1. Karin Wetherill, Wellness Coordinator
Promoting
Healthy Kids &
Healthy Schools
Through Good Nutrition & School Meals Programs
Karin Wetherill, Wellness Coordinator

2. Schools Meals: A Bit of History
The start of the National School Lunch Program (NSLP)
President Truman began the program in 1946 as a measure of national security for two purposes:
To help prevent nutritional deficiencies among lower-income schoolchildren
To help dispose of surplus agricultural commodities owned by the government

3. Along the way, we got off-track…
Highly processed convenience foods
Access to low-nutrition competitive foods
Shift from serving underweight
to overweight children
Deteriorating kitchen facilities
Lack of staff training for
fresh meal prep

4. Fast forward to today… USDA programs (breakfast, lunch,
after-school snack, dinner, summer meals)
Stronger state & federal
nutrition standards
(meals & competitive foods)
Reimbursement rates for
full pay, reduced & free
Role of Food Service
Management Companies (FSMC)
Commodity Foods (Entitlements)

5. A district’s school meal program must balance:
Fiscal Stability
Student Participation
Quality/Nutritional Profile of Food
Studies have shown a
positive relationship
between:
Nutrition & Academic Performance

6. What’s working in Rhode Island!
Promising approaches to encourage healthful eating
Cafeteria design to encourage better choices
Comply with competitive food/beverage sales laws
Engage students
Robust Farm-to-School programs
Chefs in the kitchens
Kitchen equipment upgrades
Healthy food promotion/marketing
School Gardens