Iowa Department of Education

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) launched the Team Nutrition program in 1995 in order to improve school meals, enhance nutrition education and involve families and communities in supporting healthy eating and physical activity. The multi-faceted Team Nutrition program was a response to 1993 USDA study that showed school meals across the country were not close to meeting the Dietary Guidelines.

The Team Nutrition initiative includes training and technical assistance to Child Nutrition food service professionals to assist them to serve meals that look good, taste good and are consistent with the Dietary Guidelines. Additionally, USDA developed an integrated model of education and community involvement designed to promote healthy eating and physical activity. Team Nutrition educational and marketing materials were developed to assist schools to implement the program through six communication channels. They are:

• Food service initiatives
• Classroom activities
• School-wide events
• Home activities
• Community programs and events Media events and coverage

The United States Department of Agriculture has supported state and local Team Nutrition efforts through series of Healthy School Meals Training Grants. Iowa received one of those two-year grants in 1997. This grant allowed the Iowa Department of Education (IDOE) to support Team Nutrition programs in 25 school districts across the state as well as to develop the Pick a Better Snack social marketing campaign that promotes the consumption of fruits and vegetables as snacks.

Currently, IDOE is implementing two additional Team Nutrition grants - a three year demonstration grant and a two year training grant geared to pre-kindergarten childcare and day care settings.

Demonstration Grant

The Iowa Team Nutrition Demonstration Grant is only one of four awarded to states in 1999. The other three grantees are Kansas, Michigan and Idaho. The four demonstration states are working together to: refine the Team Nutrition model, especially the physical activity component; develop a manual and technical assistance guide to assist other states to implement Team Nutrition; develop a national Team Nutrition routine reporting system to allow USDA to assess how Team Nutrition is being implemented across the country.

Each of the four states was charged with selecting a number of schools to implement Team Nutrition and to follow the development of Team Nutrition in those schools, documenting the steps, time and resources required.

The IDOE selected the following 10 demonstration schools:

Anson Elementary School, Marshalltown
Central Middle School, DeWitt
Coralville Central Elementary School, Coralville
Holy Family School, Davenport
James Madison Middle School, Burlington
New Albin Elementary School, Lansing
North Iowa Elementary School, Buffalo Center
Panorama Elementary School, Panora
Perry Middle School, Perry
Woodside Middle School, Saydel

The Demonstration Schools are receiving cash grants, support and technical assistance. They are implementing the Team Nutrition program during the 2000-2001 and 2001-2002 school years and assisting the IDOE with data collection requirements.

Training grant geared to pre-kindergarten child care and day care settings

The IDOE received a two-year Team Nutrition training grant in the fall of 2000. Team Nutrition has focused on school aged children. The purpose of the grant is to provide training and resources to individuals who care for children in the preschool and day care settings. A goal of the grant is to create a cadre of 150 trainers, including representatives Child Care Resource and Referral, Head Start, Child and Adult Care Food Program Home Sponsors, Iowa State University Extension, Area Education Agencies, and schools. The cadre of 150 trainers will in turn offer a minimum of two workshops to staff or parents in their geographic area. Resources will be designed to provide information on nutrition and physical activity to staff and parents in an easy to use format that will encourage active participation.

Publications and Reports

 Team Nutrition Program Enrollment Form

 Team Nutrition School Enrollment Form

Mini-grant Forms & Examples

A Team Nutrition enrollment for your school needs to be on file in order to apply for a Team Nutrition mini-grant. You can submit an enrollment form at the same time as the mini-grant application to be sure our files have your updated contact information.

 Guidance on Acceptable Team Nutrition Expenditures

Summer Food Service Program Mini-grant Application and Team Nutrition Enrollment Form 

Team Nutrition is offering Summer Food Service Programs the opportunity to apply for a total of $1,500 in mini-grants. Sponsors with 5 or fewer sites can apply for $250 mini-grants and sponsors with more than 5 sites can apply for $500 mini-grants. The sponsor must be participating in the USDA Summer Food Service Program and be enrolled as a Team Nutrition school/program. The funds must be used for activities to promote healthy eating and physical activity. The example mini-grant link was from a school last year that combined taste tests of new foods, increased physical activity throughout the day and education via bulletin boards and flyers.  

