FARMINGTON – Melissa Yeaton, school health coordinator for SAD 9, gave a presentation about a comprehensive school health program to the school board at its meeting Tuesday.
Funded by the state’s tobacco settlement, the five-year grant from the Fund for a Healthy Maine is a joint effort of the Healthy Community Coalition and SAD 9. The local program is one of 31 partnerships across the state. Funding for Yeaton’s position, now in its fourth year, is uncertain after next year and will depend on state legislation.
Yeaton has been working with the school’s newly formed nutrition advisory committee to “support healthy eating habits as an integral part of a total learning environment … by ensuring access to nutritional foods and beverages,” according to a handout.
One goal of the committee is to increase availability of nutritional foods and decrease availability of foods of minimal nutritional value. Yeaton illustrated the need with Maine statistics:
• 77 percent of high school students do not eat five recommended daily servings of fruits and vegetables.
• 78 percent of high school students do not consume three to four recommended daily servings of milk.
• 28 percent of high school students are overweight or at risk for becoming overweight.
• 31 percent of middle school students are overweight or at risk for becoming overweight.
• 36 percent of kindergarten students are overweight or at risk for becoming overweight.
She also spoke of health risks associated with soda consumption alone.
Children who drink a lot of sweetened beverages consume 330 more calories daily than those who do not. They also tend to eat more high-fat vegetables and 57 to 62 percent less fruits. A daily intake of 330 extra calories could cause a 33 pound annual weight gain, she said.
Yeaton showed sugar statistics on Coca-Cola – with 16.9 teaspoons of sugar, one 20-ounce can is equivalent to three Hershey’s bars, she said.
School meals are not the issue, she said, praising food service director Cheryl Ellis who, among other things, is adding whole wheat flour to breads and presenting more fruits and vegetables to students. The issue, she said, is the school store, boosters sales, snacks, food rewards in classrooms and school functions and parties. The school system can help by finding healthy alternatives to candy and other sugary snacks, finding more opportunities for physical activity, continuing to offer healthy school meals, providing healthy food alternatives at other venues and providing nutrition education.
In addition to the tobacco money, the program has received $9,000 in grants and scholarships. It has provided programs not only for students but for faculty and staff including tobacco cessation, dieting, walking and general wellness programs.
Board members agreed that informational fliers Yeaton created and distributed to parents have been useful, particularly one on flu prevention. Other informational fliers included winter weather tips, child-abduction prevention and summer safety tips.
After hearing Yeaton’s presentation, director Jo Josephson was impressed.
“I’m exhausted seeing all the work you’ve done,” she said.
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