Summer 2003 E-Newsletter

Green Flag Program

In early September, the Healthy Schools Campaign will be launching the Green Flag Program by presenting a Green Flag Level 1 award to Gale Community Academy in Chicago. The Green Flag Program, a project of Childproofing Our Communities Campaign is a program that encourages environmental leadership in schools and is designed to help communities make their schools healthier places to learn, and to educate students about environmental issues. The program involves students and adults in investigating issues, identifying problems finding solutions and promotion positive environmental programs. Click here for more information about the Green Flag Program. 

To participate, contact Louella at 312/419-1810 or via e-mail at louella@healthyschoolscampaign.org.

Clean School Buses

In May 2002, Minnesota adopted legislation to protect the health and safety of children from harmful diesel bus emissions. This law calls for schools to reduce the unnecessary idling of school buses in front of schools, and reroute bus parking zones away from air-intake vents (or if necessary, relocate the air-intake vents). The Minnesota Office of Environmental Assistance recently posted information helping school districts in Minnesota comply with the law. The information will be useful to any school district concerned about pollution form diesel fuel and wanting to implement an anti-idling policy. For more information, visit  www.moea.state.mn.us/ee/noidle.cfm.

In July the New York Association of Pupil Transportation School agreed to install pollution controls on 15,000 buses in the next three years, the first such voluntary accord by a statewide organization of bus operators. This agreement also includes replacing an unspecified number of old buses and moving towards low-sulfur diesel. This action is an advance response to the federal regulations that will require the use of ultra-low sulfur diesel by 2006 and a requirement for diesel vehicles to have advanced admissions controls by 2007. Click here for the full story.

Healthier School Food

Concerned about the rising rates of obesity in children, many school districts adopted policies to make school food healthier including some school districts in Illinois. Mundelein High School District 120 has prohibited the sale of soda or salt- and sugar-laden snacks on campus. At the three Lincolnshire-Prairie View schools, fatty favorites such as hamburgers and burritos will be replaced by pasta, pizza and more nutritious entrees this fall.

Over the summer,  the New York City School system, which serves 800,000 meals a day, made a commitment to meet USDA Guidelines for all foods sold at school within three to five years by implementing the following guidelines: limit beverages sold in school to water, milk, and 100% juice, gradually increase the use of whole wheat, serve fresh and frozen vegetables and fresh fruit five days a week instead of the current three, serve greater amounts of fish and plant-based products, apply standard servicing sizes to snack items and reduce the amount of highly processed foods.

Finally, in July the American Public Health Association released a report that examines the food environment in 20 Minnesota secondary schools The study found that only about one-third of foods offered through a la carte lines and vending machines had less than 5.5 grams of fat per serving and few school food policies that foster healthful food choices among students
were reported.

As Congress debates the Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act which includes the School Lunch and Breakfast Program and Summer Food Program it is an excellent opportunity to promote strategies that address the problem of overweight and obese children. One such program is the “Growing Healthy Kids: America’s Farms Feed America’s Children”. This program creates a $10 million comprehensive seed grant fund to address the needs and barriers facing the growth of Farm to School projects. Farm-to-School projects link local farmers with the school lunch program providing the dual benefit of providing healthier food to students while supporting local farmers. The Healthy Schools Campaign sent a letter to the Illinois Delegation urging their support of this measure. The letter was signed by:

American Diabetes Association of Northern Illinois	Illinois School Food Service Association
Consortium to Lower Obesity in Chicago Children	Illinois Specialty Growers Association
Illinois Department of Agriculture	Illinois State Board of Education
Illinois Healthy Schools Campaign	Organic Consumers Association
Illinois Hunger Coalition	Voices for Illinois Children
Illinois Parent Teachers Association

Letters to the editor supporting this program ran in the Joliet Herald, Daily Southtown, Tinley Park Star and Daily Herald.

For more information click here.