USDA Features Iowa School Lunch Parent Campaign on Website
A school lunch campaign, developed by the University of Iowa Public Policy Center, the University of Iowa College of Public Health, and the Iowa Department of Education as part of the Iowa Team Nutrition Grant, is gathering momentum and garnering attention from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Iowa Team Nutrition partnered with the University of Iowa to develop the School Meal Parent Campaign, which is based on social marketing principles and is designed to encourage parents to get involved in their children’s school nutrition program. The “It’s Not Just School Lunch. It’s Bigger Than That” campaign includes monthly newsletters, nutrition education lessons, recipes, promotional materials, and other resources for parents.
The campaign is featured on the USDA’s home page, and will also be featured at the upcoming October 15 Iowa Hunger Summit, which gathers leaders from across Iowa representing community organizations, business and industry, state and local government, social agencies, churches and religious communities, schools and universities, and other individuals and groups that lead or participate in projects to confront hunger.
Iowa was one of 20 states to be awarded the 2012 Team Nutrition Grant from the USDA. The goal of the grants is “to support schools as they strive to serve healthy food, provide nutrition education, and create an environment focused on healthy eating and physical activity.”
The survey and subsequent report from which the campaign was developed were prepared for the Iowa Department of Education by Natoshia Askelson, MPH, PhD, Elizabeth Golembiewski, BA and Daniel Elchert, BA.
To download the posters, click on the following links: