School Nutrition
School Nutrition
As childhood obesity becomes more prevalent, nutrition in schools has become a hot topic.
Why is This Important to Your School District?
School nutrition is vitally important in fostering a healthy and positive learning environment for children to achieve their full potential.
What to Tell Congress: NSBA's Position
Urge Congress to refrain from enacting legislation restricting the authority of local school districts to address the issue of childhood nutrition. NSBA opposes additional regulations or mandates on schools outside of the federally subsidized school lunch and breakfast programs.
What's Happening Now in Congress?
Conference negotiations between the House and the Senate continue over the 2007 Farm bill. NSBA was successful in stopping an effort that arose during debate of the bill in the Senate to establish nationwide school nutrition standards for all foods and beverages sold in schools. For example, the measure would have set stringent requirements for how many calories, what percentage of fats, and how much sugar foods schools could have. While NSBA believes school nutrition is an important part of fostering a healthy learning environment for children, NSBA opposes additional mandates and regulations outside of the federally subsidized school meals program that would limit local control. NSBA is committed to helping school board members make informed decisions about health issues in their schools.
Contact Us
If you are a school board member or state school boards association staff member, please contact Kathleen Branch, NSBA's Manager of Federal Advocacy Programs at kbranch@nsba.org.
If you are a Congressional staffer or a member of the media, please contact Chrisanne Gayl, NSBA's Director of Federal Programs at 703-838-6763 or by e-mail at cgayl@nsba.org.
Was This Page Helpful?
We want to hear from you! Send an e-mail to Kathleen Branch, NSBA's Manager of Federal Advocacy Programs at kbranch@nsba.org.
Resources
- NSBA's Issue Brief on School Nutrition
[HTML 3,419kb]
Learn about NSBA's position on the role of the federal government in the increasingly important issue of childhood obesity.
- NSBA's Letter to the Senate: December 7, 2007 [HTML 2,461kb]
- NSBA's Letter to the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry: October 22, 2007 [HTML 4,637kb]
Re: Mark-Up of the Senate 2007 Farm bill.
- Institute of Medicine Report on Nutrition Standards (April 2007)
[PDF 343,889kb]
Nutrition Standards for Foods in Schools: Leading the Way Toward Healthier Youth
- School Beverage Guidelines from the Alliance for a Healthier Generation (2006) [PDF 27,271kb]
Beverage criteria guidelines developed for the Healthy Schools Program.
- Nutrition Guidelines from Alliance for Healthier Generation (2006) [PDF 62,819kb]
Nutrition Guidelines Fact Sheet
- Obesity Statistics Among Children and Adolescents 2003-2004 [HTML 3,360kb]
Key findings of overweight and obesity statistics among children and adolescents from survey conducted by the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics.