BETHLEHEM ACADEMY
FARIBAULT, MINNESOTA

533 WELLNESS
August 28, 2023

All school districts that participate in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs are required by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (Act) to have a wellness policy that includes standard and nutrition guidelines for foods and beverages made available to students on campus during the school day, as well as specific goals for nutrition promotion and education, physical activity, and other school-based activities that promote student wellness. The Act requires the involvement of parents, students, representatives of the school food authority, teachers of physical education, school health professionals, the school board, school administrators, and the public in the development, implementation, and periodic review and update of the wellness policy. The Act also requires a plan for measuring implementation of the policy and reporting wellness policy content and implementation issues to the public, as well as the designation of at least one person charged with responsibility for the implementation and oversight of the wellness policy to ensure the school district is in compliance with the policy.

I. PURPOSE

The purpose of this policy is to set forth methods that promote student wellness, prevent and reduce childhood obesity, and assure that school meals and other food and beverages sold and otherwise made available on the school campus during the school day are consistent with applicable minimum local, state, and federal standards.

II. GENERAL STATEMENT OF POLICY

1. The school board recognizes that nutrition promotion and education, physical activity, and other school-based activities that promote student wellness are essential components of the educational process and that good health fosters student attendance and learning.
2. The school environment should promote students' health, well-being, and ability to learn by encouraging healthy eating and physical activity.
3. The school district encourages the involvement of parents, students, representatives of the school food authority, teachers, school health professionals, the school board, school administrators, and the general public in the development, implementation, and periodic review and update of the school district's wellness policy.
4. Children need access to healthy foods and opportunities to be physically active in order to grow, learn, and thrive.
5. All students in grades 6-12 will have opportunities, support, and encouragement to be physically active on a regular basis.
6. Qualified school nutrition personnel will provide students with access to a variety of affordable, nutritious, and appealing foods that meet the health and nutrition needs of students; try to accommodate the religious, ethnic, and cultural diversity of the student body in meal planning; and will provide clean, safe, and pleasant settings and adequate time for students to eat.

III. WELLNESS GOALS

1. Promotion and Education
   1. Bethlehem Academy will encourage and support healthy eating by students and engage in nutrition promotion that is:
      1. offered as part of a comprehensive program designed to provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary to promote and protect their health;
      2. part of health education classes as well as classroom instruction in subjects such as math, science, language arts, social sciences, and elective subjects, where appropriate; and
      3. enjoyable, developmentally appropriate, culturally relevant, and includes participatory activities, such as contests, promotions, taste testing, and field trips.
   2. Bethlehem Academy encourages balance, variety, and moderation and will foster an environment where all students can make age appropriate, healthy selections of foods and beverages, including those sold individually outside the reimbursable school meal programs, such as through a la carte, snack lines, vending machines, fundraising events, concession stands, and student stores.
2. Physical Activity
   1. Students need opportumt1es for physical activity and to fully embrace regular physical activity as a personal behavior. Toward that end, health and physical education will reinforce the knowledge and self-management skills needed to maintain a healthy lifestyle and reduce sedentary activities such as watching television, using hand-held devices, and video game controllers, etc.;
   2. Opportunities for physical activity will be incorporated into other subject lessons, where appropriate; and
   3. Classroom teachers will provide short physical activity breaks between lessons or classes, as appropriate.
3. Communications with Parents
   1. Bethlehem Academy recognizes that parents and guardians have a primary role in promoting their children's health and well-being.
   2. Bethlehem Academy will support parents' efforts to provide a healthy diet and daily physical activity for their children.
   3. Bethlehem Academy encourages parents to pack healthy lunches and snacks and refrain from including beverages and foods without nutritional value.
   4. Bethlehem Academy will provide information about physical education and other school-based physical activity opportunities and will support parents' efforts to provide their children with opportunities to be physically active outside of school.

IV. STANDARDS AND NUTRITION GUIDELINES

1. School Meals
   1. Bethlehem Academy will provide healthy and safe school meal programs that comply with all applicable federal, state, and local laws, rules, and regulations.
   2. School Nutrition personnel will provide students with access to a variety of affordable, nutritious, and appealing foods that meet the health and nutrition needs of students.
   3. School Nutrition personnel will try to accommodate the religious, ethnic, and cultural diversity of the student body in meal planning.
   4. School Nutrition personnel will provide clean, safe, and pleasant settings and adequate time for students to eat.
   5. School Nutrition personnel will take every measure to ensure that student access to foods and beverages meets or exceeds all applicable federal, state, and local laws, rules, and regulations and that reimbursable school meals meet USDA nutrition standards.
   6. School Nutrition personnel shall adhere to all applicable federal, state, and local food safety and security guidelines.
   7. Bethlehem Academy will make every effort to eliminate any social stigma attached to, and prevent the overt identification of, students who are eligible for free and reduced-price school meals.
   8. Bethlehem Academy will provide students access to hand washing or hand sanitizing before they eat meals or snacks.
   9. Bethlehem Academy will make every effort to provide students with sufficient time to eat after sitting down for school meals and will schedule meal periods at appropriate times during the school day.
   10. Bethlehem Academy will discourage tutoring, club, or organizational meetings or activities during mealtimes unless students may eat during such activities.
2. School Nutrition Program/Personnel
   1. Bethlehem Academy shall designate an appropriate person to be responsible for the School Nutrition program, whose duties shall include the creation of nutrition guidelines and procedures for the selection of foods and beverages made available on campus to ensure food and beverage choices are consistent with current USDA guidelines.
   2. As part of Bethlehem Academy’s responsibility to operate a School Nutrition program, the school district will provide continuing professional development for all School Nutrition personnel in schools.
3. Competitive Foods and Beverages
   1. All foods and beverages sold on school grounds to students, outside of reimbursable meals, are considered "competitive foods." Competitive foods include items sold a la carte in the cafeteria, from vending machines, school stores, and for in-school fundraisers.
   2. All competitive foods will meet the USDA Smart Snacks in School (Smart Snacks) nutrition standards and any applicable state nutrition standards, at a minimum. Smart Snacks aim to improve student health and well-being, increase consumption of healthful foods during the school day, and create an environment that reinforces the development of healthy eating habits.
4. Other Foods and Beverages Made Available to Students
   1. Student wellness will be a consideration for all foods offered, but not sold, to students on the school campus, including those foods provided through:
   2. Celebrations and parties. Upon written request Bethlehem Academy will provide a list of healthy party ideas to parents and teachers, including 1 non-food celebration ideas.
   3. Classroom snacks brought by parents. Bethlehem Academy upon written request will provide to parents a-list of suggested foods and beverages that meet Smart Snacks nutrition standards.
   4. Rewards and incentives. Bethlehem Academy will not use foods or beverages as rewards for academic performance or good behavior (unless this practice is allowed by a student's individual education plan or behavior intervention plan) and will not withhold food or beverages as punishment.
   5. Fundraising. Bethlehem Academy will make available to parents and teachers a list of suggested healthy fundraising ideas upon a written request.
5. Food and Beverage Marketing in Schools
   1. School-based marketing will be consistent with nutrition education and health promotion.
   2. Schools will restrict food and beverages marketing to the promotion of only those foods and beverages that meet the Smart Snacks nutrition standards.

V. WELLNESS LEADERSHIP AND COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

1. Wellness Coordinator
   1. The Principal will designate a school official to oversee Bethlehem Academy’s wellness-related activities (Wellness Coordinator). The Wellness Coordinator will ensure that Bethlehem Academy implements the policy.
   2. The principal of each school, or a designated school official, will ensure compliance within the school and will report to the Wellness Coordinator regarding compliance matters upon request.
2. Public Involvement
   1. The Wellness Coordinator will permit parents, students, representatives of the school food authority, teachers of physical education, school health professionals, the school board, school administrators, and the general public to participate in the development, implementation, and periodic review and update of the wellness policy.
   2. The Wellness Coordinator will hold meetings, from time to time, for the purpose of discussing the development, implementation, and periodic review and update of the wellness policy. All meeting dates and times will be posted on the school district's website and will be open to the public.
3. Triennial Assessment
   1. At least once every three years, the school district will evaluate compliance with the wellness policy to assess the implementation of the policy and create a report that includes the following information:
      1. the extent to which Bethlehem Academy is in compliance with the wellness policy;
      2. the extent to which Bethlehem Academy’s wellness policy compares to model local wellness policies; and
      3. a description of the progress made in attaining the goals of Bethlehem Academy’s wellness policy.
   2. The Wellness Coordinator will be responsible for conducting the triennial assessment. The triennial assessment report shall be posted on the school’s website or otherwise made available to the public.
4. Recordkeeping
   1. Bethlehem Academy will retain records to document compliance with the requirements of the wellness policy. The records to be retained include, but are not limited to:
      1. Bethlehem Academy’s written wellness policy.
      2. Documentation demonstrating compliance with community involvement requirements, including requirements to make Bethlehem Academy’s wellness policy and triennial assessments available to the public.
      3. Documentation of the triennial assessment of Bethlehem Academy’s school wellness policy for efforts to review and update the wellness policy (including an indication of who is involved in the update and methods the school uses to make stakeholders aware of their ability to participate on the Wellness Committee).

Legal References:

Minn. Stat.§ 121A.215 (Local School District Wellness Policy) 42 U.S.C. § 1751 et seq. (Healthy and Hunger-Free Kids Act) 42 U.S.C. § 1758b (Local School Wellness Policy)

42 U .S.C. § 1771 el seq. (Child Nutrition Act of 1966)

7 U.S.C. § 5341 (Establishment of Dietary Guidelines)

7 C.F.R. § 210.10 (School Lunch Program Regulations)

Local Resources: Minnesota Department of Education, www.education.state.mn.us Minnesota Department of Health, www.health.state.mn.us County Health Departments

Action for Healthy Kids Minnesota, www.actionforhealthykids.org United States Department of Agriculture, www.fns.usda.gov

Bethlehem Academy invites parents, students, and any other individuals to join the Wellness Policy committee. If interested, please contact Business Manager Lisa Moon at 507-334-3948 or lmoon@bacards.org