NUTRITION GUIDELINES & FUNDRAISING
Nutrition Guidelines
The district is committed to ensuring that all foods and beverages sold, provided or made available to students on school campuses during the school day support healthy eating and create an environment that reinforces the development of healthy eating habits. For that reason, and as required by law, the district has set the following nutrition standards for its meal programs, competitive foods and beverages sold outside the meal programs, and other foods and beverages provided or made available to students during the school day.
For the purposes of this procedure, the school day is the time period from the midnight before to 30 minutes after the official school day. These meal standards do not apply to food sold at other times, such as evening or weekend events.
Nutrition Standards for Meal Programs
The food sold to students as part of the district's meal programs will meet the requirements of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Nutrition Standards for Competitive Foods and Beverages
The foods and beverages sold and served during the school day outside the reimbursable school meal programs (competitive foods and beverages) will meet or exceed the USDA Smart Snacks in School (Smart Snacks) nutrition standards. These standards will apply in all locations any time foods and beverages are sold to students during the school day, which includes, but is not limited to, foods and beverages sold in vending machines, school stores, and snack or food carts; à la carte options in cafeterias; and food and beverages sold through district-sponsored fundraising, including fundraising by student-initiated groups, unless an exemption applies, as described below.
Fundraising Exemption to Nutrition Guidelines
Unless otherwise prohibited by Board policies or limitations on marketing, the following are exemptions to the rule requiring that foods sold as fundraisers meet USDA standards:
Foods sold off campus, outside the school day or to non-students do not have to meet the USDA standards.
Foods that do not meet USDA standards and are not intended for consumption at school may be delivered during the school day, and order forms for such food may be distributed during the school day, to the extent that these activities otherwise comply with district policies and procedures.
Each school building within the district may hold up to five events per school year on district property during the school day that involve the sale of foods that do not meet USDA/Smart Snacks standards.