School Wellness

Schools participating in the USDA school meal program must implement a wellness policy. We encourage all schools to develop and implement a wellness policy in order to promote a healthy school environment.  Wellness policies are a tool that can help your school address obesity through promotion of healthy eating and physical activity.

The wellness policy must address:

• goals for nutrition education
• goals for physical activity
• nutrition guidelines for all foods available at school
• goals for other school-based activities designed to promote student wellness
• plans for evaluating implementation of the policy

Related Wellness Policy articles and science:

• Obesity Report 2010 (PDF) – How Obesity Threatens America’s Future
• A Policy-based School Intervention to Prevent Obesity (PDF)
• Body Mass Index Measurement in Schools-Special Report (PDF)
• Children’s Food Environment State Indicator (PDF) – A CDC report on the current childhood obesity epidemic
• Preventing Childhood Obesity (PDF) – A school health policy guide
• “Implementing Strong Nutrition Standards for Schools: Financial Implications” (PDF) – This fact sheet summarizes the existing evidence of the financial impact on schools that have implemented strong nutrition standards.

Related Wellness Policy articles and science:

• Wellness Policy Tool – This online tool provides step-by-step guidance, best practice examples and resources to create, activate and measure the success of your wellness policy!
• Model School Wellness Policies – Model Wellness Policy for Local Schools to Adapt
• Team Nutrition: Local Wellness Policy Resources 
• FRAC Local Wellness Policies
• Coordinated School Healthy Model
• Buckeye Healthy School Alliance
• Ohio’s Healthy Children, Healthy Choices Act – requires schools to adopt nutrition standards.  The law also addresses BMI and physical activity. The Ohio Department of Education has a dedicated web site to educate schools on the requirements. For more information click here.
• Body Mass Index Measurement in Schools-Special Report (PDF)
• About BMI for Children and Teens

Take Action for Your Student’s Health

Parents can make a difference by supporting healthy eating and physical activity at your local school.  The OAFHK Parent Toolkit (PDF) provides information on policy, resources and activities that you can implement to make positive changes at your school!