Implementation of school wellness policies: Challenges and opportunities

In 2004 the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act required that school districts adopt a comprehensive wellness policy by the 2007-8 school year. These policies had to address the school meal program, nutrition standards, nutrition education, and physical education/physical activity. The USDA funded a demonstration project in 3 states to examine the process and impact of the school wellness policies. The study was a pre/post intervention design with a comparison group. Methods included district and school level online questionnaires and in-person interviews, observation and documentation of the meal program and competitive food environment, and accounts of meal participation and food and beverage sales. In California 24 schools in 8 districts participated. The nutrition polices were the most extensively implemented and the most controversial. Federal and state law, leadership and staff expertise were the primary reasons for focusing on a given goal. The most important ingredients for success related to the attributes of school personnel whereas the barriers were resource related and most commonly included lack of time, lack of buy-in and financial concerns. Monitoring implementation was one of the least implemented areas and was an area where the most technical assistance was needed. The schools were successful in decreasing a la carte sales and increasing meal participation which had a positive impact on food service finances. Although schools had made significant progress additional support is needed if we expect schools to continue to make the school wide changes need to support student wellness and readiness to learn.