If you’ve been following along on Facebook you may know that I recently helped start a “Healthy Child and Earth” committee at my daughters’ elementary school. Some readers have expressed interest in understanding how the committee works and also what initiatives we are planning to tackle, which is what I want to share with you today.
First of all, like most people, I am good at complaining when something isn’t exactly going my way. But I know that complaining isn’t going to get me anywhere unless I actually try to do something about it. For every parent that has written in and told us their school/daycare serves the junkiest snacks or the worst lunches, the first thing I usually ask is if they could possibly band together with other like-minded parents to do something about it. Change has to start somewhere.
Two Years in the Making
As we all know though, change doesn’t happen overnight. I’ve actually had my eye on making some changes at our school for 2 years now (since my oldest started kindergarten). But I had never before been part of a PTA/O, much less did I know how all the committees worked, so I kind of sat tight and purposely just observed for a while. And what I observed, cafeteria food aside, was the constant use of junk food for student rewards and classroom activities. Then, the following year (last year), another mom and I attempted to form a committee together, and we also tried to get in front of the teachers to talk about some of our ideas…but to no avail. Needless to say we didn’t get very far despite our efforts.
Then this year we finally started getting some traction. Over the summer this other mom and I invited all the interested parents we could think of to have a little pow wow at my house. During this brainstorming session we realized that half the group was part of the school’s already established “Go Green” committee, so one mom had the brilliant idea to just expand that committee’s initiatives to cover the nutrition aspect as well. Bingo! That was the idea we needed to really get things off the ground.
Our New “Healthy Child and Earth” Committee
So as a result of combining the two committees together, the “Healthy Child and Earth” committee was born. And as it turns out…just expanding an already existing committee was a whole lot easier than getting approval to start a brand new one (not to mention we now had enough interested parents to back it up). Together our new group came up with a list of the top initiatives we’d like to tackle this school year and then, after our principal approved most of our ideas, a few of us met and each volunteered to help with the different responsibilities.
Below is the list of our top 2012 – 13 initiatives, as well as a progress update, from just the “healthy” side of our committee (along with attachments if applicable!). Also, stay tuned because our team assistant, Jill, plans to share some of the great things that are going on at her kids’ elementary school along with how she is utilizing the helpful resources available on the Food Day site in an upcoming blog post.
Our Committee Initiatives (from the “Healthy Child” side only)
- Provide awareness and education school-wide
- Reduce junk food in the classroom
- Offer healthier food options at the monthly “Terrific Kids Breakfast”
- Add non-fast food options for our school fundraiser “Spirit Nights” (like bowling, Earth Fare café, or roller skating)
- Plan a “Healthy Child and Earth” week-long themed event in April (aligned with Earth Day)
- Research possible grant opportunities
- Think of ideas and criteria to reward healthy classes
- Poll teachers/staff/PTO for additional ideas and opportunities (pending approval…we also wanted to survey parents, but that was not approved at this time)
- What we’ve accomplished so far:
- Set up a table at our school Meet and Greet (a.k.a. Open House) in August where we handed out healthy snack lists and recruited a few new parents for our committee [Download: Healthy Snack List]
- Presented our Non-Food Reward List, Healthy Snack List, and Nut-Free Healthy Snack List at both the school-wide room mom meeting and the teachers’ staff meeting (yay!) [Downloads: Non-Food Reward List, Healthy Snack List, and Nut-Free Healthy Snack List]
- Submitted helpful tips to be included in the email newsletter that goes out to parents every week [Download: First 8 tips (list includes both green and healthy tips)]
PLEASE share your healthy school ideas and initiatives in the comments!
I shared info with the principal about Meatless Mondays. We now have one day a week where no meat is served, saving the planet, animals and health! I also would like more recycling at meals and events.
Hi you mentioned in a face book post about your
Winter garden at school can you explain that a
Little more I am trying to start a similar group
In our elementary school
Hi Erica. The garden club was actually born out of this committee. The school approved a section of their grounds which we tilled, planted and cared for along with the children that signed up to attend our after school garden club. The club met once a week. We started seeds indoors in the classrooms and planted once the most frigid weather passed. Lisa, myself, and 3 other moms planned the curriculum and mixed in cooking, crafts, school grounds beautification, etc. We just wrapped up a few weeks ago. Hope that helps. ~Amy
I am working with our school to do something like this, thanks! Is there a way Lisa can share more information so others don’t have to “reinvent the wheel”? The weekly tips are great but only a week or so is posted here. Also the initiatives for 2013-14 would be so helpful. Thanks!
