HealthierUS School Challenge Application Process

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HealthierUS School Challenge Application Process

• Grant Coordination and School Support
• School Nutrition Training
• and Programs

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Acknowledgements

• This project has been funded at least in part
  with Federal funds from the U.S. Department of
  Agriculture. The contents of this publication do
  not necessarily reflect the view or policies of
  the U.S. Department of Agriculture, nor does
  mention of trade names, commercial products, or
  organizations imply endorsement by the U.S.
  Government.

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Our Responsibility to Children

• Schools have the unique opportunity even the
  responsibility to teach and model healthful
  eating and physical activity, both in theory and
  in practice Therefore, schools have a vested
  interest in improving the nutrition and
  increasing the physical activity of their
  students.
• Dr. Satcher, former U.S. Surgeon General and
  founding chair of Action for Healthy Kids.

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Vision

• The HealthierUS School Challenge (HUSSC) was
  established to recognize schools that are
  creating healthier school environments through
  promotion of good nutrition and physical
  activity.

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Background

• Four levels of performance are awarded
• Bronze
• Silver
• Gold
• Gold Award of Distinction

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Goal

• The overarching goal of the HUSSC is to improve
  the health of the nations children by promoting
  healthier school environments.
• To meet the goal, schools must
• Improve the quality of the foods served
• Provide students with nutrition education
• Provide students with physical education and
  opportunities for physical activity

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Purpose of HUSSC

• Schools should take a leadership role in helping
  students make healthy eating and activity
  choices.
• USDA wants to recognize nationally a schools
  commitment to the health and well-being of its
  students.
• Schools can be certified Gold Award of
  Distinction, Gold, Silver, or Bronze for this
  commitment.

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HUSSC Guiding Principles

• Schools will
• Commit to meeting criteria for four years
• Meet all the School Meals Initiative (SMI)
  requirements
• Serve reimbursable meals that reflect good menu
  Planningprinciples
• Ensure students can select a meal that meets
  HUSSC criteria
• A significant portion of the menu items planned
  for the Challenge criteria should be routinely
  selected by the students

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HUSSC Guiding Principles

• To qualify, a school must
• submit a formal application
• meet menu criteria for fruits, vegetables, whole
  grains, and milk
• submit a local school wellness policy

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What is a good school meal program?

• One that
• Promotes healthy food and beverage choices to
  students while eliminating or reducing energy
  dense choices
• Provides menus that give each student the
  opportunity to select a meal that models the
  principles of the 2005 Dietary Guidelines
• Provides age appropriate portion sizes and good
  nutrition messages that focus on whole foods
• Provides meals that are pleasing to the eye and
  palate, and introduces a wide variety of
  nutritious foods to children

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Award Level Criteria

• School is enrolled as a Team Nutrition (TN)
  school
• Reimbursable lunches meet USDA nutrition
  standards
• Average Daily Participation (ADP) for lunch meets
  or exceeds a minimum

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ADP Calculation

• Go to http//www.michigan.gov/meis
• Pull up SM-4012-SL claim for school
• ADP Total servings (lunch) number of days
  served by student enrollment x 100

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Bronze/Silver Menu Criteria (Weekly)

• 1 Fruit serving daily
• at least ¼ cup serving size
• different fruit each day (fresh, frozen, canned,
  dried)
• 100 fruit juice can be counted only once per
  week
• 1 serving of fresh fruit weekly

• 1 Vegetable serving daily
• at least ¼ cup serving size
• 100 vegetable juice can be counted only once
  per week
• 3 days per week must be dark green/ orange
  vegetable
• ¼ C minimum serving of dry beans/peas
  (legumes) must be
• offered each week
• of the 3, at least 2 must be different

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Bronze/Silver Menu Criteria (Weekly)

• 1 Whole Grain food serving 3 or more days
• a variety of choices must be offered

• 1 Milk serving daily
• only lowfat (1 or less) and fat-free
• (skim) milk
• flavored or unflavored

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Gold Awards Menu Criteria (Weekly)

