Newport-Mesa USD | BP 3550 Business and Noninstructional Operations
Food Service/Child Nutrition Program
Student Wellness
The Governing Board recognizes the link between student health and learning and desires to provide a comprehensive program promoting healthy eating and physical activity for district students. The Superintendent or designee shall build a coordinated school health system that supports and reinforces health literacy through health education, physical education, health services, nutrition services, psychological and counseling services, health promotion for staff, a safe and healthy school environment, and parent/guardian and community involvement.
(cf. 3513.3 - Tobacco-Free Schools)
(cf. 3514 - Environmental Safety)
(cf. 5131.6 - Alcohol and Other Drugs)
(cf. 5131.61 - Drug Testing)
(cf. 5131.62 - Tobacco)
(cf. 5131.63 - Steroids)
(cf. 5141 - Health Care and Emergencies)
(cf. 5141.22 - Infectious Diseases)
(cf. 5141.27 - Food Allergies/Special Dietary Needs)
(cf. 5141.3 - Health Examinations)
(cf. 5141.31 - Immunizations)
(cf. 5141.32 - Health Screening for School Entry)
(cf. 5141.6 - School Health Services)
(cf. 5142 - Safety)
(cf. 5146 - Married/Pregnant/Parenting Students)
(cf. 6142.1 - Sexual Health and HIV/AIDS Prevention Education)
(cf. 6164.2 - Guidance/Counseling Services)
To encourage consistent health messages between the home and school environment, the Superintendent or designee may disseminate health information to parents/guardians through district or school newsletters, handouts, parent/guardian meetings, the district or school web site, and other communications. Outreach to parents/guardians shall emphasize the relationship between student health and academic performance.
(cf. 1113 - District and School Web Sites)
(cf. 6020 - Parent Involvement)
Nutrition Education and Physical Activity Goals
The Board shall adopt goals for nutrition education, physical activity, and other school-based activities that are designed to promote student wellness in a manner that the district determines appropriate. (42 USC 1751 Note)
(cf. 0000 - Vision)
(cf. 0200 - Goals for the School District)
The district 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 increased levels of physical activity.
Access to healthy foods and opportunities to be physically active assist children to grow, learn and thrive. 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.
Nutritional Guidelines for Foods Available at School
The Board shall adopt nutritional guidelines for all foods available on each campus during the school day, with the objectives of promoting student health and reducing childhood obesity. (42 USC 1751 Note)
The Superintendent or designee shall encourage school organizations to use healthy food items or non-food items for fundraising purposes. He/she also shall encourage school staff to avoid the use of non-nutritious foods as a reward for students' academic performance, accomplishments, or classroom behavior.
(cf. 1230 - School-Connected Organizations)
Schools will provide health education, physical education, and nutrition education for all students to foster lifelong habits of healthy eating and physical activity, and will establish linkages between health education and school meal programs, and with related community services.
The district's nutrition education and physical education programs shall be based on research, consistent with the expectations established in the state's curriculum frameworks and content standards, and designed to build the skills and knowledge that all students need to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
(cf. 6011 - Academic Standards)
(cf. 6143 - Courses of Study)
Nutrition education shall be provided as part of the health education program in grades K-12 and, as appropriate, shall be integrated into other academic subjects in the regular educational program. Nutrition education also may be offered through before- and after-school programs.
(cf. 5148.2 - Before/After School Programs)
(cf. 6142.8 - Comprehensive Health Education)
All students in grades pre-K through 12 will have opportunities, support, and encouragement to be physically active on a regular basis.
All students in grades K-12 shall be provided opportunities to be physically active on a regular basis. Opportunities for moderate to vigorous physical activity shall be provided through physical education, recess, school athletic programs, extracurricular programs, before- and/or after-school programs, and other structured and unstructured activities.
(cf. 6142.7 - Physical Education)
(cf. 6145 - Extracurricular and Cocurricular Activities)
(cf. 6145.2 - Athletic Competition)
The Board prohibits the marketing and advertising of non-nutritious foods and beverages through signage, vending machine fronts, logos, scoreboards, school supplies, advertisements in school publications, coupon or incentive programs, or other means.
(cf. 1325 - Advertising and Promotion)
Qualified child nutrition professionals will provide students, faculty, and staff with access to a variety of affordable, nutritious, and appealing foods that meet their health and nutrition needs; will accommodate religious, ethnic, and cultural diversity in meal planning; and will provide clean, safe, and pleasant settings and adequate time to eat.
The Director of Nutrition Services shall be responsible to organize a "Coordinated Fitness, Nutrition and Health Advisory Council" and coordinate services. The council will engage students, parents, teachers, nutrition professionals, health professionals, district administrators, community based organizations, individual school health councils, and other interested community members to develop recommendations to the Board for adoption of certain rules and regulations to support the goals of this policy. This advisory council shall also monitor, review, and make annual reports to the Board regarding the implementation of rules and regulations under this policy.
