What does the law AND board policy say?

The U.S. Department of Agriculture finalized the rule for nutrition standards for all foods and beverages sold to students during the school day. The Smart Snacks in School nutrition standards apply to all foods and beverages sold to students outside of the school meals programs – including vending machines, a la carte, school stores, snack carts and in-school fundraising. Smart Snacks in School nutrition standards is a component of our school district’s Wellness Policy-BP 5030.

Smart Snacks are in effect for the entire school day (midnight before to 30 minutes after the end of the school day) across the entire school campus.

Smart Snacks applies to in-school fundraising. Foods and beverages sold to students as fundraisers during the school day must meet Smart Snacks nutrition standards. There are no limits for non-food fundraisers or fundraisers that include foods and beverages that meet the Smart Snacks standards.

The Sanger Unified School District’s Wellness Policy not only benefits school staff through better learners, but it is also a Federal requirement and must include specific components. The final regulation on local school wellness policies was released in 2017. More information on the final Wellness Policy rule is available at https://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/nu/sn/mbsnp132017.asp. As part of the requirements, the district needs to inform the public about the wellness policy and any updates that are made. You play an important role in helping us meet this requirement and in garnering family and school staff participation in school wellness policy development and implementation.  Please see our Wellness Action Plan: 2019/2020 Sanger USD Action Plan.

School Site Tools and Reference Flow Chart with FAQ-(3 Easy Steps)

STEP 1-Question:  Are you selling food items to students during the school day (midnight before to 30 minutes after the end of the school day)? If No, nutrition standards do not apply.  If Yes, nutritional standards will apply. Please select the reference tool guides below to view standards per grade level:

Quick Reference Guide for Elementary Schools

Quick Reference Guide for Middle Schools

STEP 2-Question: Who may school sites purchase food from? Schools must purchase through a reputable vendor to ensure food safety. Elementary school sites should not purchase peanut food items for students due to high allergy prevalence of peanuts. Home made goods are not allowed, store bought items will be acceptable.  This is important criteria as buying food items from a reputable store ensures food safety and proper identification of food allergens.  If school sites purchase through the Child Nutrition Department, nutritional compliance and food safety are addressed. School sites purchasing goods through the Child Nutrition Department have a markup handling fee of 10%.

For more information, please see resource titled Smart Snacks In Schools: A Guide for Healthy Snacks in Schools

STEP 3-Question: How can school site staff navigate through the complex nutrition standards? The calculators below will help.  It is important to have the food item nutritionals ready to view to transfer all required information to the appropriate calculator.  After transferring all nutritional data into the applicable calculator below, the calculator will tell you if it's compliant or not.   

Calculator For Public Schools Select Project Lean.  

Calculator For Charter Schools Select Alliance For A Healthier Generation.

QUESTIONS? Contact Child Nutrition Services at Sanger Unified School District at 559-524-7620 or visit us at 1199 Commerce Way, Sanger  CA.