 Team Nutrition School Enrollment Form

 Team Nutrition Program Enrollment Form

 SFSP Mini-Grant Directions

 SFSP Mini-Grant Application

 SFSP Mini-Grant Application EXAMPLE

Join the Team

Join the Team is information for programs about Team Nutrition. There are several links to the enrollment form, mini-grant documents, and the Eat Smart/Play Hard Awards available to Team Nutrition programs.

 Join the Team

Students' Eat Smart Play Hard™

Students taking Action to foster healthier nutrition and physical activity habits and environments in their schools and communities is the focus of this portion of the website. This area is in its early stages of development, so be sure to check back periodically for additional information that will be posted.

Mini-Grants

Students and student organizations may apply through the Department of Education for USDA funded mini-grants up to $500 to promote nutrition and physical activity messages and foster related environmental change within their school community. The links below contain a sample mini-grant and an application form. School faculty approval is required and the School building must be enrolled in Team Nutrition. To be eligible for mini-grant funding applications must include a nutrition related component and may also include an optional physical activity component.

Student Led Activity Ideas

The links below provide a variety of ideas that students and others interested in fostering healthier nutrition and physical activity habits and promoting overall wellness might want to consider as ideas for use in their local schools. The ideas listed below were developed as part of a graduate student assignment at Iowa State University, by Christine Clarahan and Erin Tiffany.

Calcium Game during Lunch Hour (97.76 KB 2007-02-02 09:12:59)

Find That Food! (120.48 KB 2007-02-02 09:13:54)

Grain, Fruit, and Veggie Challenge (95.58 KB 2007-02-02 09:14:52)

Grocery Store Smarts (92.3 KB 2007-02-02 09:15:44)

School Lunch Display (166.66 KB 2007-02-02 09:16:32)

Variety is Rewarding! (91.5 KB 2007-02-02 09:17:25)

Be a student leader – be a role model - Eat Smart. Play Hard. ™

Team Nutrition Links

Government Sites

Building Blocks for Fun Healthy Meals The Department of Agriculture's Team Nutrition is pleased to bring you this colorful new publication entitled Building Blocks for Fun and Healthy Meals--A Menu Planner for the Child and Adult Care Food Program.  Child Care Nutrition Resource System The Child Care Nutrition Resoure System provides you with recipes  Consumer Corner Consumer Corner is a sub-site of the Food and Nutrition Information Center (FNIC)  Food and Drug Administration The U S. Food and Drug Administration is a scientific  Food and Nutrition Information Center The Food and Nutrition Information Center (FNIC) is located at the National Agricultural Library (NAL)  Food Safety Information 1-888-SAFEFOOD or 1-800-535-4555 for Meat & Poultry Info  Healthy School Meals The Healthy School Meals Resource System (HSMRS) provides information to persons working in USDA's Child Nutrition Programs. It is developed by the National Agricultural Library's Food and Nutrition Information Center and the University of Maryland Departm  Helping Your Child be Healthy and Fit Long-term good health is less an accident than the result of good habits and wise choices. To enjoy good health now and in the future  National Agricultural Library The National Agricultural Library (NAL)  Nutrition Explorations The National Dairy Council (NDC)  Regulations and Policies National Archives and Records Administration  Team Nutrition To improve children's lifelong eating and physical activity habits by using the principles of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the Food Guide Pyramid.  The Food Allergy Network FAAN is dedicated solely to bringing about a clearer understanding of the issues surrounding food allergies.  USDA Food and Nutrition Program Facts The Child Nutrition Programs provide healthy

Disney's Family.com Since 1996  Parents.com Site conceived with parents in mind.

American Dietetic Association The American Dietetic Association promotes optimal nutrition and well being for all people by advocating for its members.  Child and Family Canada Fifty Canadian non-profit organizations have come together under the banner of Child & Family Canada to provide quality  National Food Service Management Institute The mission of the National Food Service Management Institute is to provide information and services that promote the continuous improvement of Child Nutrition Programs.  PBS TeacherSource Health & Fitness PBS showcases the work of hundreds of diverse producers and local PBS stations  School Nutrition Association (formerly known as ASFSA) ASFSA has been advancing the availability

Aerobics and Fitness Association of America® As the world's largest fitness and TeleFitness® educator™, AFAA has issued over 200,000 certifications to fitness professionals including group exercise instructors and personal trainers.   Iowa State University Extension - Food Safety Project The goal of the Food Safety Project is to develop educational materials that give the public the tools they need to minimize their risk of foodborne illness.  Teachers  Tufts University (Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy) Publications provide reliable source of current nutrition information.

Team Nutrition Contacts