Lubavitcher Yeshiva Academy Wellness Policy
LYA believes students and staff need access to healthy foods and opportunities to be physically active in order to grow, learn, and thrive. Good health fosters student attendance and education. In compliance with Section 204 of Public Law 108-265 of the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act, we believe community participation is essential to the development and implementation of successful school wellness policies.
Thus, LYA is committed to providing a school environment that promotes and protect children’s health, well-being, and ability to learn by supporting healthy eating and physical activity. Therefore, it is the policy of the school that:
Ø The school will engage students, parents, teachers, food service professionals, health professionals, and other interested community members in developing, implementing, monitoring, and reviewing school-wide nutrition and physical activity policies.
Ø All students in grades pre-K through eight will have opportunities, support, and encouragement to be physically active on a regular basis.
Ø Foods and beverages sold or served at school, during school hours and school programs not during school hours, will promote the nutrition recommendations of the U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
Ø Qualified nutrition professionals will provide students with access to a variety of affordable, nutritious, and appealing foods that meet the health and nutrition needs of students and will provide clean, safe, and adequate time for students and staff to eat.
Ø To the maximum extent practicable, LYA will participate in available federal school meal programs (National School Lunch Program).
Ø LYA will provide nutrition education and physical education 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.
SIX CONDITIONS TO ACHIEVE THESE POLICY GOALS:
I. Community Involvement and The Health Advisory Council
The school will create and maintain a Health Advisory Council (see above). The membership of the Council will include a staff member, a parent, an administrator, a member of the public and a Board member.
One of the purposes of the Health Advisory Council shall be to develop, implement, monitor, review and, as necessary, make recommendations on revisions to the wellness policy.
II. Nutritional Guidelines and Standards for Schools
A. School Meals
The School Food Service Program will continue to follow the USDA requirements for the Federal School Meals Program and the School Meals Initiative for Healthy Children of 1996 (Dietary Guidelines for Americans).
The nutritional requirements for school lunches are:
Ø Must provide 1/3 the Recommended Daily Allowance for:
v Calories
v Protein
v Vitamin A
v Vitamin C
v Calcium
v Iron
No more than 30% of an individual’s calories come from fats.
Less than 10% of an individual’s calories come from saturated fats.
Meals served through the National School Lunch Program will:
Ø be appealing and attractive to children
Ø be served in clean and pleasant settings
Ø meet, at a minimum, nutrition requirements established by local, state and federal statutes and regulations
Ø offer fiber rich fruits, vegetables and whole grains
Ø serve milk with a fat content of 1% or less
Such information will be made available on menus, a website, on cafeteria and menu boards.
B. Meal Times and Scheduling: Schools:
Ø will provide students with at least 20 minutes for lunch daily
Ø will, to the extent possible, schedule lunch periods at the appropriate mid point of the school day
Ø should not schedule tutoring, club or organizational meetings or activities during mealtimes, unless students may eat during such activity
Ø will provide students access to hand washing or hand sanitizing before they eat meals or snacks; and
Ø should take reasonable steps to accommodate the tooth brushing regimens of students with special oral health needs (e.g., orthodontia or high tooth decay risk).
C. Qualifications of School Food Service Staff
Qualified nutrition professionals will administer the school meal programs. As part of the school district’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 the Food Services Director, school cafeteria/nutrition managers, cafeteria workers and volunteers, according to their levels of responsibility.
D. Sharing of Foods and Beverages
Schools will discourage students from sharing their foods or beverages with one another during meal or snack times, given concerns about allergies and other restrictions on some children’s diets.
E. Foods and Beverages Sold Individually (i.e., foods sold outside of reimbursable school meals, such as through school fundraisers, school stores, etc.)
All foods and beverages sold individually outside the reimbursable school meal programs (including those sold through student stores or fundraising activities) during the school day, or through programs for students after the school day, will meet the following nutrition and portion size standards:
i. Beverages
Ø Allowed: water or seltzer water without added caloric sweeteners; fruit and vegetable juices and fruit-based drinks that contain at least 100% fruit juice; unflavored or flavored milk; and flavored water.
Ø Not allowed: soft drinks containing caloric sweeteners; sports drinks; iced teas; fruit-based drinks that contain less than 100% real fruit juice or that contain additional caloric sweeteners and vitamin enriched water.
ii. Foods
Ø A food item sold individually will:
v Emphasize fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low fat milk, beans, eggs and nuts;
v Include foods low in saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, salt and added sugars.
Foods will also adhere to the following:
v Snacks will be 10 grams of fat or less;
v Include water;
v Juices will be only 100% real fruit juice;
v Ice cream/yogurt products will be 8 grams of fat or less.
iii. Portion Sizes
Ø Limit portion sizes of foods and beverages sold individually to those listed below:
v Two ounces for chips, crackers, popcorn, cereal, trail mix, nuts, seeds, or dried fruit;
v Two ounces for cookies;
v Two ounces for cereal bars, granola bars, muffins, bagels, and other bakery items;
v Four fluid ounces for frozen desserts, including, but not limited to, low-fat or fat-free ice cream;
v Eight ounces for non-frozen yogurt;
v Twenty fluid ounces or less for beverages, excluding water.
F. Fundraising Activities
To support children’s health and school nutrition-education efforts, school fundraising activities will not involve food or will use only foods that meet the above nutrition and portion size standards for foods and beverages sold individually. Schools will encourage fundraising activities that promote physical activity.
G. Snacks
Snacks are served by the school during the school day or in after-school care or enrichment program will make a positive contribution to children’s diets and health, with an emphasis on serving fruits and vegetables as the primary snacks and water as the primary beverage. Schools will assess if and when to offer snacks based on timing of school meals, children’s nutritional needs, children’s ages and other considerations.
H. Rewards
Schools will not use foods or beverages as direct rewards for academic performance or good behavior, and will not withhold food or beverages as a punishment. Food items cited in a student’s IEP, and in compliance with this policy, will be allowed.
I. Celebrations
Schools should limit celebrations that involve food. Any food item used in classrooms/school celebrations must conform to the district nutrition standards for foods and beverages sold individually (above). Foods provided by parents for classroom celebrations must also meet these same standards as above. Foods must also comply with the ELPS Life Threatening Allergies Policy.
III. Nutrition Education
All students in grades pre K-eight should receive nutrition education. LYA aims to teach, encourage and support healthy eating by students. Schools should provide nutrition education and engage in nutrition promotion that:
Ø is offered at each grade level as part of a sequential, comprehensive, standards-based program, taught by a certified health teacher, designed to provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary to promote and protect their health;
Ø is part of not only health education classes, but also classroom instruction in subjects such as math, science, language arts, social sciences and elective subjects;
Ø includes enjoyable, developmentally-appropriate, culturally-relevant, participatory activities, such as contests, promotions, taste testing, farm visits and school gardens;
Ø promotes fruits, vegetables, whole grain products, low-fat and fat-free products, healthy food preparation methods and health-enhancing nutrition practices;
Ø emphasizes caloric balance between food intake and energy expenditure (physical activity/exercise);
Ø links with school meal programs, other school foods and nutrition-related community services;
Ø teaches media literacy with an emphasis on food marketing;
Ø includes training for teachers and other staff;
Ø Fosters appreciation for good nutritional foods through the school curricula.
A. Communication with Parents
LYA will support parents’ efforts to provide a healthy diet and daily physical activity for their children. The school should encourage parents to pack healthy lunches and snacks and to refrain from including beverages and foods that do not meet the above nutrition standards for individual foods and beverages. The school will provide parents with a list of foods that meet the district’s snack standards and ideas for healthy celebrations/parties, rewards and fundraising activities.
LYA will provide information about physical education and other school-based physical activity opportunities before, during and after the school day; and support parents’ efforts to provide their children with opportunities to be physically active outside of school. Such supports will include sharing information about physical activity and physical education through a website, newsletter or other take-home materials, special events, or physical education homework.
B. Food Marketing in School
School based marketing will be consistent with nutrition education and health promotion. As such, schools will limit food and beverage marketing to the promotion of foods and beverages that meet the nutrition standards for meals or for foods and beverages sold individually. School-based marketing of brands promoting predominantly low-nutrition foods and beverages is prohibited. The promotion of healthy foods, including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat dairy products is encouraged.
