July
20, 2012
Apple
Valley-Rosemount Patch.com
The
Dakota County Public Health department was honored last week at the 2012 annual
conference of the National Association of County and City Health Officials
(NACCHO) for developing a “model practice” program in response to a local
public health need. The Smart Choices program was one of 39 public health
programs selected from 166 applicants across the nation to receive NACCHO’s
Model Practice Award.
Smart
Choices was created in 2009 by the Dakota County Public Health department and
the nine public school districts in the county to support healthy choices by
students and staff by increasing healthy food options and physical activity
before, during and after school. Research shows that improving eating
and activity habits improves both children’s health and their academic
achievement. Studies also show that healthy habits developed in childhood go a
long way toward reducing the risk of developing chronic disease as adults.
“Recognition
of Smart Choices by NACCHO affirms that we are making great strides in
improving the health of Dakota County students,” said Bonnie Brueshoff, Dakota
County public health director. “We are pleased to have this opportunity to
share our work with other local health departments across the country. We thank
the schools and other community partners for their efforts to provide healthy
food and increased physical activity options for students.”
An
important component of a model practice is evaluating the impact of the
activities. Smart Choices teams have conducted comprehensive assessments in the
schools, examining the type of food sold in the cafeteria, vending machines and
school stores as well as school policies covering fundraising and classroom
celebrations. A few of the key changes since 2009 include:
· All
70 schools in six districts currently participating in Smart Choices have
increased the number of vegetables served daily at lunch, and 26 of them offer
salad bars to students.
· 63
of 70 (90 percent) schools increased the number of fruits available daily.
· All
37 elementary schools now serve only healthy food that meets federal standards
for lunch.
· Twenty-six
schools in the county have been awarded the Healthier U.S. School Challenge
Silver Awards, which are based on Institute of Medicine guidelines and the
latest Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
Smart
Choices is currently funded by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota through
its Prevention Minnesota initiative. The program has also received funding from
the Minnesota Department of Health’s Statewide Health Improvement Program.
Dakota County and the school districts have contributed significant in-kind
staff support for Smart Choices.
More
information about Smart Choices is available at www.DakotaCounty.us, search “Smart
Choices”.
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