Competitive Foods and Beverages

  

News, Tips and Ideas

  • Healthier A La Carte? Students’ Voice for Students’ Choice. The Alliance Competitive Foods and School Beverage Guidelines are being implemented in thousands of schools across the country. Schools are gaining consensus on factors that help them successfully transition to healthier fare in venues where competitive foods and beverages are sold, such as a la carte lines. The path of least resistance to students making healthier choices is to engage them in the changes.
  •  Implementing Strong Nutrition Standards for Schools: Financial Implications One of the primary reasons that state and local education agencies are hesitant to implement strong nutrition standards for competitive foods and beverages is that they are concerned about losing revenue generated from sales. However, while some schools report an initial decrease in revenue after implementing nutrition standards, a growing body of evidence suggests that schools can have strong standards and still maintain financial stability. The evidence is presented in the Centers for Disease Control new fact sheet.
  •  Alliance Healthy Snack Social Marketing Campaign Guide
    Getting students involved in promoting healthy snacks through contests, blogs, market research projects and other fun and educational strategies is a sure way to increase interest in healthy eating. The Alliance has produced a new resource Healthy Snack Social Marketing Campaign Guide to help students, educators and afterschool programs launch their own campaigns. There are 10 different projects with “how-to” descriptions that foster student engagement, creativity and learning.
  • HSP and HUSSC Awards: Having It All
    You spoke. We listened. For some time, school nutrition professionals have been asking how they could make changes toward healthier schools meals while meeting the requirements for both Healthy Schools Program National Recognition and the HealthierUS Schools Challenge award.
  • Are You Sure Your School Doesn’t Sell Competitive Foods or Beverages to Students?
    Even the savviest Food Service Director can get confused about what constitutes “competitive” foods and beverages. Misperceptions abound as to what defines a competitive food or beverage. The answer is really quite simple.
  •  Care2Eat Launches - Guiding Students to Care!
    This new unit of study, Care2Eat: Lessons for a Lifetime of Healthy Eating, prepares students in grades 7-12 to become advocates about food sold and served to them.
  • Step Up to Creating Healthier School Fundraising  
    This turnkey guide leads school-community representatives through the process of planning, preparing for and implementing changes to selling unhealthy foods through fundraisers. 
  • Students Leading Changes in Four Steps  
    Check out the new video of students sharing how they are making their schools healthier. Mirroring the four steps of the empowerME@school student toolkit, students tell how they are taking action and promoting their successes. 
  • A Win-Win-Win Situation with Vendors
    You want a healthier product mix of snacks and beverages. Your vendor wants to sell products that students will buy. Create a mutually beneficial relationship with your vendor so everyone comes out a winner.
  • Facilitating Factors for Positive Revenue Flow
    Two new resources point to factors that help keep revenue from taking a dive or help the balance recover after temporary implementation dips.
  • More Tips >> 

Special Member Deals

  • PiggyPlan Fundraiser – helps students raise and save money with customized piggy banks.
  • So much more than a cookbook, Simple Choices for Healthier Eating provides recipes and detailed information about nutrition.
  • Mascot Books creates customized, hardcover children's books that feature a day in the life of a school’s mascot interacting with students in community.
  • Pexagon Technology offers a wide variety of educational products and programs designed to meet today’s requirements for storage and portability in the school environment.
  • More Deals >> 

Webinar

  • Changing Competitive Foods and Beverages – Getting Started & Keeping Going
    Learn about the Alliance Healthy Schools Program criteria for competitive foods and beverages. Look back to see what has changed and look ahead to what is needed for achieving National Recognition. The landscape for snacks and drinks in school is changing across the county. Explore what the Alliance has to offer to prepare your schools.
  • Healthy Choices for School Children: Getting the Junk Foods Out of SchoolsHosted by the Food Research and Action Center, this Webinar explores putting the Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act into action with a focus on competitive foods and beverages. Listen for positive shout-outs about the Alliance for a Healthier Generation. The session is archived with resources on improving the school nutrition environment.  
  • Implementing SB210 and the Role of the Alliance for a Healthier Generation
    The national landscape for snacks and drinks in schools is changing. Ohio is ahead of the curve with strict standards for foods and drinks sold outside of school meals. These standards align with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation's Competitive Foods and School Beverage Guidelines. Explore the intent of SB210 with a representative from the Ohio Department of Education and learn about the Alliance Guidelines. Find out about the resources that the Alliance has for schools and listen to a closing Q and A session.  

Success Story

  • Play Often. Eat Well.
    St. Anthony Catholic School - San Antonio, Texas
    Upon seeing students buy “lunch” from the soda machine, Principal Dr. John Kennedy decided changes were in order. With parents, staff and students engaged, the St. Anthony “Mi Vida” wellness campaign was born.  
  • Changing Beverages Seen as Key First Step
    Edna Karr High School - Algiers, Louisiana
    At Edna Karr High School, the drinks in the vending machine have become a little lighter on calories and sugar. Edna Karr is one of the eight schools in the Algiers Charter School Association of New Orleans in its first year with the Healthy Schools Program. The school is well on its way towards creating a healthier environment for its 800 students and 80 staff.
  • More Success Stories >> 

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