That's Fit

The Food and Nutrition Department here in my area has adopted a Wellness Policy for the county, a policy that extends into the public school system. This is good news for me since my oldest child is in first grade at one of our city's elementary schools. So what exactly does this Wellness Policy do for Joey and his public school counterparts? Among other things, it influences the way these kids eat while at school. Here's how.

Fryers have been removed from all schools. All food items are now baked. And a strict standard has been implemented for all snack items. Snack calories have been limited to 250, fat will be kept to 35 percent of total calories -- except for nuts and seeds -- and each snack will have a max of 35 percent of its weight from sugars, excluding fruits and veggies. Trans fats will be eliminated, and beverages will include only bottled water, eight-ounce servings of milk and 100-percent fruit juice, and low-fat and non-fat regular and flavored milk. Juices will have no added sweeteners and can only contain 120 calories per each eight-ounce serving.

I consider this a step in the right direction for sure. How about your local school system? Any similar changes taking place?

To read more about this one school system's healthy practices, click here.