USD 113 WORKING TO IMPROVE SCHOOL LUNCHES
By Schoening, Diane
January 10, 2012
USD 113 WORKING TO IMPROVE SCHOOL LUNCHES
Behind the scenes, Regina Mayer, USD 113’s Food Service Supervisor, has been hard at work this year preparing our school lunch program to participate in the HealthierUS School Challenge in Sabetha, Wetmore, Bern, Axtell and Summerfield.
Regina along with the members of the District’s Wellness Committee have long been aware that childhood overweight and obesity are major concerns in the United States and in Kansas. Evidence indicates that poor nutrition, physical inactivity, and obesity are associated with lower student achievement.
Recognizing that schools have more influence on the lives of young people than any other institution, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and USD 113 are wanting to play a role in helping students learn to make healthier eating and physical activity choices that will last a lifetime.
USDA has established the HealthierUS School Challenge to recognize schools that create healthier school environments by providing nutrition education, nutritious food and beverage choices, and physical education and opportunities for physical activity.
The Challenge is a voluntary national certification initiative for schools and three different levels can be awarded: Bronze, Silver and Gold. Regina has been busy planning menus that meet or exceed the National School Lunch Program requirements, attending trainings for this program and making sure that we are offering a wider variety of fruits and vegetables including dark green and orange vegetables, frequent use of whole-grain products and low-fat and fat-free milk products.
We will not know if we have been awarded any of the levels until the end of the school year, but we continue to offer the healthiest food choices we can and make our schools a healthy environment for all our students. Our hats go off to Mrs. Mayer for her hard work to make this happen for USD 113.
