Looking for ideas to meet the nutrition education requirements of your school wellness policy? We have some resources for you!
Federal and Massachusetts legislation require that school wellness policies address:
- Nutrition promotion
- Nutrition education
- Foods available at schools, including school meals and competitive foods
- Physical activity
- Other issues relating to student health and wellness
There are many ways to incorporate nutrition lessons into the school day. A few popular strategies include integrating nutrition into all areas of the curriculum, such as math and science, utilizing a coordinated school health approach, and partnering with your school nutrition program.
Integrate nutrition into the curriculum:
The JSI Resource Center provides hundreds of online resources in one location to address school nutrition. Suggestions for nutrition-related lesson plans can be found in the Go Green for Schools and Lessons for Elementary, Middle and High Schools categories in the JSI Resource Center.
Coordinated school health:
The Wellness Solution, a collaborative effort with JSI and other partners, provides resources to support and strengthen wellness policies in Massachusetts schools. The site summarizes state and federal wellness policy regulations to clarify the requirements, and provides tools to help Massachusetts schools meet the guidelines.
Partner with your school nutrition program:
As part of the Coordinated Program in Dietetics at Framingham State University (FSU), students intern with school nutrition programs across the state, teaching nutrition lessons in the classroom. The Wellness Solution blog highlights some of the nutrition education lessons that FSU students have taught in schools throughout Massachusetts.
For more information on school wellness policies, visit The Wellness Solution website and the School Wellness Initiatives and Policies page in the JSI Resource Center.
