District Snack List Determines What's Healthy, And What's Not

In an effort reduce the presence of sugary and fatty foods in the halls of the Menomonee Falls School District; the district’s wellness committee has proposed guidelines and a list of healthy snacks allowable at snack time.

Whole grains, nuts, yogurt and fruits make the list; however, cookies, fruit roll-ups, and even graham crackers are out. The proposed list isn’t just a guideline for parents, but would be enforced by teachers.

If a student doesn’t bring a healthy snack, it would be sent back home with a standardized note signed by the principal explaining why. For the first offence, the district would provide a box of raisins as a substitute. After that, a snack would not be provided and the student would go without a snack that day.

“We want parents to take better responsibility, but we also want kids to buy into it,” said Wellness Committee Member Julie Italiano-Thomas said. “We really want our staff to start eating healthy as well. We hope this will help kids sustain their activity levels, and all that good stuff.”

The district currently has a policy regarding snacks that can be brought into schools. However, it is quite vague. The committee’s charge was to “beef up” the policy that is in the books.

“When we looked at our policy, it was very open-ended and unguided.” Italiano-Thomas said. “This is the first step in making sure the policy has better procedures in it.”

The goal is to increase the consumption of whole nutritious by students at snack time.

The proposed snack list is based on guidelines from the USDA Food and Nutrition Services, and the Healthier Schools Challenge. They used an online tool that allowed them to enter the nutrition labels from various snacks. Based on the calories, fat content, and sugar content, the program would deem the snack healthy or not.

“While fast and convenient snacks are okay to have on occasion, this guide will help you sort out what foods to offer your children for snacks every day,” states the letter, which will be sent to parents next year.

As part of the new guidelines and snack list, the committee would also like to designate certain classrooms as nut-free for students with allergies. Next year, Italiano-Thomas said they will tackle a policy regarding birthday treats and party snacks in the classroom.

“I know that this is not an easy task to take on. It requires changing a lot of mindsets of adults,” said Board Member Lori Blodorn. “It will probably be more challenging in the implementation among our parents than our kids, but I want to thank you for taking on this task, it’s not a small one.”

The proposed snack list and guidelines haven’t appeared before the district’s policy committee. The guidelines and snack list will become official district policy once the Policy Committee and the School Board approve it.

Here are the approved items under the proposed healthy snack list:

Fresh and Natural Snacks

• Dried fruit (raisins, apricots, apples), fresh fruit (apples, pears, bananas, oranges), fresh vegetables (carrots, celery, cucumbers), individualized applesauce or fruit cups.

Protein-Rich Snacks

• Yogurt, cheese, nuts, seeds, hard-boiled egg

Processed Snacks

• Cheerios, original Triscuits, baked Wheat Thins, baked Goldfish snack crackers, whole wheat crackers, breakfast fruit and grain bars, Kashi cereals, Kashi TLC bars, low-fat chewy granola bars, air-popped popcorn, pretzels, Chex Mix, Life cereal, low-fat animal crackers