Taking the District in a Healthy Direction

Once a week, Menomonee Falls School District Nurse Julie Italiano-Thomas monitors the blood pressure of 15 North Middle School students with high blood pressure and sends the readings to a doctor.

“That is sad to me, when I’m over at the school taking a 6th grader’s blood pressure and it’s 150/98 and he’s 13 years old,” Italiano-Thomas said. “They are starting younger on high blood pressure meds, and it’s all linked to food-related issues.”

Poor diets and a more sedentary lifestyle for today’s youth are coming to a head as childhood obesity rates spike across the nation. The trend prompted the district to restore its Nutrition Committee last fall, to improve students' health.

“We are gathering again because some needs have come up in our district, and there’s a lot of emotion during our committee meetings,” Italiano-Thomas said.

Committee sets short- and long-term goals

Some immediate goals for the committee are to develop a unified snack list for the school district, update the wellness policy, enhance the breakfast/lunch program and update nutrition education in classrooms.

Business Director Jeff Gross, who sits on the committee, said a unified snack list will be created next year to create consistency within all the schools and to encourage parents to send healthy snacks along with their students. It’s also necessary to accommodate students with food allergies, which are more prevalent.

The committee also plans to review food items sold in vending machines, a la carte and through other student food services.  The goal is to increase fruit and vegetable offerings and attempt to achieve the Gold Level of distinction in the Healthier U.S. Schools Challenge.

“A long-term goal is to influence the whole culture of the district into a healthy mindset, starting with the education of young students and teaching the benefits of eating healthy and exercising,” Gross said.  

Tweaking the menu

Each day, fresh fruit and vegetables are available for student lunches, and about 250 fruit cups are grabbed daily by students in a la carte lines. The district plans to expand those healthy food offerings, said Ruth Ann Kiley, director of the food nutrition department.

New fresh fruit and vegetable bars may be piloted at Benjamin Franklin and Riverside elementary schools, Kiley said. The self-serve bars would include a selection of fresh fruit and vegetable offerings, in addition to lunches.

Kiley said Riverside Elementary will apply for an award with the Healtheir U.S. Schools Challenge by the end of this year.

“Riverside is very very close to applying for that award,” Kiley said. “We have increased our bean offerings and cut down on our starchy vegetables.”

The nutrition department also is working to reduce sodium levels in all entrees, and will offer whole-muscle meats, like grilled chicken, rather than processed meat.

The changes will be implemented in elementary settings, Kiley said, to help  younger students develop healthy eating habits for the long term.

Parents also can monitor their children’s food choices online through the district's nutrition website. A complete breakdown of nutrition facts is available to view. Parents also can limit what their children purchase a la carte, and can see a two-week, item-by-item breakdown of what they have purchased.

“The board, for a while, has been asking for some attention to nutrition,” said Superintendent Keith Marty. “We’ve now established the committee, and I think this is something that will continue.”