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Got a Nutrition Program?
In Our SchoolsSarasota County Food & Nutrition ServicesSarasota County’s Food and Nutrition Services offers a nutrition education program in which children may participate. Students from all over Sarasota County learn about the importance of nutrition and health. Items like the Food Pyramid, healthy snacking, tasting parties, sports nutrition, and many other nutrition-related topics are taught to children. In the cafeteria, green, yellow, and red on the menu will help students make smart food choices. The three colors work like a traffic light. GO foods, in green, are the lowest in fat, sodium and calories and also “nutrient dense”; SLOW foods, in yellow, are somewhat higher in fat, sodium, and calories than GO foods and should be eaten less frequently than GO foods; and WHOA foods, in red, are the highest in fat, sodium and calories and should be eaten once in a while or on special occasions. The overall message is that all foods can fit into a healthy diet and that a healthy diet is made up of more GO foods than SLOW foods and more SLOW foods than WHOA foods. Growing Healthy KidsGrowing Health Kids (GHK) is a collaborative preschool nutrition education, gardening, physical activity and healthy snack program run by All Faiths Food Bank that serves Sarasota and DeSoto counties. It targets at-risk and low-income preschool children and their families at childcare sites as well as parent education groups. Last school year the program served 67 classrooms and 1,076 children. The GHK curriculum is centered on research-based nutrition information and focused on healthy eating habits. Each month a different nutrition topic is featured, including MyPyramid, healthy snacking, and each of the five food groups. Nutrition information is distributed to parents weekly. The children learn about gardening and have the opportunity to observe where different foods are from by planting a variety of vegetables and herbs in their indoor GrowLab. For more info, contact Jill Collins at (941) 379-6333 Farm to School Program UF/IFAS Sarasota County ExtensionThe Sarasota County Farm to School Program is supported by UF/IFAS-Sarasota County Extension to strengthen the local agricultural economy, and to provide “Local Food for Healthy Children” in our public school lunch programs. The goals of the Sarasota County Farm to School program include improving the public’s awareness of Florida agriculture and teaching our children how food is grown. For example, support is provided to local schools to provide edible school gardens for students of all ages. It supports the efforts of the Sarasota County School District to significantly improve the nutritional quality of school lunches in cooperation with the Food Service Director and it strengthens their Wellness Policies to promote healthy eating choices and behavior. Finally, it supports local efforts to address serious community health issues such youth obesity and food security. For more info, call (941) 861-5000 or visit the website... Fruit and Vegetable ProgramThe School Fruit and Vegetable Nutritional Program is an initiative to
improve the health of children. Local Resources
Links to Healthy ToolsAction for Healthy KidsAction for Healthy Kids, a national non-profit organization working to improve children’s nutrition and increase physical activity, which in turn improves their readiness to learn. The organization is a trusted and recognized authority and resource on creating health promoting schools that support sound nutrition and good physical activity. A variety of resources for improving schools and children’s health can be found on the organizations website. California Project LeanCalifornia Project Lean provides you with a wealth of resources, evaluations, articles and materials for promoting healthy eating and physical activity. Healthy Fundraising IdeasFun runs, talent shows, dances, skate nights – these are all activities which can be used to raise money. And instead of selling candy or other sweets to raise money for schools, healthy cookbooks, gift wrap, flowers, books, or Tupperware are all healthier alternatives.
Click here for more ideas... Healthy Classroom CelebrationsTips for shifting the focus away from food.
Click
here for ideas... Nutrition DetectivesNutrition Detectives™ is an exciting nutrition education program for elementary school children that is "Teaching Kids to Make Healthy Choices." They learn how to read food labels, detect marketing deceptions while simultaneously learning to identify and subsequently choose healthy foods.
http://www.davidkatzmd.com/nutritiondetectives.aspx
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