Local Wellness Policies: Start Your School Health Makeover Today

Making the healthy choice the easy choice for families is a cornerstone effort for many national organizations including the national Partnership for a Healthier America. One way to support families in their pursuit of health, is to ensure that the schools their children attend create environments where the healthy choice is the easy choice.  Thanks to a provision in the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, school districts across the nation are now required by law to develop policies designed to create healthy school environments. These policies, called Local Wellness Policies (LWP), must contain certain elements and inform and update the public about its contents. Policies must also contain standards for foods and beverages campus-wide, which include classroom parties and school celebrations.  LWPs are the perfect vehicle for school wellness advocates to create environments where students can practice healthy behaviors.

Follow these four steps to start your school’s makeover:

1. Get the facts. Find out what needs to be included in LWPs.  
2. Find out if a LWP committee is operating and ask to participate.
3. Choose one of the following online resources to check if your policy is as good as it can be. 
   • Let’s Go 5-2-1-0 Goes to School Wellness Policy Guide
   • Alliance for Healthier Generation Model Wellness Policy
   • Alliance for a Healthier Generation Wellness Policy Toolkit
   • AFHK Wellness Policy Tool
   • Rudd Center WellSat 2.0 Wellness School Assessment Tool
4. Bring your policy to life by using the following online resources:
   1. Keep the fun in fundraisers by using the below ideas as a guide:
      • Yes, You Can- Healthy Fundraising Guide From the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. This guidebook will help schools find fundraising options that meet their needs and support the health of children and adults in their communities.
      • Healthy and Active Fundraisers From  Weld County School District 6, Colorado.
      • Healthy Fundraising From eXtension Healthy Food Choices in Schools 
   2. Provide exciting healthy school party ideas using the following resources:
      • Healthy School Celebration Ideas - From Center for Science in the Public Interest. 
      • Policy in Action: A Guide to Implementing Your Local Wellness Policy  - From California’s Project Lean.
      • 20 Healthy School Party Ideas – From Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Education.
      • Healthy Classroom Celebrations - eXtension Healthy Food Choices in Schools 

Final tips:

• Make sure to include students on the planning and implementation teams.
• Be transparent. Make sure school administrators, teachers, students and parents understand the policies and why they should be implemented.
• Foster administrative and parent support by taking pictures of smiling kids enjoying healthier foods, being active, and being more attentive in class. 
• Have fun! It’s important that students, parents and staff, enjoy healthy changes in order to make lasting changes. 

Forming a strong team will help create reasonable policies that will drive students and staff to practice healthier behaviors. Ultimately, this work will move future generations to live healthier, more productive lives.

Contributors 

Nicholas Drzal, RD, MPH, Michigan Department of Education 

Whitney Fung, University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences