Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #116334

Marsha Spence, MS-MPH, RD¹, Sonya J. Jones, PhD¹, Sonia Hardin, RN², and Betsy Haughton, EdD, RD¹. (1) Nutrition, The University of Tennessee, 1215 Cumberland Ave, Room 229, Department of Nutrition, Knoxville, TN 37966-1920, 9659742109, mgreen4@utk.edu, (2) Coordinated School Health Program, Monroe County Schools, 205 Oak Grove Road, Madisonville, TN 37354

The purpose of this presentation is to describe a model for effectively partnering with key community stakeholders to develop sustainable school nutrition policies. After an assessment of the school nutrition environment was conducted by intermediate school teachers in a rural community in East Tennessee, the findings were presented to the full school faculty and a nutrition action plan was designed. The assessment findings, the nutrition action plan, and federal and state nutrition policy recommendations were used by the school wellness committee to develop a nutrition policy that addressed the unique needs of the school. The committee, which was designed to include key stakeholders in the school community, consisted of a school administrator, a school nurse, four teachers, and two parents. The researcher and the Coordinated School Health Program Coordinator worked in collaboration with the committee to develop the policy. Notable components of the policy include: 1) candy will not be used as rewards in the classroom, 2) students should be encouraged to bring healthy snacks to school, 3) beverage vending machines will contain skim or low-fat milk, 100% fruit juice, water, and/or low-calorie flavored water. This policy will be integrated into the school's wellness policy, which will be implemented in August 2005. Data will be presented that examines the effectiveness of formal school nutrition policies. If successful, this theoretical model can be used as a practical model for the development of effective school nutrition and wellness policies that have the potential to improve the health of our nation's school children.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) will be able to
• define school community stakeholder,
• describe a model for partnering with school community stakeholders to develop school nutrition policies.

Keywords: Nutrition, School-Based Programs

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.