Upcoming Events & Announcements 

Grant Opportunities 

Through the Champions for Healthy Kids program, the General Mills Foundation will award grants to nonprofit organizations working to improve nutrition and physical fitness behaviors for youth ages 2-18.

Fifty grants of $10,000 are available to select applicants. 

 Deadline: Dec. 3, 2012

In the fall issue of Edible Boston, Boston Public Schools is featured in this article  by Susan McCrory about locally grown produce on the lunch line.  The article looks at Boston, Arlington, Concord, Lynn and Framingham public schools' efforts to bring local produce into school cafeterias and discusses some of the challenges of using seasonal produce on the lunch line, getting kids to try new items, having a limited amount time during the school day to feed and educate students about what's on the line, while also working within a tight budget.

McCrory big take away is that:

There is more than one challenge in implementing the Farm to School model for Massachusetts Food Service Directors. But, the overarching need is to bring together good-food education with demand and supply in a way that is sustainably profitable for all parties...We must be realistic: America is never going to return to being a fully agrarian society. Instead, you just keep innovating and making things work since, in the optimistic words of Alden Cadwell, "anything is possible."

Read more and find a link to the full article on the FNS School Lunch Boston website>>

Working in the BPS is rewarding, but it can also be very stressful at times. That's why it's important to dedicate time to nurturing your own physical and mental health and wellness, as well as that of your students. With your personal health and wellness in mind, the Boston Teachers Union and the BPS Health & Wellness Department are partnering to offer B-Well, a staff wellness series, for BPS teachers, paraprofessionals, nurses and other BPS employees.

B-Well will begin with a 4 week stress-less series led by ZenConnect. The series is packed with an array of stress-busting techniques to help you go through your workweek with a little more ease.

Classes:

Week 1: Zen Out at Work, TODAY - Tuesday, November 20: 5pm-5:45pm

Week 2: Connect to Your Inner Zen, Thursday, December 6: 5pm-5:45pm

Week 3: Food and the Mind Body Connection, Wed, Dec. 12: 5pm-5:45pm

Week 4: Mindful Flow: Yoga, Wednesday, December 19: 5pm-6:00pm

For class descriptions go to the Zen Connect website.

Location: Boston Teachers Union Hall, 180 Mount Vernon Street,Dorchester, MA Conference Rooms A & B

Also, The B-Well Staff Wellness program for Central Staff kicked off last Thursday with a free Zumba Class for staff and opportunity to sign up for the 4-week walking Challenge.

Please email Lauren Kopper for more information and to sign up for either B-Well events.

Visit the Health & Wellness website to learn more about B-Well>>

This week USDA announced its first round of USDA Farm to School Grantees, totaling $4.5 million in grants for 68 projects, spanning 37 states and the District of Columbia. These grants will support programs that are increasing access to local foods for 1.75 million students in more than 3,200 schools across the country.

In Massachusetts, Boston Public Schools is one of three projects receiving Farm to School funding from USDA.  Congratulations to the MA Farm to School Project and Ezra H. Baker Elementary School (West Dennis, MA)!

The BPS Farm to School Initiative is excited about this opportunity to take farm to school to the next level in Boston! BPS has significantly increased access to local produce through Local Lunch Thursdays in our full kitchen cafeterias over the past few years.

Last December, the Boston Public Schools revised the implementation guidelines of the District's "Nutrition Policy and Guidelines for Vending Machines, A la carte and Competitive Foods." This policy applies to food sold or provided to students at all school-sponsored events, including fundraisers, classroom parties, and food as reward. Schools must only provide or sell food that meet the District guidelines. Find the policy online here. If you have concerns about policy violations please feel free to share that information  with us via a confidential on-line reporting system available here. 

Learn more by visiting the BPS Healthy & Wellness website or by contacting  Caitlin W. Howe. 

This year two BPS schools, the Holmes Elementary and Quincy Elementary earned funding for their Fuel Up to Play 60 programs. Fuel Up to Play 60 is the in-school nutrition and physical activity program founded by National Dairy Council (NDC) and the National Football League.  The program provides up to $4,000 in annual funding to K-12 schools nationwide to help implement Fuel Up to Play 60, a program to help schools increase student awareness of and access to healthy eating and physical activity, and sustainable changes in making schools healthier places. Fuel Up to Play 60 supports adults and students in implementing school-improving changes that best meet their school's wellness goals.

The Holmes will use the award to support their grab-and-go breakfast program. Quincy Elementary will use the funding to host a breakfast taste test of fresh fruits and dairy products for students organized by the school's parent group. This will also purchase mats for the Flying Dragons before school gymnastics program and fruit and dairy products for team practices.  The Flying Dragons have been practicing to perform in the Chinese New Year celebrations on February 15, 2012. 

In addition, students at 32 Boston schools recently participated in the School Breakfast Poster Contest sponsored by Fuel Up to Play 60 creating posters with themes like:  "My Favorite Breakfast" or "How I Feel When I Have Had a Really Good Breakfast". Prizes will be given for selected winning artwork and to one student per school whose submission is chosen at random.  

Visit the Fuel Up to Play 60 website to learn more about the program>>