrition professionals in schools. Staff development programs should include appropriate certification and/or training programs for child nutrition directors, campus nutrition managers, and cafeteria workers, according to their levels of responsibility.

 

Beverages

    • Allowed: Water or seltzer water without added caloric sweeteners; Fruit & Vegetable Juices with 100% juice and have no added sweeteners; Milks that are : 1% or non-fat and contain Vitamins A & D and have ≥ 25% of the calcium Daily Value per 8 fl. oz. and have ≤ 28 grams of total sugar per 8 fl. oz.; Non-dairy milks shall contain Vitamins A & D and have ≥ 25% of the calcium Daily Value per 8 fl. oz. and ≤ 28 grams of total sugars per 8 fl. oz. and ≤ 5 grams of fat per 8 fl.
    • Not allowed: soft drinks containing caloric sweeteners; sports drinks; iced teas; beverages containing caffeine, excluding low-carbohydrate (which contains trivial amounts of caffeine).

 

Foods

    • Dairy food items (food made from milk with the exception of cheese packaged for individual sale) or a whole grain food item must have ≤ 35% calories from fat and ≤10% calories from saturated fat and ≤35% sugar by weight and ≤ 175 calories per item/container
    • Grain products will adhere to all nutritional requirements (found in the food service consultant’s office)
    • No foods will have artificial trans-fats except those sold one-half hour before school or one-half hour after school.

 

Snacks

Snacks served during the school day or in after-school care or enrichment programs will make a positive contribution to children’s diets and health, with an emphasis on serving whole-grain items, fruits and vegetables as the primary snacks and 100% juices or compliant milks as primary beverages. St. Anne’s will assess if and when to offer snacks based on timing of school meals, children’s nutritional needs, children’s ages, and other considerations. Our campus will provide healthful snack items to students.

 

NUTRITION AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY PROMOTION AND FOOD MARKETING

Nutrition Education and Promotion

St Anne’s aims to teach, encourage, and support healthy eating by students. St Anne’s will provide nutrition education and engage in nutrition promotion, which offers the following:

    • Each grade level is offered, as part of a sequential, comprehensive, standards- based program designed to provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary to promote and protect their health;
    • Includes enjoyable, developmentally appropriate, culturally relevant, participatory activities, such as contests, promotions,
    • Promotes whole-grain products, fruits, vegetables, healthy food preparation methods, and health-enhancing nutrition practices;
    • Emphasizes caloric balance between food intake and energy expenditure (physical activity/exercise);
    • Links with school meal programs, other school foods, and nutrition-related community services;
    • Includes training for teachers and other

 

FOOD MARKETING IN CAMPUSES

Staff Wellness

St. Anne’s highly values the health and well-being of every staff member and will plan and implement policies that support personal efforts by staff to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

 

Physical Activity Opportunities and Physical Education Monitoring and Policy Review

Policy Review

To help with the initial development of the wellness policies, a baseline assessment of the campus’s nutrition and physical activity environments and policies will be conducted.

Assessments will be repeated twice a year by conducting our consumer survey, to help review policy compliance, assess progress, and determine areas in need of improvement. As part of that review, St. Anne’s will review our nutrition and physical activity policies; provision of an environment that supports healthy eating and physical activity; and nutrition and physical education policies and program elements. St. Anne’s will, as necessary, revise the wellness policies and develop work plans to facilitate its implementation.

 

Resources for Local School Wellness Policies on Nutrition and Physical Activity

 

  • School Health Index, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,

<http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/shi/>

 

  • Local Wellness Policy website, U.S. Department of Agriculture,

<http://www.fns.usda.gov/tn/Healthy/wellnesspolicy.html>

 

 

  • Preventing Childhood Obesity: Health in the Balance, the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, <iom.edu/report.asp?id=22596>

 

  • The Learning Connection: The Value of Improving Nutrition and Physical Activity in Our Schools, Action for Healthy Kids,

<www.actionforhealthykids.org/docs/specialreports/LC%20Color%20_120204_fin al.pdf>

 

  • Ten Strategies for Promoting Physical Activity, Healthy Eating, and a Tobacco-free Lifestyle through School Health Programs, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,

<www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/publications/pdf/ten_strategies.pdf>

 

