November 2005

Dear Superintendent of Schools,

The AFHK-New Hampshire Healthy Schools Coalition is pleased to offer you the enclosed tools to help you and your schools develop Local Wellness Policy as mandated by the re-authorization of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act and Child and Nutrition Act of 1966. The required components for this policy include goals for:

·  Nutrition education

·  Physical activity

·  Nutrition guidelines for all foods available on the school campus during the school day

·  Evaluation

The development of a policy should include input from parents, students and representatives of the school food authority, the school board, school administrators, and the public. It is to be in place “not later than the beginning of the 2006-07 school year”.

To make this process easier for schools, the Coalition:

§  Developed the assessment form, “School Wellness Policy and Resources Assessment Form,” that details the policy requirements and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) suggested guidelines. It offers a rating system so that schools can consider the merits of existing policies when writing their own.

§  Reviewed existing policies from around the country, using the assessment form. The resulting document is the “School Wellness Policy and Resources Assessment Summary, June 2005.”

This packet includes:

§  The assessment form (described above)

§  The assessment summary that includes links to model policies, guidelines and templates (described above)

§  List of policy resources and web sites of involved organizations such as Action For Healthy Kids, Team Nutrition/USDA, NE Dairy & Food Council and the School Nutrition Association.

We hope the enclosed tools will help your schools avoid “reinventing of the wheel” and save time, while assuring that your policy is complete and meets the requirements.

All the information in this packet will be placed on the NH Department of Education website in the near future. School principals, nurses, physical education teachers, food service directors, health educators, and parent and school board associations will receive mail notification when the website implementation is complete.

As superintendent, you are in the best position to bring this policy forward to the school board(s) for adoption. Thank you for your attention to this important issue and its potentially profound impact on the future health of our children.

Sincerely,

Evelyn Hart, RD, LD Cheri F. White, MS, SFNS

Co-Chair Nutrition Committee Co-Chair Nutrition Committee

AFHK-NH Healthy Schools Coalition AFHK-NH Healthy Schools Coalition

Nutrition Specialist Education Consultant, Nutrition New England Dairy & Food Council New Hampshire Department of Education