Our Goal

Wisconsin schools and child care facilities are making great strides to address the health of children and families. The goal of this website is to encourage schools and community partners to become involved in addressing the health of Wisconsin youth. In addition, this website provides resources to assist schools and child care facilities in their efforts to improve their nutrition and physical activity environment.

 

Team Nutrition

Team Nutrition is an integrated, behavior-based, comprehensive plan for promoting the nutritional health of the Nation's school children. This plan involves schools, parents, and the community in efforts to continuously improve school meals and to promote the health and education of school children. Team Nutrition has three behavior-focused strategies:

• Provide training and technical assistance to Child Nutrition foodservice professionals to enable them to prepare and serve nutritious meals that appeal to students.
• Promote nutrition curriculum and education in schools through multiple communication channels to reinforce positive nutrition messages and encourage students to make healthy food and physical activity choices as part of a healthy lifestyle.
• Build school and community support for creating healthy school environments that are conducive to healthy eating and physical activity.

Schools are encouraged to enroll as a Team Nutrition school, affirming their commitment to improving their school wellness environment. The Team Nutrition application can be found at: http://teamnutrition.usda.gov/team.html.

 

Wisconsin Team Nutrition Training Grants

• For more information about Wisconsin Team Nutrition Training Grants see our grants page.

 

Team Nutrition Grant Opportunities

•  School Lunchroom Sub-Grant
• School Garden Sub-Grant - Application process has been closed.
• Nutritious, Delicious, Wisconsin Sub-grant - Application process has been closed.

Team Nutrition Training Opportunities

Wisconsin Team Nutrition will be conducting a series of culinary trainings and recipe review classes. There is no registration fee to attend either class. Participants can attend one or both of the classes. The culinary training and recipe review class are limited to 25 participants. Each School Food Authority may register only one person. Participants are responsible for the costs associated with travel and meals.

• Announcement Flyer
• Register Now 

Whipping Up Wellness: Wisconsin School Chef Competition

Wisconsin Team Nutrition will be holding a student chef competition. The goal of the competition is to provide students with hands-on cooking experience that will give them the knowledge and skills necessary to prepare healthy meals. Teams will compete to develop a nutritious, student-friendly recipe that includes local foods and that can easily be incorporated into the school foodservice program.

• Announcement Letter
• Promotional Flyer
• Competition Overview
• Team Application
• Recipe Entry Form
• Recipe Contest Score Sheet
• Cooking Competition Score Sheet

Resources

Nutrition Education

Providing school-based nutrition education is fundamental in helping children develop life-long healthy eating habits. The following resources were developed to assist schools with implementing nutrition education in the classroom.

• Wisconsin Model Academic Standards for Nutrition - The Wisconsin Model Academic Standards for Nutrition set an expectation of skills and knowledge that should be acquired by the end of fourth, eighth, and twelfth grades. The scope and sequence of nutrition topics is defined to guide classroom lessons that can be integrated into core subjects in the curriculum.
• Planning Curriculum in Nutrition complements the Wisconsin Model Academic Standards for Nutrition by providing educators with age-appropriate lessons that are consistent in scope and sequence.
• Nutritious, Delicious, Wisconsin: Connecting Nutrition Education and Local Foods - The Nutritious, Delicious, Wisconsin curriculum is a thematic unit of instruction that uses local foods to teach nutrition concepts to students. The purpose of the curriculum is to broaden the food experiences of Wisconsin students and provide another aspect to learning nutrition as part of the study of our great state.
• Nutritious, Delicious, Wisconsin Poster

 

School Wellness

A healthy school environment supports the physical, mental, emotional, and social well-being of all its members. The following resources were developed to assist schools with improving their nutrition and physical activity environments.

• What's Right for Kids 2: Building a Healthy School Nutrition Environment Booklet
• What's Right for Kids - Improving the School Nutrition Environment Booklet
• What's Right for Kids - Eat Smart. Be Active, Walk the Talk Poster
• Helping Wisconsin Youth Reach Their Full Potential - This publication was developed by the Wisconsin Action for Healthy Kids Coalition and includes information on physical activity and nutrition, as well as, guidelines for healthy foods and beverages.
  • Helping Wisconsin Youth Reach Their Full Potential Brochure
  • Guide to Healthy School Breakfast
  • Guide to Healthy Classroom Choices
  • Guide to Healthy School Stores and Vending Machines
  • Guide to Physical Activity in Schools
  • Guide to Healthy School Fundraising
• Healthy Fundraising: a central online resource for promoting healthy activities, especially fundraising, in our schools.
• School Wellness Policy Implementation Resources
  • Pre-Assessment Form
  • Focus areas: Component Descriptions
  • Evaluation Form
• DPI School Wellness Policy Webpage
• Action for Healthy Kids
  • National Initiative
  • WI Action for Healthy Kids Coalition

 

The Importance of Family Meals

Family Day promotes the family dinner as a way for parents to become actively involved in their children's lives.

• Parent Guide to Healthy EatingPlease note the error in Appendix A5: the correct measurement for fats and oils is grams, not ounces.

 

HealthierUS Challenge (HUSSC)

If you've completed the Wisconsin School Health Award, it is the perfect time to complete a national award application. Have you considered the HUSSC award? The HUSSC award recognizes schools that take a leadership role in helping students to make healthy eating and activity choices. It also is a chance to bring recognition to your program.

For helpful tips and information please visit the DPI website and the USDA website.

 

Child Care

Improving the Child Care Nutrition Environment

Support for child care centers and homes include:

• Nutrition Education for Early Childhood
• What's Right for Young Children II: Childcare Gardens
• Wellness in Early Care and Education: Active Early, Healthy Bites http://fns.dpi.wi.gov/fns_cacfpwellnesswhy