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Coming soon Commissioner Todd Staples updates |
EDUCATION
Healthy living is important to you and your child's future. The Texas Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Division, along with the USDA, has resources to help you bring the 3E's of Healthy Living home. The links below support you in bringing healthy eating home while ensuring that your children eat nutritional meals at home and in school. You will also find information on qualifying for free and reduced meals at school:
If we all work together, in-schools, out of schools and at home, our young Texans will be healthy, fit and prepared to face life's challenges and enjoy its rewards. EXERCISE Our partner, the Texas Education Agency has named the 2009-2010 school year "The Year of the SHAC." For more about SHACs, or School Health Advisory Committee, and Coordinated School Health as a whole visit: http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/schoolhealth/pdf/CSHguide.pdf COORDINATED HEALTH PROGRAM FOR ELEMENTARY, MIDDLE AND JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS EATING RIGHT Hunger Statistics A recent report by Feeding America revealed staggering statistics, ranking Texas as the nationwide leader in food insecure children under 18, and ranking the state third for food insecure households - families who are unable to consistently access adequate amounts of nutritious food necessary for a healthy life. "Texas is a leader in many things - child hunger should not be one of them," Commissioner Staples said. "We need powerful partnerships to turn the tables and put healthy food on children's plates. As Texans, we can and must do better." The federally funded National School Lunch Program, National Breakfast Program and the Summer Nutrition Program, administered by TDA, provide free and reduced meals to schoolchildren. For more information, go to www.squaremeals.org Obesity Statistics Obesity is impacting our nation and our state in epidemic proportions. In fact, Texas statistics reveal that over 66 percent of adults are overweight or obese - that's more than half! Unfortunately our children are not faring much better. A 2009 report by Trust for Americas Health and the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation showed that over 32 percent of Texas youth (ages 10-17) were overweight or obese. Link to the report: http://healthyamericans.org/reports/obesity2009/ Link to Center for Disease Control's information and statistics: http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/index.html The U.S. Surgeon General's Office reports that overweight children have a 70 percent chance of being overweight/obese adults. Being overweight or obese can have serious health consequences such as developing Type 2 Diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, respiratory issues, and some cancers. If these statistics make you feel uneasy - they should. The good news is that it's never too late to make changes to you and your family's lifestyle. Choices involving healthy foods and regular, daily physical activity can improve health and wellness. Foods of Minimal Nutritional Value (FMNV) Foods of minimal nutritional value (FMNV) refers to the four categories of foods and beverages (soda water, water ices, chewing gum and certain candies) that are restricted by the U. S. Department of Agriculture in the National School Lunch Program. As the name suggests, these products are low in nutrient value and therefore unnecessary in the diet. Schools are prohibited from selling or creating access to FMNVs at any time during the school day. For additional information on FMNVs and the Texas Public School Nutrition policy please visit the Texas Department of Agriculture Web site at www.SquareMeals.org. |