• 1 Fruit serving daily
• at least ¼ cup serving size
• different fruit each day (fresh, frozen, canned,
  dried)
• 100 fruit juice can be counted only once per
  week
• 2 servings fresh fruit weekly

• 1 Vegetable serving daily
• at least ¼ cup serving size
• 100 vegetable juice can be counted only once
  per week
• 3 days per week must be dark green or orange
  vegetable
• ¼ C minimum serving of dry beans/peas (legumes)
  must be
• offered each week
• of the 3, at least 2 must be different

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Gold Awards Menu Criteria (Weekly)

• 1 Whole grain food serving daily
• a variety of choices must be offered

• 1 Milk serving daily
• only lowfat (1 or less) and fat-free
• (skim) milk
• flavored or unflavored

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Dark Green or Orange Vegetables
The following are the only foods that meet the
HUSSC criteria for dark green or orange
vegetables
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Dry Beans or Peas (Legumes)
The following are the only foods that meet the
HUSSC criteria for dry beans and peas
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Whole Grain Foods

• Whole grain food products must be at least the
  portion size of one Grains/Breads serving as
  defined by the USDA Food Buying Guide for Child
  Nutrition Programs manual.
• Whole grain food products that meet HUSSC
  criteria are categorized into two groups
• Group A Food products with whole grain(s) as
  the primary ingredient by weight (whole grain
  is first ingredient on list)
• Group B Food products with whole grain(s) as
  the primary grain ingredient by weight . For
  example
• water is the first ingredient, whole grain is
  the second
• Whole grain food products from Group A must be
  the majority of whole grain foods offered each
  week.

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What is a Whole Grain?

• Whole Grains consist of the entire cereal grain
  seed or kernel. The kernel has three parts the
  bran, the germ, and the endosperm. Usually the
  kernel is cracked, crushed, or flaked during the
  milling process. If the finished product retains
  the same relative proportions of bran, germ, and
  edosperm as the original grain, it is considered
  a whole grain.

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Whole Grain Descriptions

• When you see the following wording, you will know
  that, by regulation (FDA Standards of Identity),
  they describe whole grains that are used as
  ingredients
• Cracked wheat
• Crushed wheat
• Whole wheat flour
• Graham flour
• Entire wheat flour
• Bromated whole wheat flour
• Whole durum wheat flour

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More Whole Grain Descriptions

• Common and usual names for other whole grains are
  noted below
• The word whole listed before a grain, for
  example, whole corn
• The words berries and groats are also used to
  designate whole grains, for example, wheat
  berries or oat groats
• Rolled oats and oatmeal (including old-fashioned,
  quick-cooking, and instant oatmeal)
• Other whole grain products that do not use the
  word whole in their description, for example,
  brown rice, brown rice flour, or wild rice

A more comprehensive list of whole grains is
provided as Attachment A of the Whole Grains
Resource link found on page 1 of the application.
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Not Whole Grains

• Grain products (ingredients) that are not whole
  grains
• Flour has been designated by the FDA as the term
  for refined wheat flour. The following
  ingredients are not whole grains

Can be whole grain. The words whole grain must
be on the ingredient list.
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Competitive Foods Guidelines

• All food sold /served outside the reimbursable
  school meals must meet specified criteria
• Bronze/Silver during meal periods within
  foodservice areas
• Gold/Gold of Distinction throughout the school
  day and campus

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Competitive Foods Guidelines

• 35 of calories from fat (nuts, seeds, nut
  butters, and reduced-fat cheese exempt)
• lt 10 of calories from saturated fat (reduced-fat
  cheese exempt)
• lt 0.5 grams trans fat per serving (trans fat
  free)
• 35 of weight from sugar (F/V/Milk exempt)
• 480mg sodium per non- entrée, 600mg sodium
  per entree
• For Gold Award of Distinction
• 480mg sodium per non- entrée, 600mg sodium
  per entrée
• OR Physical Education is 150 minutes/week for
  elementary schools

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Competitive Beverages Guidelines
All beverages sold/served outside the
reimbursable school meals must meet specified
criteria

• Milk Only lowfat (1 or less) / fat-free
  (skim), flavored or unflavored milk - 8 oz limit
• Juice 100 full strength fruit and vegetable
  juices - 6 oz limit (8 oz HS)
• Water Unflavored water, no sweeteners
  (nutritive or non-nutritive), noncarbonated,
  caffeine-free

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Why Apply?

