WELLNESS POLICY ON NUTRITION AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

Preamble: The Fallsburg Central School District Wellness Policy is based on

the following beliefs:

• Children need access to healthful foods and opportunities to be physically active in order to grow, learn, and thrive.
• Good health fosters student attendance and education.
• Obesity rates have increased at an alarming rate and physical inactivity and excessive caloric intake are predominant causes of obesity.
• Heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes are leading causes of deaths in the United States. Major risk factors for those diseases, include unhealthy eating habits, physical inactivity, and obesity. These risk factors are often established in childhood.
• Nationally, the items most commonly sold in vending machines, school stores, and snack bars include low-nutrition foods and beverages, such as soda, sport drinks, imitation fruit juices, chips, candy, cookies, and snack cakes.
• Therefore, the Fallsburg Central School District is committed to providing a school environment that promotes and protects the health, safety and well-being of our children by supporting healthy eating and physical activity.

Wellness Policy Goals: Based on the beliefs outlined in the preamble, it is

the policy of the Fallsburg Central School District:

A. We will engage students, parents, staff members, food service

professionals, health professionals, and other interested community

members in developing, implementing, monitoring, and reviewing

district-wide nutrition and physical activity policies.

B. All students who attend school will have opportunities, support, and

encouragement to be physically active on a regular basis.

C. Foods and beverages sold or served at school will meet the nutrition

recommendations of the U.S. Dietary Guidelines For Americans.

D. Fallsburg Central School District staff will provide students with access

to a variety of affordable, nutritious, and appealing foods that meet the

health and nutrition needs of students; will provide clean, safe, and

pleasant settings and time for students to eat.

E. To the maximum extent practicable, all Fallsburg Central School District

programs will participate in available federal school meal programs.

F. The Fallsburg Central School District will provide nutrition education and

physical education to foster lifelong habits of healthy eating and physical

activity, and will establish linkages between health education and school

meal programs.

NOTE: The regulation that accompanies this policy outlines the procedures

for accomplishing these wellness goals.

Legal Reference - Policy required under Section 204 of the Child Nutrition

and Women, Infants, and Children Reauthorization Act of2004 (pLI08-265)