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The committee spent the school year identifying priority topics and researching best practices for future wellness policy updates. Selected priorities included healthy classroom rewards, nutrition and school meal education for students and families, and physical education opportunities. Now that the committee feels grounded in these topics, they are ready to move their research into practice as they build policy recommendations that reflect the specific needs and priorities of their school community for SY 2026–27.
Auburn School District—Creating Infrastructure for Ongoing Wellness Leadership
As Janis Campbell-Aikens Executive Director, Child Nutrition Services at Auburn School District, worked through the Power Up Your Program course, she recognized that wellness policy work could be a powerful way to raise community awareness and rally support for Auburn School District’s wellness committee and student wellness initiatives. After completing a triennial assessment for the district, Jan worked with the wellness committee, along with administration and communications staff to develop a wellness landing page on the district website. The webpage now serves as a central hub for wellness information. Parents, teachers, and community members can access the triennial assessment, food and nutrition resources, and updates on wellness committee projects.
The wellness committee plans to carry this momentum into next school year by focusing on updating the district’s wellness policy.
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Griffin School District—Using Teamwork to Strengthen Wellness Policies
Tawnya White, Child Nutrition Supervisor at Griffin School District, joined Power Up Your Program eager to drive meaningful change in her district. She used course activities, including the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Health’s Wellness School Assessment Tool (WellSAT), to identify strengths in her district’s wellness practices and uncover opportunities for improvement. This helped Tawnya pinpoint wellness priorities that reflected the needs and interests of the school community. Sharing the results with her superintendent sparked productive conversations and led to the formation of a small wellness committee.
Together, the committee reviewed WellSAT results, strengthened policy language, and identified opportunities to enhance wellness initiatives across the district. Looking ahead, Tawnya plans to expand the wellness committee, increase opportunities for student engagement, and promote resources to support community-informed priorities, like healthier classroom celebrations and rewards.
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Interested in Powering Up Your Local School Wellness Policy?
The Power Up Your Program: Local School Wellness Policies Canvas course is now available for sponsors to complete independently on a timeline that fits their needs. Join the course to build understanding of Local School Wellness Policy requirements and find high-quality resources and tools to support wellness committees, policy updates, triennial assessments, and more.
Sponsors are encouraged to order free Team Nutrition materials today.
This is a great opportunity to gather promotional materials for your programs including:
- Offer vs Serve posters
- Breakfast promotional materials
- Taste test posters
- Resource kits
- Posters and more
Some materials will be retired after August 17.
For bulk orders, email TeamNutrition@usda.gov.
ICN Accelerator: Back-to-School Edition
This free, full-day, virtual summit is an opportunity to attend professional development before the school year begins. This event brings together ICN's culinary, nutrition, food safety, and leadership experts for a day of field-specific learning.
There are two opportunities to attend. A free iLearn account from ICN is required.
Attend a lunch and learn, expert-led sessions, and a live Q&A. Review the session descriptions here.
Date: August 25
Time: 8 am–3 pm PST
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Taste Washington Day
Reminder that Taste Washington Day is Wednesday, October 7. Share participation plans here: Taste Washington Day 2026.
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FoodCorps Kindred Fellowship for School Nutrition Leaders
Applications are due August 31. See the July 20 SSTAR for more information.
Chef Ann Foundation – The LunchBox: Get Schools Cooking 2026
This three-year initiative helps school districts transition from a heat-and-serve to a scratch-cooking operational model so they can serve students high quality, appetizing meals. Through this program, districts receive expert assessment, hands-on technical assistance, and strategic planning support to drive long-term, systemic change.
Applications close September 30.
Learn more and apply here.
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