OAKLAND UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

PROPOSED NUTRITION POLICY

Summary of Policy

It is the goal and policy of the Oakland Unified School District to provide each student access to delicious, enjoyable, and nutritious meals each day. The District shall improve the health of Oakland’s children and help them excel at learning through better nutrition. We shall help our children develop healthy eating habits and lifestyles through instruction and experiential learning. We shall foster in our students an understanding of nutrition and food that will serve them throughout their lifetimes and will benefit our entire community.

Goals and Strategies

I. Insure that no OUSD student goes hungry.

(1) The District shall utilize all available resources and strengthen its outreach to students and their families to insure that all OUSD students have access to nutritious school breakfasts, lunches, and after school snacks, and to the summer meals program.
(2) The District shall access available funds to insure the availability of school breakfasts to all students.
(3) The District shall increase its collaboration with community food and nutrition programs and shall educate students, their families, and staff about non-school based programs such as food stamps, food banks, the federal Women, Infants and Children program, and other resources.

(4) The District shall maintain the financial stability of its Food Services programs.
II. Improve the nutritional quality of all food served to OUSD students.
(1) All food served on school district property, including food sold by the Food Services Department, through vending machines, and by outside and student sales, shall meet nutritional standards established by the Food Services Department.
(2) Vending machines accessible to students shall not dispense sodas, drinks that contain caffeine or a high concentration of sugar, candy, or similar products during school hours.
(3) The District shall exercise control over all vending machines on its property and shall determine the vendors, numbers of machines at each school, their locations, contents, and hours of operation. No District contracts with vending companies shall permit advertising of food or drink.
(4) The Food Services Department shall develop a plan to improve the nutritional value of the food it serves.
(5) The Food Services Department shall work with school sites to increase the consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables by, for example, establishing salad bars and serving salad shakers as part of the school lunch program.
(6) The Food Services Department shall enter into partnerships with culinary academies and student groups to raise funds for student activities by pooling food and labor and sharing the profits from such events.
III. Serve enjoyable foods from diverse cultures.
(1) The Food Services Department shall conduct annual student surveys to learn about students’ food preferences.
(2) The Food Services Department shall train students to lead focus groups to learn about student preferences and to conduct nutrition education.
(3) The Food Services Department shall honor Oakland’s cultural diversity by, for example, (a) developing menus that feature the cuisines of Oakland’s diverse ethnic groups; (b) providing menus and decorations appropriate to ethnic holidays and celebrations; (c) encouraging parent, community, and staff participation in developing recipes and menus for special events; and (d) featuring special menus from a different country each month.
(4) The Food Services Department shall work with school site leadership to improve students’ dining experience by, for example, (a) insuring age appropriate, sufficient cafeteria seating; (b) improving cafeteria décor by providing tablecloths, vases with flowers, and holiday decorations; (c) organizing cafeteria decorating contests; and (d) increasing the lengths of lunch periods.
(5) The Food Services Department shall analyze the District’s food services facilities and distribution procedures and shall make recommendations to the Administration and the Board of Education for improving these facilities and procedures to meet the requirements of this policy.
IV. Improve the Quality of Food Service Jobs.
(1) The District shall work with the union(s) representing Food Services Department employees to improve the employment opportunities available to these employees by increasing the number of full-time positions, including (a) combining Food Services jobs with other District positions; (b) establishing career ladders; and (c) creating increased training opportunities.
(2) The District shall seek increased funding for the Food Services Department to improve the quality of food provided to students by upgrading the District’s food services facilities and the skills and compensation of Food Services employees.
V. Integrate Nutrition into the District’s Education Program.
(1) The District shall work with outside agencies to support nutrition education as part of its Life Skills Curriculum. The District’s nutrition curriculum shall utilize available materials and service learning to examine the root causes of hunger and food insecurity in students’ communities.
(2) School sites shall involve parents in good nutrition activities.
(3) The District shall support and encourage such activities as the development of organic school gardens, utilization of fruits and vegetables grown at the schools in cafeteria programs, field trips to farms and farmers’ markets, and partnerships between schools and organizations offering programs on good nutrition and healthy lifestyles.
VI. Establish a Nutrition Advisory Board
(1) The Board of Education shall establish a Nutrition Advisory Board to work with community groups and government agencies to monitor the District’s compliance with this policy and to suggest ways to improve the nutrition of Oakland’s students.
(2) The Nutrition Advisory Board shall include parents and community representatives; OUSD administrators including Food Services Department staff; teachers, principals, classified employees, and students.
(3) The Nutrition Advisory Board shall meet at least six times yearly.
(4) The Nutrition Advisory Board shall submit an annual report to the Board of Education on the District’s compliance with this policy.