Making It Happen!
School Nutrition Success Stories
Press Release
3/23/05
Tools for Healthier School Nutrition
AUSTIN, TX March 23, 2005—Making it Happen! School Nutrition Success
Stories released today at George I. Sanchez Elementary School,
describes successful approaches by schools to improve student nutrition.
Making It Happen!, a joint publication of U.S. Departments of
Agriculture, Food Nutrition and Consumer Services and Health and Human
Services' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention with the support of
the Department of Education celebrates the bold steps that many schools
and school districts have taken to increase the availability of healthy
foods outside of school meal programs.
"We urge schools throughout the United States to take action to fight
the increasing prevalence of overweight among our children and to
encourage physical activity and healthier school nutrition," said Dr. Ed
Thompson, Chief, Public Health Practice, Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. "CDC is delighted to see Sanchez Elementary School—and other
schools in Austin and throughout Texas—take this important first step."
Making It Happen! includes thirty-two case studies demonstrating
that schools and their communities can work together to create healthier
nutrition environments for our children. The publication, which supports
the President’s HealthierUS
initiative, provides concrete examples of how schools and
school districts across the United States are helping to implement changes
where food is available that make healthy food and beverage choices the
norm.
"Nearly one-third of America’s children are overweight or at risk of
becoming overweight. Schools recognize that obesity is a serious problem
facing children," said Eric M. Bost, USDA Under Secretary for Food,
Nutrition and Consumer Services. "Making It Happen! shows that
schools are not only very concerned about the health of their students but
are willing to take action to improve it."
Making It Happen! describes six different approaches that
schools and school districts can use to successfully improve the
nutritional content of foods served to students such as marketing the
healthy food choices and using fundraising activities and rewards that
support student health. The release of Making It Happen! is
well-timed to help local education agencies develop wellness policies for
schools that are now required by law under the Child Nutrition and WIC
Reauthorization Act of 2004.
"Making It Happen! shows the positive steps that can be taken
when local communities and their schools work creatively to provide
healthier alternatives to our children," said Deborah A. Price, Deputy
Undersecretary of the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Safe and
Drug-Free Schools.
The Making It Happen! success stories are available through the
Food and Nutrition Services' Team Nutrition website at
www.fns.usda.gov/tn and on CDC’s
Division of Adolescent and School Health Web site at
www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth.
For more information on CDC’s programs, please visit the CDC website at
http://www.cdc.gov.
The USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) administers 15 nutrition
assistance programs including the Summer Food Service Program, the Food
Stamp Program, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women,
Infants, and Children (WIC), the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP)
and the National School Lunch Program. Together these programs make up the
federal nutrition safety net. FNS administers these programs in
partnership with state and local agencies and works with faith and
community-based organizations to ensure that nutrition assistance is
available to those in need. For more information please visit
www.fns.usda.gov.
For more information on the HealthierUS initiative please visit
www.healthierus.gov.
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