Healthy School Environment

Local School Wellness Policies

In the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004, the U.S. Congress established a new requirement that all school districts with a federally-funded school meals program develop and implement wellness policies that address nutrition and physical activity.

Local wellness polices are important in promoting student, teacher, faculty and staff wellness, preventing childhood obesity, and providing assurance that school meal nutrition guidelines meet the minimum federal school meal standards. Model school wellness policies are available to help schools create a wellness policy that is right for them. Model school wellness policies are based on scientific research and current practices from exemplary schools around the country and help schools reach their goals of providing a healthy, active, learning environment for school-aged children.

United States Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service (USDA) is working with the Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools of the Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, acting through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to provide technical assistance to local educational agencies, school food authorities, and state educational agencies to meet these new local school wellness policy requirements.

Action for Healthy Kids

Utah Action for Healthy Kids consists of individuals and partnering organizations working together to combat childhood obesity. Some projects the Utah Action for Healthy Kids team is currently working on include:

  • Partnering with the Utah PTA to promote good nutrition and wellness in the school system by increasing fruit and vegetable intake, boost physical activity, and improve school wellness policies,
  • Assisting the Utah Department of Health with the Physical Activity, Nutrition, and Obesity (PANO) Program,
  • Providing education to school administrators to help them understand that healthy children do better in school,
  • And training schools on the Fuel Up to Play 60 program.