Contact: Tammy Lane • First Posted: Thursday, September 25, 2008

Nearly two dozen of our elementaries have hit the mark in the President’s HealthierUS School Challenge.

This recognition, which is for two years, is for schools that have improved the quality of the foods served and provided students with more nutritious, healthy choices.

“It lets people know that we’re going in a healthier direction. We’re using whole grains and whole wheats now, even in our pizza. Things are baked instead of fried. … We want everyone to know we’re really working hard to keep the children healthy,” said Diane Seale, a child nutrition supervisor with FCPS.

All 21 of our schools listed below are on “gold standards;” however, because meal participation criteria were less than 70 percent, some schools were bumped to bronze status.

Gold (11): Arlington, Booker T. Washington Academy, Deep Springs, James Lane Allen, Julius Marks, Liberty (Julia R. Ewan), Mary Todd, Northern, Russell Cave, Squires and Yates.

Bronze (10): Athens-Chilesburg, Cassidy, Garden Springs, Glendover, Lansdowne, Meadowthorpe, Picadome, Southern Elementary, Stonewall and Veterans Park.

“We very much appreciate the hard work that is recognized by these distinctions, shared by less than 300 elementary schools nationwide,” said Paul McElwain, director of the state’s Division of Nutrition and Health Services.

Since 2004, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service has recognized schools’ efforts through the HealthierUS School Challenge. Schools must meet a basic set of criteria. Among them:

• Provide nutrition education;
• Provide the opportunity for physical activity;
• Maintain an average daily participation of school enrollment for reimbursable lunches of at least 62 percent for bronze or 70 percent for silver and gold schools.