The Nutrition Component promotes:
- Access to a variety of nutritious, culturally appropriate foods that promote growth and
development, pleasure in healthful eating, and long-term health, the prevention of school
day hunger and its consequent lack of attention to learning tasks
- Nutrition education that empowers students to select and enjoy healthful food and
physical activity
- Screening, assessment, counseling and referral for nutrition problems and the provision
of modified meals for students with special needs.
Goal: To improve the health, nutritional well-being and academic performance of
North Carolina’s students through coordinated and comprehensive nutrition policies that
enhance the school classroom, cafeteria and community environment and support lifelong
healthful eating habits.
Eat Smart, Move More
Eat Smart,
Move More NC is a statewide initiative that promotes increased
opportunities for physical activity and healthy eating through policy and
environmental change. Increasing
public awareness of the need for such changes to support increased
physical activity and healthy eating opportunities is an integral aspect
of the initiative. The ultimate goal of the initiative is to promote
healthy behaviors that reduce risks and prevent disease related to
inactivity and unhealthy eating behaviors. Eat Smart, Move Move is a
program of the Physical
Activity and Nutrition Unit in the NC Division
of Public Health.
Child Nutrition Programs
Child Nutrition Programs provide nutritious school meals to promote learning
readiness and the opportunity to practice skills learned in classroom nutrition education.
Programs in schools include the National School Lunch Program, the School Breakfast
Program, the Special Milk Program, After School Snack Program and the Summer Food Service
Program. Programs are available to all children regardless of ability to pay. Federal
regulations also support the student with Special Dietary Needs. Meals are modified with a proper medical prescription
without additional cost to the parent of guardian. For more information, call Child
Nutrition Services with the NC Department of Public Instruction (919) 807-3506.
Team Nutrition
Approximately half of North Carolina’s schools are Team Nutrition schools. Team Nutrition provides
schools with nutrition education materials for children and families, and technical
assistance materials for Child Nutrition directors, cafeteria managers and staff. State
agency partners provide training and technical assistance to support these programs in
local schools. Team Nutrition supports the School Meals Initiative policy that school
meals reflect the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. For more information, call Child
Nutrition Services with the NC Department of Public Instruction (919) 807-3506.
Nutrition Education and Training Program (NET)
The North Carolina NET Program, through its local, state and federal partnerships,
provides leadership in promoting healthful eating habits for the state’s children. NET
integrates mealtime and learning experiences to help children make informed food choices
as part of a healthy lifestyle. Activities of the NET Program include a Resource Lending Library,
mini-grants, workshops and a newsletter. For more information, call the NET Program with
the NC Department of Health and Human Services at (919) 715-8792.
North Carolina School Nutrition Action Committee (SNAC)
SNAC consists of representatives from the three state governmental agencies that
participate in school nutrition services including the Department of Public Instruction, the Department of Health and Human
Services and the NC Cooperative Extension Service. The goal of this collaborative committee is to coordinate
school nutrition activities that link the cafeteria, classroom and community to school
health. The committee has worked on issues ranging from meeting the dietary needs of
children with special needs to coordinating health promotion programs that focus on 5 a Day , 1% or Less Milk campaign,
breakfast promotion and increased physical activity. For more information, call the Children and Youth Branch
with the NC Department of Health and Human Services at (919) 715-3292.
Soft-Drinks
and School-age Children: Trends, Effects, Solutions
(Download
this Fact Sheet)
The increasing level of soft drink consumption by North Carolina’s children
and teens is one of many barriers to their achieving
an adequate diet and a healthy lifestyle. It is a trend that parents, schools
and communities have the capacity to
reverse. This publication focuses primarily on schools; however, schools cannot
solve the problem alone.
NC Statewide Health Promotion Program and NC Cardiovascular Health Program
These programs support local health departments that are working in the arena of
promoting policy change and environmental improvements to increase physical activity and
healthful eating opportunities in various settings, including schools. For more
information on the NC Statewide Health Promotion Program, call (919)715-3344. For more
information on the Start With Your Heart call (919) 715-5398.
North Carolina 5 a Day Coalition
This coalition of state and local agencies, public, private and nonprofit organizations
is licensed to promote the National Cancer Institute’s 5 a Day Program. Schools are primary channels that the coalition is using
to encourage North Carolina children to consume at least five servings of fruits and
vegetables daily. For more information, call the Health Promotion Branch with the NC
Department of Health and Human Services at (919) 715-3829.
NCSU Cooperative Extension Service
The NC Cooperative Extension Family & Consumer Sciences, Department of Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) exists in
all 100 counties and on the Cherokee Indian Reservation. It includes one or more Family
and Consumer Educators (FCE), who are part of the County Extension Center. FCEs interact
with county residents to assess nutrition education needs and issues. As NCSU field
faculty, they also work with FCS faculty to provide research-based educational
programming. County and state faculty work with school-age children, parents and educators
in a variety of ways including providing leadership on the community component of Team
Nutrition, Be Active Kids and the SyberShop CD-ROM for high school students. Agents work
in multi-agency teams to improve nutrition education opportunities for children and
parents. For more information, call Family and Consumer Sciences with NCSU Cooperative
Extension Service at (919) 515-9142.
School-based Health Centers
North Carolina has approximately 50 school-based health centers across the state.
Center services target children aged 5-19 years and address important health challenges
such as unmet medical and mental health concerns and the reduction of health-risk
behaviors. Most centers have a nutritionist on staff providing nutrition and weight
management services to students. Some coordinate school-wide nutrition promotion campaigns
with cafeteria staff. For more information, call the Children and Youth Branch with the NC
Department of Health and Human Services at (919) 715-3292.
CDC
Guidelines for School Health Programs
National guidelines for school health programs were developed on the basis of
an exhaustive review of published research and input from academic experts and
national, federal, and voluntary organizations interested in child and
adolescent health. The guidelines include specific recommendations to help
states, districts, and schools implement health programs and policies that have
been found to be most effective in promoting healthy behaviors among youth.
Recommendations cover topics such as policy development, curriculum development
and selection, instructional strategies, staff training, family and community
involvement, evaluation, and linkages between different components of the
coordinated school health program. School Health Program Guidelines are
currently available on the following topics.
Guidelines
to Promote Lifelong Healthy Eating
Guidelines
to Promote Lifelong Physical Activity
Guidelines
to Prevent Tobacco Use and Addiction
Guidelines
for Effective School Health Education
To Prevent the Spread of AIDS
Guidelines to Prevent Unintentional Injuries and
Violence
The New Design Handbook: National
Food Service Management Institute
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