Meal Programs
The Governing Board recognizes that adequate, nourishing food is essential to student health, development, and ability to learn. The Superintendent or designee shall develop strategies to increase students' access to the district's food service programs and to maximize their participation in available programs.
Foods and beverages available through the district's food service program shall:
1. Be carefully selected so as to contribute to students' nutritional well-being and the prevention of disease
(cf. 5141.27 - Food Allergies/Special Dietary Needs)
2. Meet or exceed nutrition standards specified in law and administrative regulation
(cf. 3552 - Summer Meal Program)
(cf. 3554 - Other Food Sales)
(cf. 5030 - Student Wellness)
(cf. 5148 - Child Care and Development)
(cf. 5148.2 - Before/After School Programs)
(cf. 5148.3 - Preschool/Early Childhood Education)
3. Be prepared in ways that will appeal to students, retain nutritive quality, and foster lifelong healthful eating habits
4. Be served in age-appropriate portions
5. Be available to students who meet federal eligibility criteria at no cost or at reduced prices, and to other students at reasonable prices
(cf. 3551 - Food Service Operations/Cafeteria Fund)
(cf. 3553 - Free and Reduced Price Meals)
In accordance with law, the Superintendent or designee shall develop and maintain a food safety program in order to reduce the risk of foodborne hazards at each step of the food preparation process, from receiving to service.
Legal Reference:
EDUCATION CODE
35182.5 Contracts, non-nutritious beverages
38080-38103 Cafeteria, establishment and use
45103.5 Contracts for management consulting services; restrictions
49430-49436 Pupil Nutrition, Health, and Achievement Act of 2001
49490-49494 School breakfast and lunch programs
49530-49536 Child Nutrition Act
49540-49546 Child care food program
49547-49548.3 Comprehensive nutrition services
49550-49562 Meals for needy students
49570 National School Lunch Act
HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE
113700-114437 California Retail Food Code
CODE OF REGULATIONS, TITLE 5
15510 Mandatory meals for needy students
15530-15535 Nutrition education
15550-15565 School lunch and breakfast programs
15575-15578 Requirements for foods and beverages outside federal meal programs
UNITED STATES CODE, TITLE 42
1751-1769j National School Lunch Program, including:
1758b Local wellness policy
1761 Summer Food Service Program and Seamless Summer Feeding Option
1769a Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program
1771-1793 Child nutrition, especially:
1772 Special Milk Program
1773 National School Breakfast Program
CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS, TITLE 7
210.1-210.31 National School Lunch Program
215.1-215.18 Special Milk Program
220.1-220.21 National School Breakfast Program
245.1-245.13 Eligibility for free and reduced-price meals and free milk
Management Resources:
CSBA PUBLICATIONS
Building Healthy Communities: A School Leader's Guide to Collaboration and Community Engagement, 2009
Nutrition Standards for Schools: Implications for Student Wellness, Policy Brief, rev. October 2007
Monitoring for Success: Student Wellness Policy Implementation Monitoring Report and Guide, 2007
Student Wellness: A Healthy Food and Physical Activity Policy Resource Guide, rev. April 2006
CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION PUBLICATIONS
School Meals Initiative Summary
Healthy Children Ready to Learn, January 2005
CALIFORNIA PROJECT LEAN PUBLICATIONS
Policy in Action: A Guide to Implementing Your Local School Wellness Policy, October 2006
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE PUBLICATIONS
School Breakfast Toolkit
Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program: Handbook for Schools, December 2010
Food Buying Guide for Child Nutrition Programs, December 2007
Civil Rights Compliance and Enforcement - Nutrition Programs and Activities, FNS Instruction 113-1, November 2005
Guidance for School Food Authorities: Developing a School Food Safety Program Based on the Process Approach to HACCP Principles, June 2005
Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2005
WEB SITES
CSBA: http://www.csba.org
California Department of Education, Nutrition Services Division: http://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/nu
California Department of Public Health: http://www.cdph.ca.gov
California Farm Bureau Federation: http://www.cfbf.com
California Food Policy Advocates: http://www.cfpa.net
California Healthy Kids Resource Center: http://www.californiahealthykids.org
California Project LEAN (Leaders Encouraging Activity and Nutrition): http://www.californiaprojectlean.org
California School Nutrition Association: http://www.calsna.org
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: http://www.cdc.gov
National Alliance for Nutrition and Activity: http://www.cspinet.org/nutritionpolicy/nana.html
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service: http://www.fns.usda.gov/fns
Policy NEWPORT-MESA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
adopted: September 13, 2011 Costa Mesa, California