Healthy Snacks & Lunchbox

Transcription

1 TM A User s Guide to the Healthy Snacks and Lunchbox Challenge A Guide to Building... Healthy Snacks & Lunchbox P2 P Policy to Practice in Youth Programs Bring WATER everyday! Putting tap water in a reusable bottle is FREE and will help keep your child hydrated all day! Whole Grains Make sandwiches with whole grain bread. Look for labels that say 100% Whole Grain Fruit Pack fresh fruit each day for snack and lunch. These are easy, convenient ways to add fruits to your day Pack healthy snacks each day. Add a healthy sweet or savory treat. Try whole grain crackers and pretzels for savory snacks or dried fruits for sweet treats. Snacks Add veggies in your child s lunch. They add a healthy crunch instead of chips. Veggies Brought to you by Policy to Practice in Youth Programs and the YMCA of Columbia What is the Healthy Snacks and Lunchbox Challenge? The Challenge is a fun and exciting way to help summer day camp providers improve the types of foods and beverages children bring for snacks and lunch. The Challenge focuses on encouraging children and their parents to pack daily and for snacks and lunch and to drink consistent with the National Afterschool Associations Healthy Eating Standards. The Challenge offers points to groups of children, either based on grade level or staffer-to-child ratio, for bringing a Fruit, Vegetable, or to the camp. Points are tallied each Monday through Thursday, with the winner announced on Friday. Groups with the most points receive an award designated by the summer camp. Examples of awards are: the Golden Lunchbox (lunch pail painted gold), extra swim time, holding the spirit stick, and t-shirts. Who is the Challenge for? Any program where kids bring lunches or snacks from home.

2 How do I use the Challenge? It s easy! Just follow the step-by-step guide below to get started Preparing for the Challenge 1. Review the Challenge materials. These include the following: a. Guide to Building Healthy Snacks and Lunchbox for parents and staff b. Staff Challenge Point recording form c. Point tallying sheet 2. Determine if your camp will focus on snacks, lunch or both snacks and lunch a. The same materials will be used, but the message to children and parents will be different bring healthy snacks versus pack healthy lunches 3. Decide the best time to record foods and beverages children bring to camp a. For most camps, we suggest recording Challenge points at the beginning of the day, typically the first snack or at morning assembly/check-in. 4. Decide how children will be grouped for the Challenge a. We suggest grouping children according to your staff-to-child ratio, for example 1:15 b. Some camps divide children into grade levels, such as 2 groups of 30 2 nd graders, 3 groups of 40 3 rd graders c. Some camps group children with different grade levels together, such as 5 2 nd graders and 7 3 rd graders d. The Challenge will be between the groups of children attending your camp 5. Distribute Challenge Point recording forms to Staff a. Staff will record Challenge points on a form each day Name: Kids: of the Week Mon Tues Wed Thurs Name: Kimmy 2 Kids: of the Week Mon Tues Wed Thurs

3 6. Create a Fun Challenge Point Display Board a. Displaying each groups points throughout the week is a great way to motivate kids & staff and keep parents up to date Recording Challenge Points Record Points at Start of 1 st Snack or at morning Assembly/Check-in o Only 1 staff member per group records points o Have all children in a group sitting before recording & ask to remain seated until recording is completed o Always record before anyone begins eating o Have children hold up the,, and they brought. It is best to ask all children to hold up one item at a time. For example, ask all children who brought Fruit to hold them up. Only count one point per child for,, and (maximum of 3 points per child each day). If a child brings 2 apples and a banana, only one point is provided. o Have staff record the points for the,, and they brought on the Challenge Point recording forms Name: Kids: of the Week Mon Tues Wed Thurs Name: Kimmy 2 Kids: of the Week Mon Tues Wed Thurs

4 Calculate Team Points o The Point Tallying sheet (Excel file) allows programs to easily calculate team points daily and keep track of their progress over the week o Designate one staff as the person who will be in charge of collecting the Challenge Point recording forms and entering them into the Point Tallying sheet o Enter information from the Challenge Point recording forms in the PINK boxes: Group name # kids and staff # of points for,, and o Information entered into the PINK boxes will automatically update on the Weekly Tab located at the bottom of the sheet

5 o The points are based on the percentage of children and staff bringing,, and. This is done since many summer day camps have groups of children of different sizes competing against one another Display Points on HLC Board o Keep track of team points throughout the week on a display board placed where both children & parents will see. At the end of each week, award the team with the highest points the Healthiest Snacks and Lunchbox Team of the Week