  • Health, Mental Health, and Safety Guidelines for Schools, American Academy of Pediatrics and National Association of School Nurses, <http://www.nationalguidelines.org>

 

  • Cardiovascular Health Promotion in Schools, American Heart Association [link to pdf]

 

School Health Councils

  • Promoting Healthy Youth, Schools and Communities: A Guide to Community-School Health Councils, American Cancer Society [link to PDF]

 

  • Effective School Health Advisory Councils: Moving from Policy to Action, Public Schools of North Carolina,

<www.nchealthyschools.org/nchealthyschools/htdocs/SHAC_manual.pdf>

 

NUTRITION

 

General Resources on Nutrition

  • Making it Happen: School Nutrition Success Stories, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and

U.S. Department of Education,

<http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/nutrition/Making-It-Happen/>

 

 

  • Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Agriculture,

<www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2005/document/>

 

  • Guidelines for School Health Programs to Promote Lifelong Healthy Eating, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, <cdc.gov/mmwr/pdf/rr/rr4509.pdf>

 

  • Healthy Food Policy Resource Guide, California School Boards Association and California Project LEAN, <csba.org/ps/hf.htm>

 

  • Diet and Oral Health, American Dental Association,

<http://www.ada.org/public/topics/diet.asp>

 

School Meals

  • Healthy School Meals Resource System, U.S. Department of Agriculture,

<http://schoolmeals.nal.usda.gov/>

 

  • School Nutrition Dietary Assessment Study–II, a U.S. Department of Agriculture study of the foods served in the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program, <cspinet.org/nutritionpolicy/SNDAIIfind.pdf>

 

  • Local Support for Nutrition Integrity in Schools, American Dietetic Association,

<www.eatright.org/Member/Files/Local.pdf>

 

  • Nutrition Services: an Essential Component of Comprehensive Health Programs, American Dietetic Association,

<www.eatright.org/Public/NutritionInformation/92_8243.cfm>

 

  • Healthier US School Challenge, S. Department of Agriculture,

<www.fns.usda.gov/tn/HealthierUS/index.htm>

 

  • Breakfast for Learning, Food Research and Action Center,

<www.frac.org/pdf/breakfastforlearning.PDF>

 

  • School Breakfast Scorecard, Food Research and Action Center,

<www.frac.org/School_Breakfast_Report/2004/ >

 

Meal Times and Scheduling

  • Eating at School: A Summary of NFSMI Research on Time Required by Students to Eat Lunch, National Food Service Management Institute (NFSMI) [Attach PDF file]

 

 Relationships of Meal and Recess Schedules to Plate Waste in Elementary Schools, National Food Service Management Institute,

<www.nfsmi.org/Information/Newsletters/insight24.pdf >

 

Nutrition Standards for Foods

  • Recommendations for Competitive Foods Standards (a report by the National Consensus Panel on School Nutrition), California Center for Public Health Advocacy,

<www.publichealthadvocacy.org/school_food_standards/school_food_stan_pd fs/Nutrition%20Standards%20Report%20-%20Final.pdf>

 

  • State policies for competitive foods in schools, U.S. Department of Agriculture,

<www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/Lunch/CompetitiveFoods/state_policies_2002.htm>

 

  • Nutrition Integrity in Schools, (forthcoming), National Alliance for Nutrition and Activity

 

  • School Foods Tool Kit, Center for Science in the Public Interest,

<www.cspinet.org/schoolfood/>

 

  • FAQ on School Pouring Rights Contracts, American Dental Association,

<http://www.ada.org/public/topics/softdrink_faq.asp>

 

Fruit and Vegetable Promotion in Schools

 

  • School Foodservice Guide: Successful Implementation Models for Increased Fruit and Vegetable Consumption, Produce for Better Health Foundation. Order on-line for

$29.95 at <www.shop5aday.com/acatalog/School_Food_Service_Guide.html>.

