Advocacy, Policy and Evironmental Changes to Improve Child Nutrition

Advocacy, Policy and Environmental Changes to Improve Child Nutrition

The 2009 Child Nutrition Reauthorization provides an important opportunity to increase school children's fruit and vegetable consumption though policy and environmental changes. A key program under consideration for expansion is the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Snack Program (FFVP). By providing students with a fresh fruit or vegetable snack every day at school, the FFVP increases their consumption of a wide variety of nutrient dense fresh fruits and vegetables, creates a healthier school food environment and positively impacts family eating habits. Recently, this popular program was expanded from a pilot program to a national program, but it is still only available in a small percentage of schools nationwide. Data from USDA's evaluation of the FFVP will be presented, as will recommendations for expansion of the FFVP in the child nutrition reauthorization. Brining school breakfast and school lunch into compliance with the 2005 Dietary Guidelines also has the potential to improve child nutrition. Strategies and approaches for increasing the availability and diversity of fruits and vegetables through the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program also will be discussed. Public Health advocacy to secure these improvements and finance these investments in child nutrition is critically important.