What is SAUSD Nutrition Network?
The SAUSD Nutrition Network supports healthy eating and adequate physical exercise for pre-K through 12th grade students in the Santa Ana Unified School District. It is a collaborative effort between teachers, food service professionals, school nurses, parents, administrators, community members and students. Our goal is to encourage nutrition education for children so they have the desire and information needed to make healthy, positive choices for the rest of their lives.
To have the greatest impact, we focus our efforts on three main areas: the classroom, the cafeteria and the home. With creativity, planning, and solid educational practices, we are able to guide the talents of many into thoughtful, meaningful, and effective learning experiences for children.
What are we doing?
The SAUSD Nutrition Network is changing the way students think about food and exercise by engaging their taste buds, their minds and their bodies. We use food's universal appeal as a starting point in our projects. In the classroom, the planning, preparation and enjoyment of food is easily turned into an educational experience that can be woven into many core curriculum areas - mathematics, science, reading, social studies, history and the arts. When children realize the value and importance of healthy nutrition, the next natural step is to explore how the body uses the energy derived from food for physical and mental activity. Exercise is easily encouraged when it is fun and makes sense.
Teachers
Harvest of the Month
Parent Education & Events
Resources
MyPyramid.gov: The new food guidance system for adults and children.
Healthy Kids Challenge: a kid's health initiative dedicated to "Making a Difference Today for Tomorrow, One Kid at a Time
24 Carrot Press/Nutrition for Kids - books, teaching kits and other resources, useful tips, news, articles, recipes and a free "Feeding Kids Newsletter." This site offers its own list of recommended links, including interactive sites for kids, parents and teachers.
CA5aDay - This program educates consumers about the importance of eating 5 or more servings of fruits and vegetables every day.
California Project Lean - this is a Department of Health Services nutrition education site that is loaded with material, including international recipes and consumer material in both English and Spanish. Its Food on the Run program targets teen and high school nutrition education.
Dole 5 A Day - lesson plans, materials (CD, cookbook), activities, programs, information (e.g., fruit and vegetable encyclopedia).
5 A Day The Color Way - Produce For Better Health Foundation's site includes lesson plans for educators, kids' site, recipes, links and more (Scored 20 "Better Than Most" on Tufts Navigator).
Nutrition Explorations - National Dairy Council's site offers new ideas for teaching nutrition, downloadable blackline masters, recipes and other teaching materials.
SHAPE - Shape California is a network of over 70 school districts working together to improve the health and academic success of California children.
USDA - Team Nutrition - designed to help implement the School Meals Initiative for Healthy Children.
Eat Smart. Play Hard: A national nutrition education and promotion campaign designed to convey science-based, behavior-focused and motivational messages about healthy eating and physical activity based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
The California Nutrition Network for Healthy, Active Families attempts to reach California families with annual household incomes of $20,000 or less. Efforts also focus on intermediaries that can effectively facilitate communication of the Network's messages (media, community leaders, civic leaders, partners, health providers, nutritionists, government agencies, educational outlets, etc.). The campaign works closely with other campaigns that target the general market, children and adolescents. It includes links to the CA5aDay and Latino5aDay sites.
California Adolescent Nutrition and Fitness Program (CANFIT) - the mission of the California Adolescent Nutrition and Fitness (CANFIT) Program is to engage communities, and build their capacity to improve the nutritional status and physical fitness of California´s low-income, African American, Latino, Asian/Pacific Islander, and American Indian youth between the ages of 10 and 14.
Food and Nutrition Information Center/National Agricultural Library - for Teachers - this site is loaded with an enormous amount of food and nutrition resources for teachers.
How Food Works - from Marshall Brain's "How Stuff Works" site.
Salt and Other Wounds - more than you ever wanted to know about salt, but some good information to pass on to students about potato chips and cheese puffs and making better choices. From the University of Wisconsin's "The Why Files."
Snack Smart Food List - a list of suggested snack foods compiled by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research - it includes fresh fruits and raw vegetables, grains, milk and dairy products, meat, nuts and seeds.
Tufts University Nutrition Navigator - a rating guide for nutrition websites, produced by the Center on Nutrition Communication, School of Nutrition Science and Policy.
Vita-Men - a fun and informative site providing complete information on vitamins and nutrition. Using a playing card with an animated "Vita-Man" character, the site presents the information in an entertaining and easy-to-understand format you can share with your students.
USDA Food Stamp Program: enabling low-income families to buy nutritious food with coupons and Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards
Nutrition Policy: This site, sponsored by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, provides resources to support policy and environmental changes that will make it easier for people to eat well and be physically active.
The Action for Healthy Kids Initiative: This initiative is now underway across the country, kicked-off by the Healthy Schools Summit in Washington D.C.
Healthier US Initiative: Launched by President Bush in June 2002, this initiative focuses on improving overall health through regular physical activity, proper nutrition, preventative screenings and healthy lifestyle choices.
Orange County Nutrition Alert Coalition Reliable Health and Nutrition Information Resources List.
Healthy Kids Resource Center: Reviewed health education materials for free loan sent anywhere in California.
Dairy Council of California: For over 80 years, they've been an innovator in nutrition education and communication. Dairy Council’s primary goal is to provide Californians with scientifically accurate nutrition and health information to help them make healthful food choices.
Professional Development
Upcoming Events
|
Get Adobe Reader
