HPS Nutritional Guidelines

NUTRITIONAL GUIDELINES

In order to promote and protect children’s health, well-being, and ability to learn, Haworth Public School carefully follows the NJ Department of Agriculture Law on Nutrition in Schools and is committed to providing an environment that supports healthy eating and physical activity for all students.  The State of NJ Department of Agriculture created laws (Sept. 2006) that work towards reducing childhood obesity by regulating snacks and beverages sold/served in schools.  All food (for snacks, parties, sold or given away) that is brought in must meet the state guidelines of:

Snacks/beverages nutritional content PER SERVING:

• Sugar cannot be the first ingredient listed (this means all forms of CANDY)
• 8 gms or less of total fat
• 2 gms or less of saturated fat
• No trans fats
• Drinks must be either water or 100% fruit juice/vegetable juice or milk/ low fat milk (no sodas/diet sodas)

Consideration must be taken for those students with Life Threatening Food Allergies or those with Special Dietary Needs by adhering to the following:

• Parents should always discuss ingredients in advance with the child’s teacher/school nurse and provide the complete written ingredients of any food being served
• Food lists for class parties should be decided early—please bring labels/lists several days in advance so the school nurse may check them. NO substitution permitted as there are MANY students with food allergies (in almost every food category) and we don’t want any reactions.
• Parents and teachers must be aware of specific labeling information: statements such as “May contain traces of…” or “May have been processed with/in….” are warning labels and indicate the product could be extremely dangerous for an allergic child and should not be served
• Any food brought into HPS must have complete food labels (nutritional and ingredients)
• Please check if any student in your child’s classroom has dietary restrictions (i.e. Gluten Free, Lactose Free, etc.)
• Please NO peanut/ nut products if a student in your child’s classroom has a NUT ALLERGY
• Please NO homemade products as nutritional content and cross contamination of food allergens in home baked goods cannot be verified.

Please remember—we are all in this together—we expect everyone will be supportive of this policy to help promote healthy eating, reduce obesity in our school children, encourage good eating habits and keep our school children safe.