Nutrition Articles for Parents

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SuperKids Nutrition Founder and Creator of the Super Crew®, Melissa Halas, MA RD CDE, and her winning team of nutrition experts provide us with informative articles focused on nutrition for our families. This team represents a diverse, nationally recognized group of Registered Dietitians and nutrition professionals who specialize in Childhood, School, and Family Nutrition. They provide nutrition resources, to help schools and communities to be their best.

How to Help Your Child Choose Foods Wisely
Rosanne Rust, MS, RD, LDN

Does Your Child Make the Grade?

Hey Parents… Eat Your Fruit and Veggies, Too!
By Kate Scarlata, RD, LDN

Encouraging Your Children To Be Physically Active
By: Rosanne Rust, MS, RD, LDN

Feed Your Family Fantastic Food for Less
Norma Stewart, RD, MA

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Valley Local Schools follow the MyPlate dietary guidelines for student meal planning.

Eat a fruit or vegetable at every meal. Make healthy food choices.

For more information, click on Eat Right with MyPlate or download a free smartphone app: Start Simple with MyPlate.

Smart Snacks in School

We are focused on the health of our school environment. Our school district has established nutrition standards for all snacks sold in school by any entity, including parent/student organizations, teachers, boosters, fundraisers, or the food and nutrition services department. These standards for snack sales are in effect from any time before school through 1/2 hour after school, in accordance with the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act, the USDA and our district Wellness Policy. Non-compliant foods may be sold from 1/2 hour after school through the end of the day. These standards carefully balance science-based nutrition guidelines with practical and flexible solutions to promote healthier eating on campus.

Healthy Snack Calculators

schoolnutritionandfitness.com/images/healthlycalculator

Is Your Snack a Smart Snack? Use the Smart Snacks Product Calculator, developed by the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, to take the guesswork out of nutrition guidelines! Simply enter the product information, answer a few questions, and determine whether your snack, side or entree item meets the new USDA Smart Snacks in School Guidelines.

Kids often need snacks to help them get enough calories (ENERGY) throughout the day. Choosing healthy snacks that add nutrients, like vitamins and minerals, to their diets is essential. Smart snacking is a great way to meet daily nutrient requirements that may be missed at meal times.

Students in our district are offered healthier school meals with more fruits, vegetables and whole grains through the National School Lunch and Breakfast Program. The Smart Snacks in School standards published by the USDA will build on those healthy advancements by ensuring that all other snack foods and beverages available for sale to students in school are tasty and nutritious.

Nutrition Standards for Foods

Any food sold in school must:

Be a “whole grain-rich” grain product; or
Have as the first ingredient a fruit, a vegetable, a dairy product or a protein food; or
Be a combination food that contains at least ¼ cup of fruit and/or vegetable; or
Contain 10% of the Daily Value (DV) of one of the nutrients of public health concern in the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (calcium, potassium, vitamin D, or dietary fiber)

Foods must also meet several nutrient requirements:

Calorie limits

Snack items: ≤ 200 calories
Entrée items: ≤ 350 calories

Sodium limits

Snack items: ≤ 230 mg
Entrée items: ≤ 480 mg

Fat limits

Total fat: ≤ 35% of calories
Saturated fat: ≤ 10% of calories
Trans fat: zero grams

Sugar limit ≤ 35% of weight from total sugars in foods

Accompaniments

Accompaniments such as cream cheese, salad dressing and butter must be included in the nutrient profile as part of the food item sold. This helps control the amount of calories, fat, sugar and sodium added to foods.

Nutrient Standards for Beverages

All schools may sell:

Plain water (with or without carbonation)
Unflavored low fat milk
Unflavored or flavored fat free milk and milk alternatives permitted by NSLP/SBP
100% fruit or vegetable juice, and 100% fruit or vegetable juice diluted with water (with or without carbonation) and no added sweeteners

Elementary schools may sell up to 8-ounce portions, while middle and high schools may sell up to 12-ounce portions of milk and juice. There is no portion size limit for plain water.

Beyond this, the standards allow additional “no calorie” and “lower calorie” beverage options for high school students.

No more than 20-ounce portions of calorie-free, flavored water (with or without carbonation); and other flavored and/or carbonated beverages that are labeled to contain < 5 calories per 8 fluid ounces or ≤ 10 calories per 20 fluid ounces.
No more than 12-ounce portions of beverage with ≤ 40 calories per 8 fluid ounces, or ≤ 60 calories per 12 fluid ounces. Healthy Fundraisers
Food items that meet nutrition standards are not limited
The standards do not apply during non-school hours, on weekends and at off-campus fundraising events
The standards provide a special exemption for infrequent fundraisers that do not meet the nutrition standards. Each State agency is responsible for establishing the number of exempt fundraisers that may be held in schools each year.

https://issuu.com/educationalsnacks/docs/farmersmarket/14

Valley Local School District’s Food Service Department is a self-supporting program. We receive no money from the District’s General Fund budget, tax levies, or property taxes.

Food Services are funded only from federal reimbursement and student & staff payments to cover operating expenses (i.e., salaries), food supplies, kitchen repairs etc...

By federal law, Food Service revenues must meet or exceed expenditures. The profits made from the meal program support the Food Service Department and allow the department to operate without assistance from the District’s General Fund.

*Unpaid meal charges impact the Food Service Program and the ability to remain fiscally responsible. To ensure the Food Service Department maintains fiscal stability, there are procedures being implemented in order to control and manage meal charges. Under federal guidelines, students who are unable to purchase a lunch will be eligible to receive an Alternative Meal which meets the federal guidelines outlined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National School Lunch Program.