The Iowa Department of Education has received a USDA Team Nutrition Grant for the last 20 years. Team Nutrition, an initiative of the United States Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service, promotes lifelong healthy food choices and physical activity providing resources to support school meal programs.

Team Nutrition materials help schools integrate nutrition education into classroom learning and also includes materials for home, cafeteria, and community connections. In addition to being standards based, materials are child, teacher, and parent tested through extensive research including focus group testing, interviews, and field testing.

Visit the Online Store to explore resources that are available at no charge and shipping is free. For bulk orders, please e-mail Carrie at carrie.scheidel@iowa.gov.

Live Healthy Iowa Kids is partnering with the Healthiest State Initiative to support healthy and active students by encouraging Iowa schools and youth organizations to 'Walk More. Connect More', as part of the annual Healthiest State Walk on Oct. 4.

Annual Healthiest State Walk Registration

Live Healthy Iowa Kids will be awarding 10 - $100 mini-grants to help support walk events on Oct. 4. The funding opportunity is open to Iowa schools and youth organizations who have registered for the walk.

Applications must be received by September 22, at 5:00 pm.

Grant Application Information  

The Iowa Department of Education along with a host of public-private partnerships want students this year to turn away from sugary drinks and replace them with fluoridated water.

“Rethink Your Drink” is a campaign thanks to a $100,000 grant from the Delta Dental of Iowa Foundation. Qualifying Iowa schools will receive free water bottle filling station installations.

“Having a water bottle filling station in school encourages students to refill their personal water bottles and provides a low-cost way for kids to stay hydrated throughout the day,” said Melissa Walker, state school nurse consultant, Iowa Department of Education. “Drinking optimally fluoridated water helps wash away bacteria in the mouth, aids in healthy digestion and helps keeps the brain, muscles and body working properly.”

Application Deadline: Sept. 22. "ReThink Your Drink" Opportunity Information

Join fellow nutrition program staff in gaining a better understanding of HACCP-based food safety plans and why these documents and tools are used in your district. Everyone involved with food preparation, transportation or service is welcomed to attend one of the following locations from 2-4pm:

October 2 - Fairfield High School
October 3 - South Hamilton High School
October 4 - Cherokee High School
October 5 - Atlantic High School
October 9 - Tipton High School

To register, contact Catherine Strohbehn, cstrohbe@iastate.edu.

A School Wellness Conference will be hosted by Illinois/Iowa Action for Healthy Kids on November 2 in Rock Island, IL. Sessions will highlight successful school health and wellness-related outreach in schools, innovative projects that improve the overall health of the school community, and emerging issues impacting school health and wellness. 

Early bird registration is $75, however for Iowa Schools registration is FREE. Enter "Iowa" in the promo code area. Conference Registration

In addition, there will be an optional FREE pre-conference school health team training on November 1st from 4-8pm that includes dinner. Pre-Conference Registration.

Questions? Contact Ryan rmonroe@actionforhealthykids.org

BAM! is an online destination for kids created by CDC. Designed for kids 9-13 years old, BAM! gives them the information they need to make healthy lifestyle choices. The site focuses on topics that are important to them-such as stress and physical fitness-using kid-friendly lingo, games, quizzes, and other interactive features. BAM! Body and Mind also serves as an aid to teachers, providing them with interactive, educational, and fun activities that are linked to national education standards for science and health. Check it out! https://www.cdc.gov/bam/teachers/index.html