MSU Extension Champion School Wellness

To identify a need in your school setting, you can:

• Talk to students, staff, and other people who spend time there.

• Ask what barriers to accessing nutritious foods exist.

• Observe what’s happening throughout the day and take notes.

Reviewing existing policies and practices, such as how much seat time students have at lunch or how special events are celebrated.

There are many opportunities that may be found exploring what is happening in your school setting. Examples of areas that may be improved include classroom policies, cafeteria practices, and food waste.

Tool for Identifying the Need: Use the Identify the Need Guide and Worksheet for suggested questions, ideas, and examples of how to clarify a specific need, why it matters, and what benefits it could have for staff, volunteers, and clients.  

Change is more likely to happen and last longer when it is supported by a group of people. A team helps build shared buy in, coordinate next steps, and keep progress moving forward.

Identify two to four people who care about the issue and have influence in the setting you want to improve. Depending on your focus, this could include administration, classroom teachers, food service staff, school nurses, after-school staff, building leaders, parents, students, or community volunteers.

Invite interested team members to participate in a meeting. It may be helpful to ask some questions to get started, such as:

• What is the need we are trying to address?

• How will we communicate the goal and encourage participation?

• Who will help support the change, so it does not rely on one person?

Tool for Bringing People Together: Use the Bring People Together Guide and Worksheet to identify people to include in your action team.  

Across Michigan, districts, schools, and classrooms are making meaningful nutrition changes using practical strategies that last. See below for examples.

Example 1: Cafeteria Share Tables

Share tables are most often used in cafeteria settings of K-12 schools. A “share table” is a space where students can leave certain uneaten foods so that they can be redistributed to other students or back into the cafeteria food system. This can result in less food waste and increased food security. Depending on your goals and procedures, you may need to work with your health department to ensure food safety standards are met.

Michelle Luttrell; Richardson Elementary

In one Michigan school, Richardson Elementary of Oscoda, the food service department implemented a share table to reduce waste. They followed protocols to receive clearance from the health department and put food safety measures into place, such as posting rules that food must be unopened and uneaten and having a cooler to keep milk at appropriate temperatures. This allowed food to be put back into the food service system and served again to students.

Example 2: Taste Tests

Taste tests can be used for many reasons: to introduce students to new foods, to test new cafeteria items, or to encourage partnerships with local food producers. It can be a fun way to give students a voice and promote healthy eating. The food item is typically served as a small portion and paired with a survey in which students rate its taste, texture, etc., or simply if they would eat it again. Survey styles include sticker boards and short paper forms. It is an approachable and affordable way for cafeteria staff, teachers, or nutrition and health educators to introduce food to students.

Michelle Smith; Kingsley Area Schools

At Kingsley Area Schools, a teacher that grew lettuce in their classrooms partnered with food service staff to taste test the produce. They used the support of MSU Extension staff to set up a lunchtime session where students and staff could try a recipe using the lettuce. To engage students more, a sustainable science class created promotional signs. A salad was served in small taster cups, and verbal feedback was collected. Students and staff enjoyed the opportunity to try a new, healthy recipe, and future collaborative events were planned.

Tool for Exploring What's Working: Use the Explore What’s Working Guide and Worksheet to guide you through this conversation. 

Once you have chosen a goal and first step, try using trusted resources to help you plan, implement, and sustain your work. Each resource below offers tools and examples that can be adapted to fit the needs, capacity, and culture of your school.

Michigan State University Extension School Nutrition Resources

These MSU Extension resources provide background information and practical, actionable ideas that help districts, schools, and classrooms bring healthy food access and nutrition to their communities.

School Garden Support

MSU Extension’s Community Food Systems provides a list of school garden resources, funding suggestions, and technical advice. They also have a free online training course for beginning school and community gardens.

Local School Wellness Policies

Local wellness policies are federally mandated documents that outline a school district’s rules and regulations regarding student wellbeing. They can be a good place to document and enforce work that your school or district is doing to make food more nutritious and accessible. They can also highlight the work you are doing in areas like farm to school, gardening, and cafeteria practices. This MSU Extension website walks through the steps to update a district local wellness policy.

Other School Nutrition Resources

These sources provide background information and practical, actionable ideas that help districts, schools, and classrooms bring healthy food access and nutrition to their communities.

  Reducing Food Waste: Share Tables

The goal of a share table is to redistribute appropriate school meal foods to reduce waste. It may be helpful to first complete a waste audit to help with planning. The following resources help walk schools through this process:

• Food Waste Warriors: How to Conduct a Food Waste Audit at Your School

• Illinois Extension: Share Table Toolkit for Schools

Food Access: School pantries, backpack programs

Bring healthy foods to families who could use support with programs directly into the school. Food access programs often rely on the support of local food suppliers or non-profits. Some schools have full-scale pantries, while others have a small closet with emergency items. Another option is after-school backpack meals or snacks. To get started, take a look at these resources:

• Feeding America: School Food Pantry Program

• No Kid Hungry: Promising Practices for Starting and Maintaining a School Food Pantry

Farm to School: Gardening, local foods

Farm to school is a popular concept that includes sourcing local foods, connecting with farmers, gardening, and more. There are many ways to approach improving nutrition through these methods. To get ideas, check out the following tools:

• Michigan State University Center for Regional Food Systems: Farm to School programming

• National Farm to School Network: Get Started

Healthy foods: Menu updates, vending machines, policies

A focus on healthy foods can range from simple swaps (new menu items introduced and encouraging signage posted) to large system changes (alternative breakfast models and school policies). Inspiration can be found from many sources, including:

• The Lunchbox: Salad bar resources

• Foodcorps: Taste Test Guide

• United Dairy Industry of Michigan: Smoothies in Schools

Healthy Celebrations

School celebrations are often associated with treats and unhealthy foods. Healthy celebration interventions promote nutritious or non-food options in place of these. Often, this is accomplished through a policy written and shared with parents from individual classrooms, schools, or districts. The policies state a reason, give examples of preferred items (fruit, toys, pencils), and how it will be enforced. Sometimes, classes or schools will opt to choose one day a month for celebrations or create other opportunities for acknowledging special events.

• Action for Healthy Kids: Healthy and Active Parties

• Alliance for a Healthier Generation: Celebrations

Tool for Gathering Resources: Use the Gather Resources Question Guide and Worksheet to focus your goals and find reliable resources to help you implement your change. 

Once you have identified your needs, built a team, explored options, and reviewed reliable resources, the next step is to make a simple plan and try one change.

Tool for Making a Plan and Acting: Use the Make a Plan and Act Guide and Worksheet to map out an action plan and identify simple steps to start. 

After you try a change for four to six weeks, take a few minutes to reflect on what worked, what felt realistic, and what you might adjust moving forward. Reflection helps you strengthen your approach and builds momentum over time. Ask your team:

• What parts of the change worked well or as planned?

• What challenges came up? How did they make you feel?

• What would make this easier to continue in the future?

• What is one next step you can take to maintain this change?

If your change is working, consider sharing it with others. Even a short message at a meeting, email, or informal conversation can help build buy-in and encourage wider participation. It is also a good time to think about how you will continue to keep success alive.

Tool for Reflecting and Sharing: Use the Reflect and Share Guide and Worksheet to help with this step.