Overview of Team Nutrition
National Team Nutrition Initiative
Team Nutrition is an integrated, behavior-based, comprehensive plan for promoting the nutrition health of the Nation’s school children. The US Department of Agriculture — Food and Nutrition Service developed Team Nutrition in response to the need to improve the nutritional quality of meals served in schools. Team Nutrition develops messages and materials that can be used consistently throughout the country. It promotes support and training at the State and local levels through infrastructure developed by the Nutrition Education and Training Program as well as new Team Nutrition partnerships.
Strategies
Team Nutrition is implemented through three behavior-oriented strategies:
- Providing training and technical assistance for Child Nutrition food service professionals to help them serve meals that look good, taste good and meet nutrition standards.
- Providing multifaceted, integrated nutrition education for children and their parents. This education will build skills and motivation for children to make healthy food and physical activity choices as part of a healthy lifestyle
- Providing support for healthy eating and physical activity by involving school administrators and other school and community partners.
Six communication channels are used:
- Food service initiatives
- Classroom activities
- School-wide events
- Home activities
- Community programs and events
- Media events and coverage.
These channels offer a comprehensive network for delivering consistent nutrition messages to children and their caretakers which will educate them about the importance of healthy eating and reinforce the messages through a variety of sources.
Roles and Responsibilities
Team Nutrition success depends on effective partnerships among federal, state, and local agencies that administer child nutrition programs. The roles and responsibilities at each level of federal, state, and local agencies are critical:
Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), USDA
- Establish policy
- Develop materials that meet needs identified by FNS and its state and local partners
- Disseminate materials in ways that meet state and local needs
- Develop partnerships with other Federal agencies and national organizations
- Promote Team Nutrition’s messages through the national media
State Agencies
- Make recommendations to FNS regarding TN materials and dissemination methods
- Provide training and technical assistance to strengthen current Team Nutrition Schools
- Recruit new Team Nutrition Schools
- Develop partnerships with other state agencies and organization
- Promote Team Nutrition messages through the state media
School Districts and other School Food Authorities
- Recruit Team Nutrition Schools (See the enrollment form)
- Receive Team Nutrition materials from FNS, distribute to schools and provide training for their use
- Develop partnerships with other school district departments and community organizations
- Coordinate Team Nutrition activities among schools-especially community events
- Provide support as needed by Team Nutrition Schools
Schools
- Join Team Nutrition (See the enrollment form)
- Offer a variety of healthy menu choices
- Provide behavior-based nutrition education in pre-K through grade 12
- Establish policy and provide resources that ensures a school environment supportive of healthy eating and physical activity
- Involve parents and the community in Team Nutrition activities that reinforce Team Nutrition messages
- Establish partnerships among teachers, food service staff, school administrators, parents, community leader and the media.
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