Great  video on the Benefits Of Recess Before Lunch.

Thinking  of implementing Recess Before Lunch at  your school? Visit our Recess Before Lunch page on our website for informational videos,  brochure samples, podcast, etc.  Or download some of the posted articles on the topic of RBL.

Download:Barriers to Recess Placement Prior to Lunch in Elementary Schools
Child Nutrition Professionals, National Food Service Management Institute 2006 Download:B…

Grants to Increase Access to Healthy Foods from the No Kid Hungry Foundation: Deadline: Rolling Providing students access to healthy and nutritious meals is the focus of No Kid Hungry Foundation grants.

Currently, the foundation supports projects that increase access to summer meal programs, school breakfast and after-school snacks and meals. Plus, advocacy efforts, including anti-hunger issues and needs and educating families about SNAP…

2014-2015 School Grants for Healthy Kids Through partners CSX Transportation, Kellogg Company, and the Kellogg’s Corporate Citizenship Fund, (and more!) Action for Healthy Kids is pleased to release its School Grants for Healthy Kids opportunities for the 2014-2015 school year.  Around 1,000 schools will be awarded funds ranging from $500 to $5,000 to support school breakfast and physical activity programs. Funded schools will also receive…

Free posters and resources from the USDA to teach students about nutrition.

http://blogs.usda.gov/2013/06/25/usda-helps-make-nutrition-education-fun-for-kids/

Recess Improvement

A better recess.

Recess Before Lunch Materials

Now that school is out, there’s no access to the School Breakfast and National School Lunch programs.

The USDA’s Summer Food Service Program can help fill the nutrition gap and reduce the risk of hunger for low-income children up to 18-years-old. Parents can call  1 866 3 HUNGRY, or 1 877 8 HAMBRE (for Spanish speakers) to speak to a live operator to find out where in their communities kids can get nutritious meals.

More information here on Sum…

Contributed by Andrea Bossenmeyer


The Let's Move Campaign has started a new initiative called, "Chefs move to Schools" Initiative. There was a groundbreaking introductory event at the White House where hundreds of chefs from 37 States attended. The initiative is intended to help students learn where food comes from, and develop healthy habits. Ms. Obama said to the chefs, "You’ll be elevating the role of food in our schools, an…

By Andrea Bossenmeyer



Recently I watched the movie “Food Inc.” which is a movie about food production in the United States and its impact on our health. I was enlightened to learn about how the meat industry feeds our animals. According to the movie, the way the meat industry feeds cattle has a direct effect on our health.

Today, let’s just talk about beef. Cattle naturally graze on grass. However, that is not what most of the cattle farms are fe…

A small group of parents met with a group of district administrators outside of Chicago to express concerns over the school lunch menu. What they learned about bringing change to a district-wide lunch menu was a big change even for a small district.

But a Tribune examination of school food in Illinois' 10 largest districts found small positive changes are possible. Several districts serve only fruit for dessert four days of the week; some re…

In the December issue of Educational Leadership you'll find a great article on physiologically why we over-eat. It is called, "Finding Our Way Back to Healthy Eating: A Conversation with David A. Kessler."

Kessler points out that "forty or 50 years ago, the U.S. food industry shifted from food that was locally grown to a highly interdependent food distribution network that had many advantages in terms of cost and food safety. …

Survey for the Alliance for a Healthier Generation finds most parents willing to help schools improve food offerings and increase physical activity.

In fact, vast majority of parents want schools to limit students’ access to high-calorie chips, sodas and candy and to offer them opportunities for physical activity throughout the day, a new survey by the Alliance for a Healthier Generation shows.

The national survey, indicates that nearly eight in…

This posting is from a new blog I've discovered called Fooducate Blog. It has interesting information for those interested in nutrition.

The consumer watchdog group CSPI published [PDF] a provocative list of 10 healthy foods that have been involved in large scale contamination in the past few years:

1. LEAFY GREENS: 363 outbreaks involving 13,568 reported cases of illness
2. EGGS: 352 outbreaks , 11,163 illness
3. TUNA: 268 outbreaks ,…

New research from the UK suggests that improving students' lunch experience can improve their behavior and classroom concentration by almost 20% in the afternoon.

A School Food Trust (SFT) study found that improving food and dining facilities had a positive effect on pupils' behavior and meant they were better at working on their own. This study was conducted in secondary schools across England and included a control group.

The study …

Mrs. Obama harvested the first crop of fruits and vegetables from the The White House by establishing an organic garden on the South Lawn not long after moving to Washington.

Surrounded by participating elementary school children, Obama spoke about her pride in the project, and the immense value of the lessons learned. “We can continue to make the connection between what we eat and how we feel, and how healthy we are,” she said, before encourag…

Cute video on eating healthy.




Related Blogs:
School Lunch Program Struggling to Meet Demand

Parent-Child Eating Behaviors Differ


Healthy Food, Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds

New Policy Guide for Health, Physical Education, Nutrition and Physical Activity

New Recess Before Lunch Study Released

U.S.A. Today reports that record numbers of children have applied for free and reduced lunches in America's schools. The increase in enrollment in free lunch programs jumped almost 17% in California, and several states — Arizona, New Jersey, Utah and Vermont — also saw more than 10% growth.

The federal government reimburses schools $2.57 for each free lunch served. But the average food and labor cost for each meal is about $2.92, according…

by Andrea Bossenmeyer

Childhood obesity has taken center stage as children’s #1 health problem. Peaceful Playgrounds champions the efforts of individuals and organizations who actively work towards creating healthy bodies and minds. One such person we’d like to spotlight as a health advocate is Alice Waters.

She is known in the school community as the person behind, "The Edible Schoolyard" which demonstrates the transformative power of g…

Nutrition Standards for Foods in Schools: Leading the Way Toward
Healthier Youth is available from the CDC.

Nutrition Standards for Foods in Schools

The CDC developed a set of four audience-specific fact sheets as a resource for school
staff, parents, and youth to use in support of developing strong
nutrition standards that will impact the health of students at school.
These fact sheets answer commonly asked questions about the Nutrition
Standards for …

If you are enjoying the Recess Blog feed from Peaceful Playgrounds then you should also check out the Nutrition and Physical Activity News Blog from Morten Copenhagen. He has an amazing blog with 10 topics merged into one Rss Feed. You can sign up for one of the feeds below or all 10.

1 News on Nutrition, obesity prevention, obeseogenic environments and related policies
1.1 Fruit and Vegetables
1.2 Whole Grains
1.3 School Nutrition
1.4 Food Servi…