Strategies and Action Steps
Nutrition Education
Provide mandatory, evidence-based nutrition education to improve the health of children attending early child care centers through college.
- Enact legislation requiring evidence-based nutrition education.
- Identify and disseminate evidence-based nutrition instruction resources with a focus on hands-on, experiential learning (school gardens, etc.)
- Provide students a minimum of 20 hours of healthy food education/activities per year.
- Provide professional development opportunities for instructional staff in the content area of nutritional education.
School Meal Programs
Increase participation in federally-funded school meal programs.
- Develop a marketing plan targeting nonparticipating schools and early child care centers.
- Require federally-funded school meal programs to develop and implement an annual marketing plan in collaboration with district wellness committees.
- Provide training and professional development according to state and federal guidelines for child nutrition directors and food service staff, with a focus on quality.
- Require all school districts with a minimum of 3,000 students to employ a registered dietitian.
Access to Fresh Foods
Increase access to fresh, affordable, healthy foods.
- Increase access to locally-grown produce.
- Encourage schools to develop procurement policies for the purchase of fresh, locally-grown foods.
- Create a statewide farm-to-school coordinator position with permanent funding.
Easy, Healthy Choices
Create learning environments with easy access to healthy choices.
- Increase the number of schools using the coordinated school health model.
- Increase the number of schools meeting USDA’s Healthier US School Challenge criteria.
- Increase the number of schools providing alternate breakfast delivery service.
Team Objectives
Visit the Progress Tracker to learn about this Priority Area’s objectives.
The Team
The Nutritional Standards in Schools: Early Child Care through College priority is led by Patty Barker of the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance, and Kellie Simpson, President of the Arkansas School Nutrition Association. Their team features members from the following groups: Arkansas Department of Health, Arkansas Department of Human Services, Arkansas School Nutrition Association, University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension, University of Arkansas, Arkansas Farm to School, and others.
Want to find out how you can help? Contact us!
Priority 3 Team Basecamp
News
There's always something new happening with Healthy Active Arkansas and the initiatives related to this priority area.

HAA, Danville School District hold press conference to recognize 2018 Rethink Your Drink: Choose Water grant recipients
We joined the littlest of the Danville Little Johns at…
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School Breakfast Programs Benefit Students, Schools
Governor Hutchinson has proclaimed March School Breakfast Month in Arkansas,…
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Youth Leaders Participate in Community Ambassador Training
The Arkansas Department of Health, and Healthy Active Arkansas (HAA)…
Learn MoreResources
We're here to help you succeed at implementing the initiatives of Healthy Active Arkansas. To do that, we've created some handy resources to download.
ADE Child Nutrition Related Commissioner's Memos
- http://www.arkansased.gov/divisions/child-nutrition-unit/cn-related-commissioners-memos
Rethink Your Drink Toolkit
- Rethink-Your-Drink-Toolkit-4.pdf
- 1.75 MB
Tips for a Healthy Classroom
- Tips-for-a-Healthy-Classroom-1.pdf
- 3.45 MB
ADE Nutrition News and Resource Roundup
- http://www.arkansased.gov/divisions/child-nutrition-unit/nutrition-news
A Guide to Improving Water Access and Consumption in Schools to Improve Health and Support Learning
- WaterWorksGuide2014-1.pdf
- 4.34 MB
Arkansas Farm to School
- http://www.arkansasfarmtoschool.org/
Smarter Lunchrooms Movement
- https://www.smarterlunchrooms.org/
Share Table Guide
- Share-Table-Guide.pdf
- 2.26 MB
MyPlate on Campus Toolkit
- MyPlate-on-Campus-Toolkit.pdf
- 1.91 MB
Increasing Access to Drinking Water in Schools
- water_access_in_schools_508-1.pdf
- 1.80 MB
Choose My Plate
- https://www.choosemyplate.gov/
Marketing in Schools Assessment Tool
- Marketing-in-Schools-assessment-tool-HAA-1.pdf
- 618.69 KB
Healthier School Day - USDA
- https://www.fns.usda.gov/school-meals/healthierschoolday
National School Nutrition Association
- https://schoolnutrition.org/
Alliance for a Healthier Generation
- https://www.healthiergeneration.org/
More Resources Coming Soon
- Check back regularly!