School Lunch Advisory Councils serve as a link between students, school nutrition personnel, administrators and the community. Not only is the group a way to spread the word about good nutrition, but can provide important feedback from students on what they like or don't like about school meals.

Interested in starting a School Lunch Advisory Council at your school? Here are some tips to get started!

• Ask teachers, school counselors, or administrators to nominate specific students;
• Schedule meetings before school or during the lunch hour;
• Make the council a school club or a project of an existing club to help make it sustainable; and
• Have students complete a specific task, like before and after photos, completing sections of the Smarter Lunchrooms Self-Assessment Scorecard, collecting surveys, or creating names for menu items.

Join the sixth annual Healthiest State Walk on Wednesday, October 5, and walk for 30 minutes in correlation with National Walk to School Day!

The goal is to have walks in all 99 counties across the state of Iowa. Register your walk at www.iowahealthieststate.com to make sure it is counted toward the statewide goal! 

All schools registered will be entered for a drawing of $1,000!

@HealthiestIowa #StepItUpIowa #WhyIWalk

The Iowa Association School Board (IASB) has released a new Sample Wellness Policy, based on USDA's final rule for school wellness policy regulations. The final rule requires districts to begin revising local wellness policies during the 2016-2017 school year and fully comply with the final rule by June 30, 2017.

The expanded local wellness policy requirements include specific goals for nutrition promotion and education, standards and nutrition guidelines for all foods and beverages sold to students, standards for all foods and beverages provided but not sold to students, policies for food and beverage marketing, description of public involvement, public updates, policy leadership, and triennial assessments.

 Contact Patti Delger at patti.delger@iowa.gov for more information.

This free nutrition education resource for teachers and health educators helps students grades 9-12 learn how to build a healthy diet using MyPlate and SuperTracker, an interactive food and physical activity tracking tool (available on desktop and mobile devices).

The SuperTracker Nutrition Lesson Plans were created to support using SuperTracker in the classroom. Each lesson plan includes learning objectives, detailed instructions, and an accompanying handout. To download the SuperTracker lesson plans or find other resources for the classroom, visit http://www.choosemyplate.gov/teachers.

 Why did I not know about this sooner?  My 1st grader has been struggling with tying her shoes. After showing her this technique she caught on in 5 minutes and is so proud of her work! 

Check out the video that has been viewed more than 6 million times! 

NBC News - Magic Shoe Tying Technique

There are many ways to celebrate “Farm-to-School” and it does not just mean serving local foods as a part of the meal line. 
Ideas include:

• Invite a local farmer, chef or food service staff to talk to students about a food and how it is grown.
• Plan nutrition education activities, such as Harvest of the Month, featuring a local food product that is in season.
• Collaborate with teachers to plan an outdoor garden plot or container gardening activity.
• Encourage the use of local foods as a healthy school fundraiser or a feature at a special event.
• Check out this Give Me Five! lesson for 3-5th graders! Students will learn about the five food groups and what state-grown foods fit into each group. This lesson makes a local connection to good nutrition and a healthy lifestyle.
•  Participate in the Midwest Great Apple Crunch on Thursday, October 13th.  
•  Learn more about opportunities from the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship that include $30 to purchase locally grown foods, free  resources (cookbooks, recipes, coloring calendar, fruit and veggie pens, and ABC's of Iowa Farm to School books). Supplies are limited contact Tammy Stotts soon at tammy.stotts@iowaagriculture.gov.

Wellness Wednesday: Energize Employee Wellness in Your School October 12, 3 - 3:30 pm
Healthy schools need healthy role models. It's important for all school staff, to practice healthy role modeling to support and encourage healthy habits among students. 

School Breakfast: Breakfast in the Classroom, Beyond Elementary Schools Tuesday, October 25, 3 - 4 pm
Join us to learn more on how to successfully incorporate breakfast in the classroom models in secondary schools. Hear the pros and cons of this successful model and strategies for success. 

Getting Started on School Wellness: What Parents Need to Know Thursday, October 27, 1 - 2 pm
To become a successful advocate for healthy schools, parents need to know how to build awareness, support and momentum to make wellness a priority at their schools. Learn how to make the case for a healthier school and engage your school community to support your efforts.