Healthy Food Initiative Discussed at Board of Education Meeting

The Board of Education discussed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act at their meeting Thursday night.

John White, a representative with ­Sodexo, made a presentation to the Board of Education about the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act and the healthy food initiative at Rocky Hill schools. 

Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act was signed into law by President Barack Obama in December and helps provide less fortunate children with access to healthy foods.  The act also helps fight childhood obesity.

The act would require Rocky Hill schools to have free, portable water in the cafeteria and only serve fluid milk one percent or less. The schools currently comply with these standards, White said.

“Rocky Hill is compliant with the healthy food certification,” White said.

The Institute of Medicine has also recommended that schools provide two cups of fruits and vegetables, one cup of each. The Rocky Hill schools would have to increase the amount of fruits and vegetables served by a ¼ cup a day.

Whole wheat must make up 51% of all grains served at the schools, according to the Institute of Medicine recommendations.  The schools currently offer pizza, which has a whole grain crust and chicken nuggets with a wheat flour breading, White stated. White said the schools are instituting that all their bread products be whole wheat. 

The Institute of Medicine is also asking the average amount of sodium in a school lunch to be decreased to 800 mg in the next 10 years.  Rocky Hill school lunches currently have about 1,100 mg.

“A 10 year plan to reduce the sodium that’s ridiculous,” Board of Education Chairman William MacDonald said. He would also like to see more freshly grown fruits and vegetables in the schools.

The high school breakfasts need to increase their fruit requirements and add a meat product, according to the Institute of Medicine recommendations.

“These proposals are not set in stone as data is currently being collected,” White said.  A final ruling on the Institute of Medicine recommendations is expected to come out in January.

The state will now moderate school lunch programs every three years. The USGA will now be able to relate all food sold in school stores and a la carte.

In other business, the new teachers at Rocky Hill High School, Griswold Middle School and West Hill Elementary School were introduced to the Board of Education.