Page 41 - FY21 Wellness Promotion Policy Annual Report

STUDENTS
Physical Education
& Physical Activity Environment &
Nutrition
Nutrition Environment & Services EMPLOYEES Engagement COORDINATING POLICY, PROCESS, AND PRACTICE Counseling, Social Services Social & Emotional & FAMILIES
Community
Involvement
Services
Family
Psychological
HEALTHY SAFE
CHALLENGED SUPPORTED ENGAGED
Physical
Environment
Employee IMPROVING LEARNING AND HEALTH Health Climate
Wellness Education
Health
Services
COMMUNITY
Smarter Lunchrooms Movement
The Smarter Lunchrooms movement was created in 2009 by the Cornell University Food & Brands Lab. Smarter
Lunchrooms is a nationwide movement using behavioral economics principles to provide free or low-cost
solutions that nudge students to voluntarily select the healthiest food in the lunchroom. For FY21, the
Smarter Lunchrooms initiatives continued in a limited capacity by expanding the Lunch Menu Card initiative
to 82 schools.
This initiative provided laminated picture cards for each item on our lunch menu including a photo and the
item’s name to help students see exactly what options were available. Every lunch item has a corresponding
card, from entrees to target foods such as fruits and vegetables that can be use on the serving line, menu
boards, and mobile feeding carts.

The photo cards provide many benefits: displaying food images increases accessibility to students who
struggle with reading and provides real-world nutrition education for all. Younger children who are just
learning to read or who are not tall enough to see food options over the lunch line, children with special
needs who have sight or communication difficulties, and English language learners alike are all able to look at
each item’s image, and understand what it is; and simply point to their selection. In fact, some special needs
teachers have requested a set of the photo cards to share with their students every day before lunch so they
can choose what they would like to order before entering the lunch line.

In addition, when students returned to brick and mortar sites, many schools received decorative baskets,
creative display options, marketing and promotional materials, as well as personal support from the SFS
Department to enhance the lunch line to make the healthy choices more visible and accessible to students.

In an effort to expand our Smarter Lunchrooms resources, the SFS Department also collaborated with the
University of Florida Institute of Food and Agriculture Sciences (UF/IFAS) Extension Family Nutrition
Program (FNP) which assisted us in purchasing decorative baskets to display healthy food options on top of
our mobile feeding carts; as well as providing Smarter Lunchrooms training to our SFS Managers during the
start-of-year in-service session.

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