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RESOURCES
Tools, Tips and How To...
The American Association for the Child's Right to Play
Working to "protect, promote and preserve play as a fundamental right for all humans," the national affiliate of the International Association for a Child's Right to Play provides valuable resources and information about the importance of maintaining or reinstating recess and opportunities for play.
California Project LEAN's Bright Ideas
Bright Ideas is a web page designed to showcase successful or promising examples of schools and communities taking action on nutrition and physical activity by addressing policy and environmental change. Learn about successful strategies and programs that have made it easier for youth to eat healthy food and/or be physically active at school or in the community.
Citizen's Campaign for Commercial-Free Schools
This statewide, grassroots, non-profit group provides an excellent example of how local organizing can impact school food. Learn how they are working to protect the rights of the youth in the state of Washington by advocating for commercial-free schools.
The Community Food Security Coalition Farm to School Program
Farm-to-school programs establish buying links between local small and mid-sized farmers and school food services, increasing the availability of fresh produce at schools. This site provides background information, research, and links for building farm-school connections and enhancing availability of fresh produce at schools.
Creative Fundraising Strategies for Schools
Offers alternatives to candy sales for school, sports and after-school fundraisers.
How to Develop a Salad Bar for School Lunch Menu Programs
Have you ever wanted to know how to bring a salad bar to your school cafeteria? In this guide, Dr. Slusser and her colleagues at UCLA describe the efforts of a salad bar pilot program at Los Angeles Unified School District and provide an overview of how food services, parents, students and school personnel can implement a salad-bar program.
Improving School Meal Quality in California's Schools
California Food Policy Advocates authored this best practices guide for a healthy school food services program, which highlights innovative approaches to increasing participation in the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program, by expanding healthy offerings, and supporting food service with policy and collaborations. On the left hand side of their homepage, click on "research" to find a complete listing of available publications. A 2003 revised version is now available. Visit CFPA's website for background information on other federal food programs such as Food Stamps, the Child and Adult Care Food Program, WIC, Summer Food Program, and Afterschool Snack Program.
The National Program for Playground Safety
With a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, The National Program for Playground Safety works to reduce and prevent playground injuries. The playground safety report card is one tool that school personnel can use to assess playground safety to evaluate whether or not the playground is safe for play.
No Junk Food
This website provides links to information and resources "for those who wish to create a healthier learning environment for our youth." The site highlights public policy, student activism, and media coverage related to student nutrition and physical activity. It also contains useful information for healthy fundraising activities as well as a list of vendors and products that can help schools come into compliance with Senate Bill 19.
Peaceful Playgrounds
Developed as a practical tool kit for making playgrounds safer and more activity-friendly, the materials available from Peaceful Playgrounds describe ways to layout playgrounds to encourage safety and active play.
Playing the Policy Game: Preparing Teen Leaders to Take Action on Healthy Eating and Physical Activity
This tool kit highlights nutrition and physical activity policies in the school and community that teens can pursue with adult guidance. The booklet includes a collection of activities and success stories of California teens making nutrition and physical activity policy changes in their communities.
Promoting Healthy Activities Together (P.H.A.T.) Multi Media Kit
Designed by The California Adolescent Nutrition and Fitness Program (CANFit), this kit provides information and resources to improve the nutrition and physical activity knowledge, attitudes, skills and behaviors of African-American 10-14 year olds participating in after school programs in the San Francisco Bay Area. Using a community-based approach, the P.H.A.T. campaign embraced music, dance, emceeing, and other elements of hip-hop culture (in community centers, schools, after school programs and other organized settings) to deliver important messages about healthy eating and physical activity.
Safe Routes to School
Getting children to and from school safely while walking or biking is the number one goal of safe routes to school program. This website features a number of resources including funding opportunities for pedestrian and bicycle safety efforts. Some materials are also available in Spanish. A comprehensive Safe Routes to School Toolkit is also available from NHTSA.
Sports 4 Kids
In an effort to support and create youth sports and recreational opportunities, this Oakland-based non-profit offers the Sports4Kids Curriculum free of charge. The curriculum is designed to train Site Coordinators to enhance structured opportunities for activity among elementary school students.
Successful Students Through Healthy Food Policies: Act Now For Academic Excellence: Healthy Food Policy Resource Guide
Geared toward use by school board members and school administrators, this helpful guide outlines a step-by-step approach for creating a healthy eating environment in schools. It highlights case studies where districts have successfully used policy to eliminate unhealthy foods and bring in healthy options--and still make money.
Taking the Fizz out of Soda Contracts: A Guide to Community Action
For guidance and resources on combating soda contracts, fact sheets on soda consumption, information on commercial implications of contracts, and a school soda check out this guide developed by California Project LEAN.
Tips that CAN Fit into your after-school program
A list of ten simple tips for nutritious and active after-school programs.
Walk to School
The national Walk to School site and the California Walk to School Headquarters site contain resources and information needed to organize a successful Walk to School Event, including walk-ability and bike-ability checklists to assess how activity-friendly your community is and specific information on different California programs.
Research, Data & Reports
Where's the Fruit?
This 2007 Prevention Institute study found that the majority of heavily marketed children’s foods that make references to fruit on the packaging actually have little or no fruit content. The 2008 follow up study, When Will There Be Fruit? found that little had changed.
