For the Health of Our Children: An Analysis of the Wayzata Public Schools Culinary Program and Wellness Policy

We’ve been working diligently in the background over the past many months gathering information to build a report full of data to support our cause. 

We gathered information from parents by posting survey questions.  We contacted surrounding school districts to acquire information on their food programs and costs.  We met with Wayzata district leaders to learn more about food program finances and wellness policies.  We researched best practices for school food and wellness programs.  We visited the inspirational Minneapolis Public Schools Culinary and Wellness Services and met with their visionary leader, Bertrand Weber. 

And what we discovered is this:

1. Research consistently demonstrates that consumption of unhealthy food undermines learning outcomes. 
2. Nutritional standards are not consistently adhered to in cafeteria-provided meals. 
3. Food ingredients that have been shown to negatively contribute to health issues such as obesity, Type 2 diabetes and behavior problems are used pervasively in Wayzata Public Schools’ foods. Healthier and often less expensive alternatives are readily used by neighboring school districts including Minnetonka, Hopkins, and Minneapolis. Other districts have also expressed interest in coordinating purchasing efforts to secure even more advantageous pricing. 
4. Positive improvements have occurred, though often limited in reach or scale. The following examples of noted improvement of food offerings are mostly at the elementary level, including elimination of juice, offering fresh fruits and veggies daily, reducing access to chocolate milk to one day per week, and Try It Tuesdays.
5. Consumption of unhealthy à la carte items comprise up to 56% of middle school purchases.
6. While Wayzata Public Schools has a fairly strong wellness policy, it is implemented inconsistently within and across schools. Implications include food waste, lost teaching time, behavioral issues stemming from the withholding recess as punishment, suboptimal learning environments, and more. The policy lacks appropriate measures and monitoring to guide effective implementation.
7. Wayzata Public Schools’ meal prices are higher and have had significantly higher increases than most neighboring districts, including those offering healthier food.
8. Justifications provided for key decisions to remove Wayzata Public Schools from federal guidelines are not only misaligned with best practices, but in fact have raised costs for all families, including those of limited incomes.

From these discoveries we’ve built 6 key recommendations for Wayzata Public Schools to implement:

Recommendation #1: We recommend that the district establish nutritional goals that exceed the minimum standards set by federal policy and then monitor compliance with the goals.

Recommendation #2: Consistent with the work of school districts in Minnesota and across the nation, move expeditiously to remove the seven concerning ingredients from foods available for purchase at all Wayzata Public Schools.

Recommendation #3: As part of a full review of food nutrition and meals provided to children, the district should reconsider the previous decision to not participate in Federal Programs at the high school level and prepare a more accurate and sustainable budget and associated meal prices.

Recommendation #4: Review and reconsider the role of the à la carte options. Consider elimination of à la carte options or replacement with foods consistent with nutritional standards.

Recommendation #5: Establish metrics with meaningful and more than annual measurement of each element of the wellness policy. Report on findings openly across schools to foster cross-school learning and sharing of best practices. 

Recommendation #6: Hold Wellness Committee meetings monthly for the coming two years to accelerate implementation of best practices, rather than semi-annually. Consider establishing a working committee outside of the Wellness Committee in order to drive results forward. Designate at least one school official who will be operationally responsible for measuring implementation of the wellness policy as required and holding schools accountable to compliance of the policy per the Healthy, Hunger-free Kids Act of 2010 Section 204.9A(b)5(A).

You can learn more by reading our attached report, “For the Health of Our Children: An Analysis of Wayzata Public Schools’ Culinary Program and Wellness Policy,” which was submitted to the district in early September.

Thank you for your contributions that were critical to this report, and we appreciate your ongoing support as we move forward in collaboration with the district to provide our children with healthy food and healthy habits!

For the Health of Our Children: An Analysis of the Wayzata Public Schools Culinary Program and Wellness Policy