Hello Nicole. Our focus for the current school year has not really changed from last year. We are building on our past accomplishments and not expanding our goals for the time being (baby steps). We have planted our school garden and are using our nutrition “talks” to reinforce red, yellow, and green light foods: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/04/19/how-to-talk-kids-about-real-food/. If you are looking for more tips, this web site has lots of them with a whole archive of “green your school” resources: http://www.treehugger.com/htgg/how-to-go-green-back-to-school.html. Hope this helps.
I think this whole idea is FANTASTIC! I follow this blog daily, and love the posts and ideas I get from them! That being said, I’m really curious about the “school-wide room mom meeting.” Why is it just a “mom” meeting instead of a “parent” meeting? Are dads not able to participate?
Hi Jess. Dads are welcome, of course. It just usually ends out being a group of moms. :)
Hi There!
Any suggestions on how I can get something started at my son’s school? What would be the very first step? In other words, do you have any ideas on how I could contact or recruit interested parents at his school? Do I make a flyer to hand out with permission from the principal? I would love to start a committee and start making big changes! Thank you for the inspiration!
-Heather
Hi Heather. I would start with the PTO/PTA and see how they go about forming committees. They will also have a direct line to both school administration and parents. ~Amy
Some things that your children’s school/teachers/parents could look into joining in the area is the Charlotte School Garden Network (https://www.facebook.com/groups/601059189905104/) and the Green Teacher Network (http://catawbariverdistrict.org/ultimateschoolyardgarden/greenteacher.html).
The Fuel up and Play 60 (mentioned above) has Grant dollars avail for fruit and vegetable consumption and activities. Local County extension office often will collaborate on these grants. You can have another partner in making these changes and help get a program started. Website to find the nearest extension office in your state. Ask them about Fuel up and play 60 or about partnering in a school nutrition program. http://www.csrees.usda.gov/Extension/
I LOVE the part above about complaining. All too often I would hear other parents complain, yet they never spoke up when needed and they wouldn’t get involved. As a parent of kids with food allergies I was excited to see you included the nut free list. When my kids were still in school (homeschooled now) I implemented a lot of things regarding removing the abundance of foods brought into the classroom, not only because my kids had food allergies, but because they just don’t need all the junk food rewards and celebrations. Keep up the great work!
Check out http://www.spiritmonkey.com! It was started by a PTA mom in San Antonio as a non-food reward system that has blossomed into a fun, customizable, collectible to remember their school years by.
Right now it appears like WordPress is the top blogging
platform out there right now. (from what I’ve read) Is that what you are using on your blog?
Hello Kerry. Finding an ally in the PTO/PTA and assessing whether school nutrition, parent education on nutrition, lunch packing and healthy snacking, school gardening, etc. are on their radar. Knowing this will give you an indication of what your starting point should be. Food Day: http://www.foodday.org/ has an excellent curriculum and resources that can be customized to different age groups. Also, not sure if you saw Lisa’s recent post on our school assembly: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/04/19/how-to-talk-kids-about-real-food/. Best of luck getting started. ~Amy
Any suggestions on where to start making changes if you don’t have a kid in school yet? Mine will be there in 2 years and I am appalled at the amount of junk food I see in classrooms right now (I am doing observations in elementary as part of my degree requirements). I would love to start making changes now, as opposed to waiting until he is in school, which will coincide with me graduating and getting a job as an elementary teacher.
I would love to see a follow up post to this one, see how this has worked out after a year or two.
This is absolutely incredible! Prior to having children, I was an elementary school teacher and know too well about the types of food used throughout the year. I am now a stay-at-home mom who recently started my own “Happy Harmonized Health” blog to try and help others create better lifestyle habits. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your ideas and am very inspired to do the same at my daughter’s school now that she is in kindergarten. Thank you for sharing your wonderful ideas/suggestions. It is very much appreciated!
Thanks for this list and resources! I am looking into getting involved at my daughter’s school and this will be helpful. She just started kindergarten and it’s such a passion of mine to teach kids healthy habits. I’m also on the state core team for Action for Healthy Kids in Iowa. The national AFHK site is a great resouce for information, too. Have you worked with them at all?
After just receiving an email stating that the snacks that will be served at my son’s Fall party are going to be oreos, donut holes, and M&M’s, I am feeling compelled to take action (my family has been on a “real food” diet for alittle over a year). My son is currently in the first grade and my daughter will start school next year, so what better time to get involved and possibly start something at their school that will not only benefit their generation but ideally generations to come!
Thank you for joining this at your school! I used to work at a school as a wellness coordinator. It was my job to recruit parents for a similar committee. It was extremely difficult to find dedicated parents, so thank you for joining! I am sure your school appreciates it.
Hi, Lisa, your website has also changed my life. I am a Guatemalan and I have been talking to my friends and family about your website. Thank you, you are impacting the world.