Nutrition Education

Our Goal

Wisconsin schools and childcare facilities are making effective strides to address the nutritional health and fitness of children and families. The goal of this website is to share those successes, to provide the tools and materials necessary to assist other schools and childcares in their efforts and to encourage all schools and community partners to become involved in addressing children's nutrition and fitness.

Grant Application Date Extended

TEAM Nutrition has 2008-2009 mini-grants for nutrition education. The grants will be awarded to only 3 school districts, and will require an 18 month commitment (June 2008 - December 2009). Schools completing the project will be awarded $5,000 to cover expenses and promote nutrition education district-wide.

Please see the grant application instructions. This application is due on or before 5:00 pm on April 30, 2008.

Team Nutrition

Team Nutrition is an integrated, behavior-based, comprehensive plan for promoting the nutritional health of the Nation's school children. The U.S. Department of Agriculture — Food and Nutrition Services developed Team Nutrition in response to the need to improve the nutritional quality of meals served in schools and the school nutrition environment.

To join Team Nutrition, print this enrollment form and send to

Jill Camber Davidson
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
125 South Webster Street
PO Box 7841
Madison, WI 53707-7841

The Importance of Family Meals

Celebrate Family Day Every Day

Family Day promotes the family dinner as a way for parents to become actively involved in their children's lives. Support materials include

• Cover letter from the State Superintendent Burmaster
• Family Day Brochure.
• Family Day Poster.

School Wellness

Improving the School Nutrition and Physical Activity Environments

Supports for schools include

• Coming Soon! What's Right for Kids 2: Building a Healthy School Nutrition Environment
• What's Right for Kids — Improving the School Nutrition Environment Booklet
• What's Right for Kids — Eat Smart. Be Active, Walk the Talk Poster
• What's Right for Kids — Workshop materials and toolkit order form: available by contacting Jill Camber Davidson.
• "Helping Wisconsin Youth Reach Their Full Potential" — This publication was developed by the Wisconsin Action for Healthy Kids Coalition and includes nutrition and health information; and guides for healthy foods and beverages, and physical activity in schools.
  • Helping Wisconsin Youth Reach Their Full Potential Folder
  • Guide to Healthy School Breakfast
  • Guide to Healthy Classroom Choices
  • Guide to Healthy School Stores and Vending Machines
  • Guide to Physical Activity in Schools
  • Guide to Healthy School Fundraising
• Healthy Fundraising: a central online resource for promoting healthy activities, especially fundraising, in our schools.
• DPI School Wellness Policy website.
• School Wellness Policy Implementation Resources
  
  • Pre-Assessment Form
  • Focus areas: Component Descriptions
  • Evaluation Form
  • Evaluation Resources

    - Evaluating Local School Wellness Policies

    - Maintain, Measure and Evaluate the School Wellness Policy

    - Measuring and Monitoring/Review of Local Wellness Policies

• The Wisconsin Action for Healthy Kids Summit, Moving Forward with School Wellness, was held November 30, 2006. Here is H. Weschler's PowerPoint presentation.
• Parent Guide to Healthy Eating

School Wellness Presentation from the 2007 Lakeside Wellness Conference

• School Wellness Policies Here and Now

Presentation from the Green Bay Region Children’s Libraries Grassroots Meeting, September 2007.

• Focusing on Food for Children's Libraries

School Wellness Policy Implementation WisLine Web Presentation

If you missed any of the WisLine Web presentations, the power point handouts for each session are available here.

• Marketing Your School Wellness Policy, October 24, 2006
  This session presents experiences from teams that have successfully communicated their wellness policy to their staff, students and the community in a way that spurred support and buy-in.
  WisLine Web handout.
  Archived session link: Session 1: Marketing Your School Wellness Policy, October 24, 2006.
  Please note that the volume is low, and that there is a half hour delay in the start of the program.
• Selling your Wellness Policy and Healthy Choices to Students, November 28, 2006
  This session presents ideas to obtain student support for your wellness policy.
  Selling Your Wellness Policy handouts. and the Oconto USD policy.
  This session is also available as an archive.
• Implementing Nutrition Guidelines without Losing Your Mind, Your Money and Your Customers, January 23, 2007
  This session highlights nutrition guidelines as part of wellness policy implementation.
  WisLine Web handout.
  This session is also available as an archive.
  
• Raising Support and Reaching Out – Working with Parents and the Community, February 27, 2007

  This session highlights parent involvement and engagement with school wellness policies.
  There are two WisLine Web handouts: Handout 1 . Handout 2.
  An archive of the meeting is also available.

• Teaching by Example . . . How School Staff Can Influence Student Wellness Choices, March 27, 2007.

  This session highlights staff wellness ideas.
  It is available as a handout and as an archive.

• Where No Wellness Policy has Gone Before . . . Taking Your Wellness Policy Into the Future, April 24, 2007.

  This session highlights evaluation of wellness policies.
  There are two handouts available: handout 1. and handout 2.
  An archive of the meeting is available here. Note: the sound starts after about 90 seconds.

HealthierUS Challenge and Governor’s School Health Award

If you’ve completed the Governor’s School Health Award, it is the perfect time to complete a national award application. Have you considered the HealthierUS Challenge Award? The HealthierUS Challenge award recognizes schools that take a leadership role in helping students to make healthy eating and activity choices. It also is a chance to bring recognition to your program. This award is for elementary schools only and has silver and gold level awards.

In order to complete the application, you must be a TEAM Nutrition school with average daily participation at or above 70%. The award has criteria for menus, physical activity and nutrition education that must be met. Who will be the first Wisconsin school to achieve this national recognition?

There are helpful tips and information on the USDA website at http://teamnutrition.usda.gov/HealthierUS/index.html If you would like a nutrition student to help you with the Governor’s School Health Award and/or the HealthierUS Challenge award application(s) contact Jill Camber Davidson at 608-264-6700 or jill.camberdavidson@dpi.wi.gov.

Child Care

Improving the Childcare Nutrition Environment

Supports for childcare centers and homes include

• What's Right for Young Children — Improving the Childcare Nutrition Environment. To order a copy of the "What's Right for Young Children" packet or for more information, contact Jill Camber Davidson.
• What Childcare Centers are doing to improve their nutrition environment.
• What Childcare Homes are doing to improve their nutrition environment.

Action for Healthy Kids Websites

A National and State Initiative to Take Action for Children's Nutrition and Fitness

• National Initiative
• WI Action for Healthy Kids Coalition

For questions about this information, contact Jill A. Camber Davidson (608) 264-6700

Last updated on 4/8/2008 4:29:34 PM