 

 

  • National Farm-to-School Program website, hosted by the Center for Food and Justice, <farmtoschool.org>

 

 

  • Produce for Better Health Foundation website has downloadable fruit and vegetable curricula, research, activity sheets, and more at <5aday.org>

Snacks

  • Healthy School Snacks, (forthcoming), Center for Science in the Public Interest

 

 

NUTRITION AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY PROMOTION AND FOOD MARKETING

 

Health Education

  • National Health Education Standards, American Association for Health Education,

<http://www.aahperd.org/aahe/pdf_files/standards.pdf>

 

Nutrition Education and Promotion

 

 

  • Nutrition Education Resources and Programs Designed for Adolescents, compiled by the American Dietetic Association,

<www.eatright.org/Public/index_19218.cfm>

 

Integrating Physical Activity into the Classroom Setting

  • Brain Breaks, Michigan Department of Education,

<www.emc.cmich.edu/brainbreaks>

 

Food Marketing to Children

 

  • Review of Research on the Effects of Food Promotion to Children, United Kingdom Food Standards Agency,

<www.foodstandards.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/foodpromotiontochildren1.pdf>

 

  • Marketing Food to Children (a report on ways that different countries regulate food marketing to children [including marketing in schools]), World Health Organization (WHO),

<http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2004/9241591579.pdf>

 

 

  • Commercial Activities in Schools, S. General Accounting Office,

<www.gao.gov/new.items/d04810.pdf>

 

Eating Disorders

 

 

Staff Wellness

  • School Staff Wellness, National Association of State Boards of Education [link to pdf]

 

  • Healthy Workforce 2010: An Essential Health Promotion Sourcebook for Employers, Large and Small, Partnership for Prevention,

<www.prevent.org/publications/Healthy_Workforce_2010.pdf>

 

  • Well Workplace Workbook: A Guide to Developing Your Worksite Wellness Program,

Wellness Councils of America,

<www.welcoa.org/wellworkplace/index.php?category=7>

 

  • Protecting Our Assets: Promoting and Preserving School Employee Wellness, (forthcoming), Directors of Health Promotion and Education (DHPE)

 

 

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY OPPORTUNITIES AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION

 

General Resources on Physical Activity

  • Guidelines for School and Community Programs to Promote Lifelong Physical Activity among Young People, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,

<www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00046823.htm>

 

  • Healthy People 2010: Physical Activity and Fitness, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports,

<www.healthypeople.gov/document/HTML/Volume2/22Physical.htm#_Toc4 90380803>

 

  • Physical Fitness and Activity in Schools, American Academy of Pediatrics,

<http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/reprint/105/5/1156>

 

Physical Education

  • Opportunity to Learn: Standards for High School Physical Education, National Association for Sport and Physical Education. Order on-line for $7.00 at

<http://member.aahperd.org/template.cfm?template=Productdisplay.cfm&pro ductID=727&section=5>

 

  • Substitution for Instructional Physical Education Programs, National Association for Sport and Physical Education,

<www.aahperd.org/naspe/pdf_files/pos_papers/substitution.pdf>

 

  • Blueprint for Change, Our Nation’s Broken Physical Education System: Why It Needs to be Fixed, and How We Can Do It Together, PE4life,

<www.pe4life.org/articles/blueprint2004.pdf>

 

Physical Activity Opportunities Before and After School

  • Guidelines for After School Physical Activity and Intramural Sport Programs, National Association for Sport and Physical Education,

<www.aahperd.org/naspe/pdf_files/pos_papers/intramural_guidelines.pdf>

 

  • The Case for High School Activities, National Federation of State High School Associations,

<www.nfhs.org/scriptcontent/va_custom/vimdisplays/contentpagedisplay.cfm? content_id=71>

 

  • Rights and Responsibilities of Interscholastic Athletes, National Association for Sport and Physical Education,

<www.aahperd.org/naspe/pdf_files/pos_papers/RightandResponsibilities.pdf>

 

Monitoring and Policy Review

  • School Health Index, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),

<http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/shi/>

 

 

  • Criteria for Evaluating School-Based Approaches to Increasing Good Nutrition and Physical Activity, Action for Healthy Kids,

<www.actionforhealthykids.org/docs/specialreports/report_small.pdf>

 

  • Opportunity to Learn: Standards for Elementary Physical Education, National Association for Sport and Physical Education. Order on-line for $7.00 at

<http://member.aahperd.org/template.cfm?template=Productdisplay.cfm&product ID=368&section=5>

 

  • Opportunity to Learn: Standards for Middle School Physical Education. National Association for Sport and Physical Education. Order on-line for $7.00 at

<http://member.aahperd.org/Template.cfm?template=ProductDisplay.cfm&Produ ctid=726&section=5>