Examples of marketing techniques include the following: logos and brand names on/in vending machines, books or curricula, textbook covers, school supplies, school structures, and sport equipment; educational incentive programs that provide food as a reward; programs that provide schools with supplies when families buy low-nutrition food products; in-school television, such as free samples or coupons; and food sales through fundraising activities. Marketing activities that promote healthful behaviors (and are therefore allowable) include: vending machine covers promoting water; pricing structures that promote healthy options in vending machines; sales of fruit for fundraisers; and coupons for discount gym memberships.
C. Staff Wellness
LYA highly values the health and well-being of every staff member and will plan and implement activities and policies that support personal efforts by staff to maintain a healthy lifestyle. The purpose of staff nutrition and physical education is to:
Ø Encourage all school staff to improve their own personal health and wellness
Ø Improve staff morale
Ø Create positive role modeling
Ø Build the commitment of staff to promote the health of students
Ø Build the commitment of staff to help improve the school nutrition and physical activity environment.
Nutrition and physical activity education opportunities will be provided to all school staff. These educational opportunities may include, but are not limited to, the distribution of educational and informational materials and the arrangement of presentations and workshops that focus on nutritional value and healthy lifestyles, health assessments, fitness activities and other appropriate nutrition and physical activity-related topics.
IV. Physical Activity Opportunities and Physical Education
A. Physical Education (P.E.) Pre K-8
All students in grades pre K-8 will be offered physical education. All physical education classes will be taught by a certified physical education teacher.
B. Integrating Physical Activity into the Classroom Setting
For students to receive the nationally-recommended amount of daily physical activity (i.e., at least 60 minutes per day) and for students to fully embrace regular physical activity as a personal behavior, students need opportunities for physical activity beyond physical education class. Toward that end:
Ø classroom health education will complement physical education by reinforcing the knowledge and self-management skills needed to maintain a physically-active lifestyle and to reduce time spent on sedentary activities, such as watching television;
Ø opportunities for physical activity should be incorporated into their subject lessons; and
Ø classroom teachers are encouraged to provide short physical activity breaks between lessons or classes, as appropriate.
C. Daily Recess
All elementary school students will have at least three 15 minute supervised recesses every day, preferably outdoors, during which staff should verbally encourage moderate to vigorous physical activity as well as through provision of space and equipment.
V. Monitoring and Policy Review
A. Monitoring
The principal or designee will ensure compliance with established school-wide nutrition and physical activity wellness policies. The principal or designee will ensure compliance with those policies at LYA and will report on the school’s compliance to the Board of Directors.
School food service staff and district level, will ensure compliance with nutrition policies within school food service areas and will report on this matter to the principal.
The principal or designees will develop a summary report every three years on school-wide compliance with the school’s established nutrition and physical activity wellness policies, based on input from staff within the school. That report will be provided to the Board and also distributed to the Health Advisory Committee, parent/teacher organization, administrators and school health services personnel.
B. Policy Review
Assessments will be repeated periodically as needed to help review policy compliance, assess progress, and determine areas in need of improvement. As part of that review, the school will review the 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. The school will, as necessary, revise the wellness policy and develop action plans to facilitate its implementation.
VI. Guidelines for Reimbursable School Meals
A. Free and Reduced-priced Meals
Starting in the 2024-2024 school year, all food services in Massachusetts are free for all students.
Schools will make every effort to eliminate any social stigma attached to, and prevent the overt identification of, students who are eligible for free and reduced-price school meals. Toward this end, schools may utilize electronic identification and payment systems and promote the availability of school meals to all students.
Any child at a participating school may purchase a meal through the NSLP. Children from families with incomes at or below the 130% of the poverty level are eligible for free meals. Those between 130%-185% of the poverty level are eligible for reduced-price meals, for which students can be charged not more than $0.60.
Children from families with incomes over 185% of the poverty level pay full price, though their meals are still subsidized to some extent. Local school food authorities set their own prices for full-priced meals.
In addition to cash reimbursements, schools are entitled by law to receive commodity foods (entitlement foods) at a value of 0.1750 cents for each meal served. Schools can also get bonus commodities as they are available from surplus stocks. Under the school Meals Initiative, USDA also provided schools with technical training and assistance to help school food service staffs prepare healthy meals, and nutrition education to help children understand the link between diet and health.