• Improve the school nutrition environment
• Compliment local wellness policy efforts
• Provide valuable staff development
• Improve the image of your program
• Improve student health
• To gain recognition for what you are already
  doing
• Receive monetary incentives, award banner, media
  attention and national, state, and community
  recognition

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Why Apply?

• USDA will offer financial incentives for each
  school certified under the current criteria. (The
  current criteria were revised and implemented in
  early 2009.)
• 2,000 Gold of Distinction
• 1,500 Gold
• 1,000 Silver
• 500 Bronze

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Application Process
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Application Guidance and Menu Development
Resources

• HealthierUS School Vision
• Tips for States
• Whole Grains Resource

• Criteria for HUSSC Awards
• Criteria for Elementary Schools
• Criteria for Secondary Schools
• Comparison Criteria for All Schools
• Fact Sheets for Healthier School Meals
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Guidance on Vegetables, Dry Beans, and Peas

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Application Packet

• http//healthymeals.nal.usda.gov/hsmrs/HUSSC/
• General Information
• Application Cover Sheet
• Award Criteria Check List
• Lunch Menu Worksheets (4 weeks)
• Supporting Documentation for Menus/Foods
• Nutrition Education Worksheet
• Physical Activity Worksheet
• Competitive Foods Worksheet
• Schools Policies and Practices Checklist
• Review Committee Verification Form
• Application Check-Off Sheet

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Nutrition Education Worksheet

• Nutrition Education is provided in Elementary
  Schools
• To at least half of the grade levels
• Integrated into classroom instruction
• Though classroom, cafeteria and
  home/parents
• Nutrition Education is provided in Middle and
  High Schools
• To at least one grade level in middle school
• In at least two courses required for graduation
  in the high school

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Physical Education/Activity

• Elementary Schools
• Structured physical education classes
• Bronze/Silver 45 minutes/week
• Gold 90 minutes/week
• Gold with Distinction 150 minutes/week
• Unstructured daily opportunities for physical
  activity

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Physical Education/Activity

• Secondary Schools
• Structured physical education classes to at least
  two grades
• Actively promoting participation in physical
  activities

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Competitive Foods Worksheet
For any foods or beverages outside the NSLP sold
anytime during the school day, enter nutrition
facts into the Calulator to see if the item meets
HUSSC criteria.
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School Policies and Practices

• Fundraising
• Are primarily non-food items sold through school
  fundraising activities?
• Do food items meet competitive foods guidelines?
• Physical Activity
• Commitment to neither deny nor require physical
  activity as a means of punishment?
• Nutrition
• Use of food as a reward prohibited?
• Wellness Policy
• Approved wellness policy included?

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Additional Documentation

• Please submit the following additional
  documentation
• Copy of the School Wellness Policy and Team
  Nutrition Verification
• Monthly menus for reimbursable school lunches
  served in your school (Menus must reflect four
  consecutive weeks where each week has at least
  three days and the total number of days over the
  4-week menu is 16 days or more. For example 3
  days week 1 3 days week 2 5 days week 3 5 days
  week 4 16 days)
• Production records for the 4 weeks (for Gold and
  Silver Awards)
• Documentation including recipes, food product
  ingredient statements, and/or Nutrition Facts
  labels to verify that the criteria have been met
  for the following whole grain products, a la
  carte, snack bar, and vended items sold anytime,
  anywhere on the school campus

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Submit Application

• Once application is complete, submit the
  application in a 3-Ring Binder to
• School Nutrition Program and Training
• Michigan Department of Education
• 608 W. Allegan
• Lansing, MI 48909
• For technical assistance or questions, please
  contact us at 517-373-3347 or
• mde-schoolnutrition_at_michigan.gov

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Thank You