Youth Co-op Charter School

Local Wellness Policy

I. Nutrition Education Goal

II. Physical Activity Goal

III. Other School Based Activities Designed to Promote Wellness

IV. Nutritional Guidelines for All Foods Available on School Campus

V. Plan for Measuring Implementation of the Local Wellness Policy

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I. Nutrition Education and Promotion. Youth Co-op Charter School aims to teach, encourage, and support healthy eating by students. The school will provide nutrition education and engage in nutrition promotion that:

· is offered at each grade level as part of a sequential, comprehensive, standards-based program designed to provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary to promote and protect their health;

· is taught across the curriculum in subjects such as math, science, language arts, social studies and elective subjects;

· promotes fruits, vegetables, whole grain products, low-fat and fat-free dairy products, healthy food preparations methods, and health-enhancing practices;

· emphasizes caloric balance between food intake and energy expenditure (physical activity/exercise);

· includes training for teachers and other staff.

II. Physical Activity.

· Recess. All elementary school students will have at least 15 minutes of supervised recess three times a week, preferably outdoors, during which the school will encourage moderate to vigorous physical activity verbally and through the provision of space and equipment.

· Physical Education (K-5). All students in grades K-5, including students with disabilities, special heath-care needs, and in alternative educational settings, will receive physical education daily by a certified physical education teacher. Students will be engaged in a moderate to vigorous activity during at least 50 percent of the physical education class time.

· Physical Education (6-8). All students in grades 6-8, including students with disabilities, special heath-care needs, and in alternative educational settings, will receive physical education once for an entire school year. The course will be taught by a certified physical education teacher. Students will be engaged in moderate to vigorous activity during at least 50 percent of physical education class time.

· Physical Activity and Punishment. Employees should not use physical activity (e.g., running laps, pushups) or withhold opportunities for physical activity (e.g., recess, physical education) as punishment.

· Physical Activity Opportunities after School. After school child care programs will provide and encourage, verbally, and through the provision of space, equipment and activities, daily periods of moderate to vigorous physical activity for all participants.

III. Other School Based Activities

Communication with Parents

Youth Co-op Charter School will support parents’ efforts to provide a healthy diet and daily physical activity for their children. The school will:

· Send home nutrition information and post nutrition tips on the school’s website

· Encourage parents to pack healthy lunches and snacks and to refrain from including beverages and foods that do not meet the establish nutrition standards for individual foods and beverages;

IV. Nutritional Guidelines for All Foods Served or Sold on School Campus

School Meals

Youth Co-op Charter School will offer a School Lunch and Breakfast Program that meets the meal patterns and nutrition standards established by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Youth Co-op Charter School assures that guidelines for reimbursable school meals shall not be less restrictive than regulations and guidance issued by the USDA.

Meals served through the National School Lunch and Breakfast Program will:

· be appealing and attractive to children;

· be served in clean and pleasant settings;

· meet, at a minimum, nutrition requirements established by state and federal law;

· serve only low-fat (1%) and fat-free milk

Breakfast

To ensure that all children have breakfast, either at home or at school, in order to meet their nutritional needs and enhance their ability to learn, the school will:

· operate the breakfast program

· notify parents and students of the availability of the School Breakfast Program;

· encourage parents to provide a healthy breakfast for their children through newsletter articles, take-home materials or other means.

Free and Reduced-Priced Meals

Youth Co-op Charter School will make every effort to eliminate any social stigma attached to, and prevent the overt identification of, students who are eligible for free and reduced-priced meals. Toward this end, the school will:

· utilize electronic identification and payment systems;

· promote the availability of meals to all students

Meal Times and Scheduling

The school:

· will provide students access to hand washing or hand sanitizing before they eat meals or snacks;

· should take reasonable steps to accommodate the tooth-brushing regimens of students with special oral health needs e.g., orthodontia or high tooth decay risk)

Sharing of Food and Beverages

Youth Co-op Charter School discourages students from sharing their foods or beverages with one another during meal or snack times, given concerns about allergies and other restrictions on some children’s diets.

Foods Sold Outside of the Reimbursable Meal

All foods and beverages sold individually outside the reimbursable school meal programs (including those sold through a la carte, vending machines,) during the school day, or through programs for students, will meet the following nutrition and portion size standards:

Beverages

· Allowed: water or seltzer water without added caloric sweeteners; fruit and vegetable juices and fruit-based drinks that contain at least 50% fruit juice and that no not contain additional caloric sweeteners; unflavored or flavored low-fat or fat-free fluid milk and nutritionally-equivalent nondairy beverages (to be defined by USDA);

· Not Allowed: soft drinks containing caloric sweeteners; iced teas; fruit-based drinks that contain less than 50% real fruit juice or that contain additional caloric sweeteners; beverages containing caffeine, excluding low-fat or fat-free chocolate milk (which contain trivial amounts of caffeine)

Foods

A food item sold individually:

· will have no more that 35% of its calories from fat (excluding nuts, seeds, peanut butter, and other nut butters) and 10% of its calories from saturated and trans fat combined;

· will have no more than 35% of its weight from added sugars

· will contain no more than 230 mg of sodium per serving for chips, cereals, crackers, French fries, baked goods, and other snack items; and will contain no more that 600 mg of sodium for pizza, sandwiches, and main dishes.

Portion Sizes

Limit portion sizes of foods and beverages sold individually to those listed below:

· one and one-quarter ounces for chips, crackers, popcorn, cereal, trail mix, nuts, seeds or dried fruits;

· one ounce for cookies;

· two ounces for cereal bars, granola bars, pastries, muffins, doughnuts, bagels, and other bakery items;

· four fluid ounces of frozen desserts, including, but not limited to, low-fat or fat-free ice-cream;

· eight ounces for non-frozen yogurt;

· twelve fluid ounces for beverages, excluding water

Snacks

Snacks served during the school day or in after-school care or enrichment programs will make a positive contribution to children’s diets and health, with an emphasis on serving fruits and vegetables as the primary snacks and water as the primary beverage. YCCS will assess if and when to offer snacks based in timing of school meals, children’s nutritional needs, children’s ages, and other considerations.

V. Plan for Measuring Implementation

Monitoring

· The assistant principal will ensure compliance with this Local Wellness Policy and will report on the school’s compliance to the principal;

· Food service staff will ensure compliance with nutrition policies within food service areas and will report on this matter to the assistant principal or principal

Policy Review

· To help with the initial development of the school’s wellness policies, the school will conduct a baseline assessment of the school’s existing nutrition and physical activity environments and practices. The results will be used to identify and prioritize needs.

· Assessments will be repeated every 3 years to help review policy compliance, assess progress and determine areas in need of improvement. The school will revise the wellness policies as needed.

Reporting

Monitoring, assessment and evaluations will be reported to the School Board of Directors on an annual basis.