AFTER-SCHOOL FOOD AND ACTIVITY ENVIRONMENT
ENACT STRATEGY: Water
Serve water to drink; have clean sources of tap water and/or working water fountains
One of the most important, and often overlooked, beverages children should be consuming is water. The health benefits of water are far-reaching, including cutting down on mild dehydration which can trigger fuzzy short-term memory, difficulty focusing on the printed page, and daytime fatigue. Children in after-school programs are often engaging in physical activity which makes drinking enough water especially important. Although bottled water can be a healthier alternative to sodas and other sugary drinks, bottled water carries a high environmental cost including increased air pollution from transportation and toxic emissions from plastic production. Plastic water bottles are also one of the fastest growing sources of municipal waste; only 23% of bottles are recycled, most end up in a landfill. Municipal tap water in the United States is more tightly regulated than bottled water, and is delivered through an energy-efficient infrastructure. By ensuring access to fresh, clean sources of tap water, after-school programs will be serving the health of both their students and the environment.
- Allow easy access to free, fresh drinking water
- Provide and maintain water coolers and/or water fountains
- Water sources available in other locations than just bathrooms
- Encourage students to bring reusable bottles
- Staff who lead by example and drink water in front of students
This document provides quick facts on the health benefits of water, risks of dehydration, and amount of water children need to drink.
Bottled Water: Learning the Facts and Taking Action
This resource from the Sierra Club provides a summary on the environmental costs of bottled water.
This checklist allows schools, and other children’s environments to access the availability of drinking water throughout the day.
Think Water: Guidance on Water in Schools (PDF)
This guide from the Welsh Government discusses implementing a water cooler and water bottles on the desk scheme in schools. The resource includes information on the care and cleaning of the water coolers and bottles.
The Think Outside the Bottle Campaign is “the collective effort of major national organizations, cities, prominent people, communities of faith, student groups, and concerned consumers across North America.” Think Outside the Bottle encourages consumers to choose tap over bottled water and support the efforts of local elected officials to do the same at the city, state, and national level.
“In the war between bottled water and tap water, which should you choose?"
This article, published by IntelliHealth, discusses the merits of tap water versus bottled water.
Cooled filtered water in secondary schools increases water drinking and decreases soda purchases**
This pilot study found that providing and promoting cooled filtered water increased consumption of water by secondary students.
Louchridge, JL and Barratt, J. Does the provision of cooled filtered water in secondary school cafeterias increase water drinking and decrease the purchase of soft drinks? Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics. 2005 Aug;18(4): 281-6.
**We can only provide links to the article abstracts and not the full text