Schools in Iowa Benefit from Team Nutrition Work, Led by Askelson

Starmont Elementary School in Arlington, IA is one of 20 schools to benefit in part from the school meal research done at the University of Iowa, according to an article in the Cedar Valley Daily Times.

A partnership among the University of Iowa Public Policy Center, the College of Public Health, the Iowa Department of Education, under the Team Nutrition Grant, is helping elementary schools across the state provide nutrition education and support changes to school lunchrooms to make healthy choices easier for students.  Natoshia Askelson, assistant professor at the College of Public Health and lead evaluator of the project, said the partnership aims to pilot a program in Iowa that could be used across the state to improve the choices children make at lunch. 

Team Nutrition is an initiative of the USDA Food and Nutrition Service to support the Child Nutrition Programs through training and technical assistance for foodservice, nutrition education for children and their caregivers, and school and community support for healthy eating and physical activity. Team Nutrition's Goal is to improve children's lifelong eating and physical activity habits by using the principles of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and ChooseMyPlate.

To read about Starmont Elementary's participation in the program, click here.