The Learning Connection: The Value of Improving Nutrition and Physical Activity in Our Schools (PDF)
Action for Healthy Kids has issued a report documenting how the excessive rise in poor nutrition, inactivity and weight problems is adversely affecting academic achievement and possibly costing schools millions of dollars each year. The report calls on schools to work with partners to take immediate action to address the issue, and points to current best practices in schools, school districts, and states.
2000 California High School Fast Food Survey: Findings and Recommendations
Commissioned by the Public Health Institute and prepared by Samuels and Associates, this survey describes the prevalence of fast food on California's High School campuses.
2001 Prevalence and Specifics of District-wide Beverage Contracts in California's Largest School Districts: Findings and Recommendations
An analysis of exclusive beverage contracts in California schools.
An Epidemic: Overweight and Unfit Children in California Legislative Districts
Describing prevalence of overweight and unfit children in California by State legislative district, along with individualized fact sheets for each district, and a series of policy recommendations developed by a national scientific advisory panel.
Growing the Next Generation: Strategies to Improve Nutrition and Child Development in Los Angeles County
Presents a comprehensive systems approach that focuses on the child, the family, institutions, and policies to improve childhood nutrition.
A Healthy School Meal Environment: Food Assistance Research Brief
The Economic Research Service of the USDA discusses issues such as meal quality, acceptability, scheduling of meal times and plate waste in this 3-page briefing.
Negative Effects of Soda Consumption
Physical Activity Levels Among Children Aged 9-13 Years: United States, 2002
This brief article in the MMWR reports on baseline physical activity data from the Youth Media Campaign Longitudinal Survey.
Waistlines and Bottom Lines: How Eliminating Junk Food from a School's Cafeteria Affects Revenue
Produced by the Aptos Middle School Student Nutrition Committee, this report describes the impact of replacing unhealthy foods with healthy options on revenue.
Programs and Organizations
Amateur Athletic Foundation (AAF) of Los Angeles
AAF supports a wide array of youth sports programming by awarding grants to youth sports organizations within the eight southernmost counties of California and conducting youth sports and coaching education programs, a number of which have become models for similar programs nationwide. The AAF also operates the largest sports research library in North America, the Paul Ziffren Sports Resource Center, a state-of-the-art research facility and learning center dedicated to the advancement of sports knowledge and scholarship.
Contra Costa Child Care Council
For those working in child care settings, the Contra Costa Child Care Council offers useful articles and links with tips on child health, nutrition and fitness. Contra Costa Child Care Council developed Frolic in Fitness, a movement program for child care sites featuring activities to get kids moving, instructions on how to make homemade equipment, as well as some nutrition education. Call the Contra Costa Child Care Council for more information.
Sports, Play and Active Recreation for Kids (SPARK)
Developed by a team of researchers and educators, the SPARK programs offer six evaluated curricula available to engage students in developmentally appropriate physical activity. The research and evaluation of the SPARK project has helped to strengthen the link between health and learning and is bringing Physical Education back to many schools and districts.
Communities Taking Action
Action Plan to Prevent Childhood Obesity in Children Ages 0-5 (PDF)
City of Los Angeles Nutritional Guidelines for City Youth Programs
CA Park and Recreation Society fight against childhood obesity (PDF)
Los Angeles Unified School District Ban on Junk Food
Project Lean BRIGHT IDEAS resource showcases successful strategies and programs making it easier for youth to eat healthy food and/or be physically active at school or in the community.
Policies in Action
LA Unified School District's decision to ban the sale of unhealthy beverages
Michigan Policies for Creating Effective Learning Environments
In its "Policies for Creating Effective Learning Environments," the Michigan State Board of Education describes that all public schools must "offer daily recess periods or periods of physical activity for all elementary and middle school students, and offer physical education programs that promote physical activities for all students, with accommodations for children who need them."
National Consensus Panel on School Nutrition
Recommendations for Competitive Food Standards in California Schools, March 2002. Report of recommendations for nutrient standards for competitive foods sold in California schools, developed by a panel of California and national experts.
North Carolina Cooperative Extension After-School Program
This article highlights the success of North Carolina's Cardiovascular Health Program to spearhead a local policy that would ensure that physical activity and healthier eating become part of their Cooperative Extension After-school Program.
North Carolina "Healthy Active Children" policy
In January 2003, North Carolina's State Board of Education passed the Healthy Active Children Policy under the Effective and Efficient Operations priority area. The policy establishes a local school health advisory committee, addresses physical education and activity, recess and the need to make training and information available on the coordinated school health model outlined by the CDC.
SB 19 (Escutia, 2001) establishing nutrition standards in elementary schools
S.F. Schools Join War on Obesity, Ban Junk Food; Soda, Candy to be Banished -- But Only from Cafeterias
A brief article that describes San Francisco Public Schools effort, and surrounding controversy, to change nutrition policy and availability of candy and sodas in their cafeterias.
Additional Resources
Children and Weight Community Forum
The Center for Weight and Health provides a virtual venue for discussing issues that impact youth activity and eating. Currently, topics include the following: body image, kids' walk / bike-to-school programs, NHANES for infants and toddlers, vending machines in schools and weight loss for teens.
Food on the Run Parent Brochure
Provides information for parents on healthy eating and physical activity for teenagers, and ideas on how to support your teen, school and community.
Jump Start Teens
Provides interactive and cross-curricular lessons encouraging students to eat healthy, keep moving and take action. |
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