The V.I. Department of Education is observing National Nutrition Month.“Students across the territory are encouraged to embrace wellness and a healthy lifestyle during the observance of National Nutrition Month®, which was initiated in response to a growing public interest in nutrition and today focuses attention on the importance of making informed food choices and developing sound eating and physical activity habits,” said Education Commissioner Dr. La Verne Terry in a press release from the V.I. Department of Education.
“The type, quality and amount of food that individuals consume each day plays a vital role in their overall health and physical fitness; as well as the food and physical activity choices we make affect our health and how we feel today and in the future. Eating right and being physically active are keys to a healthy lifestyle and there is a need for continuing nutrition education and a wide-scale effort to enhance good eating practices at school and at home.
“The recently enacted Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 proposes new meal requirements that will raise standards for the first time in 15 years, making critical changes to school meals and improving the health and nutrition of the almost 32 million children that participate in school meal programs every school day,” she said. “These changes add more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fat-free and low-fat milk to school meals. The act further gives schools and communities new tools to meet the challenge of providing more nutritious food including increasing school lunch reimbursements by 6 cents per meal, and increasing technical assistance.”
During this week schools have also participated in the observance of National School Breakfast Week with a Breakfast Challenge giving focus to the importance of having a healthy breakfast to start the day.
For more information on the school lunch program and wellness, contact the divisions in the district at 774-8070 on St. Thomas; 773-3070 on St. Croix or the State Office of Special Nutrition Services at 774-9373.