In 2004, as part of the government's Child Nutrition and WIC reauthorization, each school district offering federal meal programs (i.e. School Lunch & Breakfast) was required to establish a wellness policy by the beginning of the 2006 school year. Under this provision, each school district was to set goals for nutrition education, physical activity, campus food specification, and other school-based activities designed to promote student wellness. Additionally, districts were required to involve a broad group of individuals in policy development and to have a plan for measuring policy implementation. Ideal wellness implementation involves a variety of stake-holders: students, parents, teachers, administrators, school nutrition professionals and community partners.
Across Tennessee there are groups working with schools to foster wellness change. One such group is Tennessee 's Action for Health Kids (AFHK). Janet Colson, Professor of Nutrition at MTSU and Co-Chair of Tennessee AFHK says, "Since the focus of AFHK is to improve the nutrition environment and physical activity practices in schools, AFHK was a logical national and local player for the school wellness movement. National participants in wellness initiatives such as USDA and the CDC, turn to AFHK for advice, support and program planning. Most recently, AFHK was asked to develop and launch "GameOn" as the national initiative to promote school wellness policies to students, parents and communities around the nation. AFHK developed a tool kit complete with promotional materials, games that integrated nutrition and physical activity, and seed money for free materials to 100 schools throughout the nation." Over 600 schools across the nation participated in GameOn events, including seven Tennessee schools. Tennessee is fortunate to have a variety of RD's as active members of TN AFHK.
Registered Dietitians can become integral supporters of school wellness. Our expertise and care for student's good nutrition make us a valuable addition to the team. There are numerous ways a Registered Dietitian can get involved in local school wellness:
Written wellness policies are designed to include elements of good nutrition and physical activity coupled with education for the entire district. No doubt that the process of constructing a healthy school environment has begun. As we take these first steps of writing policies, implementation and eventually evaluation, we move closer to the goal of healthy, happy students who are ready to learn.
