#WellnessWins Empowers School Districts, Community Members to Support Strong Wellness Policies

In July 2016, the U.S. Department of Agriculture released a final rule to strengthen guidelines for school wellness policies with a compliance deadline of June 30, 2017. 

Nationwide, many districts are already making significant progress to update and strengthen their policies, enabling them to implement healthier nutrition, physical activity, and health and physical education practices. School wellness policies are the cornerstone of school-related health initiatives, providing both a guide and an evaluation tool for schools to benchmark their wellness progress. 

To highlight these existing school wellness “wins” and to inspire other districts to take action, the Alliance for a Healthier Generation and the American Heart Association’s Voices for Healthy Kids initiative have launched a new digital campaign, #WellnessWins. 

Beginning on April 17, school leaders, community members and parents can visit WellnessWins.org to download resources, read success stories, and learn how they can support and advance school wellness policies. 

Campaign Details: 

WHAT: The #WellnessWins campaign celebrates district wellness success and inspires everyone to create healthier school environments, grounded in strong wellness policies.  

WHERE: Campaign resources, including success stories, social media messages, and resources to support districts and community members in strengthening wellness policies, are available at WellnessWins.org 

WHEN: The campaign launches on April 17 and will conclude on May 5, 2017. 

WHY: #WellnessWins aims to support school districts in implementing stronger wellness policies that meet the new U.S. Department of Agriculture guidelines by June 30. 

WHO: #WellnessWins is co-presented by the Alliance for a Healthier Generation and American Heart Association’s Voices for Healthy Kids initiative.  

The campaign is supported by over 20 organizations who will help to shine a spotlight on wellness wins across the country. Supporters include: Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Action for Healthy Kids, Active Living Research,  Afterschool Alliance, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Cancer Society-Cancer Action Network, American School Health Association, Center for Science in the Public Interest, ChildObesity 180, Food, Nutrition and Policy Consultants, FoodCorps, Funders Collaborative on Youth Organizing, Healthy Eating Research, Initiative for Healthy Schools, Kaiser Permanente Thriving Schools, Mission: Readiness, MomsRising, NAACP, National Association of Chronic Disease Directors, National Association of State Boards of Education, National Farm to School Network, Nutrition and Obesity Policy Research Evaluation Network, Physical Activity Policy Research Network, Nutrition Policy Institute, Safe Routes to School National Partnership, School Meals That Rock, SHAPE America, Society for Nutrition, Education and Behavior, SPARK, and UConn Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity. 

#WellnessWins was also supported by Cooperative Agreement Number 1 NU1ADP003091-01, funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.