UAMS Community Health & Research partners with more than 100 schools in Arkansas, reaching more than 75,000 students with better health and nutritional opportunities.
We engage with districts to select and implement successful and effective nutrition changes to their food service programs in order to increase access to produce and to lower sugar, saturated fat, and sodium in meals. We improve health access in the cafeteria and promote healthy eating for children at school and at home through three core focus areas: Behavioral Economics, Staff Training; and Student & Parent Engagement.
School Nutrition Focus Areas
Behavioral Economics: We work with district staff and cafeteria managers to create customized nutrition plans, which include nutrition assessments, recipe modifications, procurement recommendations, and environmental changes to the cafeteria that yield nutritional alternatives to school meals and help promote healthy eating in the cafeteria.
Staff Training: We train child nutrition staff to make the most out of school meal programs. We train staff on effective environmental changes, customer service, portion control, preparation of fresh and nutrient-dense recipes, and more.
In collaboration with Brightwater Culinary School, we provide instructional support to improve food literacy and scratch-cooking skills so nutrition staff can better prepare meals that are lower in sugar, fat, and sodium content, but still taste great.
Student and Parent Engagement: Involving students and parents is vital to program success. We develop multilingual educational materials so parents can better understand and engage with their children in the kitchen and increase their child’s consumption of healthy fruits and vegetables at home. Our team supports school nutrition leadership in meal program promotion and building relationships through material development and special parent events, such as inviting parents to eat school lunch and attending PTO meetings.
Funding for UAMS Community Health & Research’s school nutrition programs is provided by the Alice L. Walton Foundation, National Institutes for Health, and the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention.
Taste Tests
My favorite part of our work is doing taste tests and letting kids try foods they’ve never even heard of. It’s a wonderful feeling knowing that we’re helping children gain a better understanding of nutrition and food.
– Alexa Cueto
Program Manager, UAMS Community Health & Research
School Nutrition Toolbox
UAMS Community Health & Research created this toolbox to be used by parents, district officials, child nutrition staff, and more. Click the links below to learn more.
Assessments
These resources are a collection of tools used to assess the nutrition programs for each school district. All or some of these tools may be used, depending on program needs.
Assessments
Child Nutrition Director
These resources and tools are intended to help the Nutrition Director make improvements to the program both in the near and long-term.
Child Nutrition Director
Child Nutrition Staff
These resources and tools will assist in a continuous cycle of improvement for all staff members.
Child Nutrition Staff
District Administrators
District Administrators provide the guidance and funding to make school nutrition happen.
District Administrators
School Administrators
Key to provide quality environments for healthy school meals are school administrators.
School Administrators
Teachers and School Staff
These resources and tools include curriculum and information on healthy food.
Teachers and School Staff
Students
The resources included here will provide students with the information they need to make informed, healthy choices.
Students
Parents
The resources and tools provided here will not only provide the information needed for healthy nutrition, but also how to provide affordable, healthy food at home.
Parents
Community Partners
Resources and tools are provided here to help community partners get involved and provide quality assistance to schools.
Community Partners
General Public
Any quality school nutrition program needs the support of the general public. Here are some resources to inform them and get them involved.
General Public
Vendors
The higher the quality of the food provided for school nutrition, the easier it is to get buy-in from stakeholders. Here are some resources to work effectively with them.
Vendors