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Transforming a School's Culture, One Snack at a Time
Story posted May, 2008
Results:
• Improved school's nutrition environment
• The school cafeteria orders 30% more produce to keep up with demand
• Pre and post- program surveys indicate children eat more fruit, play outside more often and drink less soda
Dr. Crisp Elementary is an inner-city school in Nashua, NH that enrolls 425 students from preschool to grade 5. More than 65% of our students qualify for free or reduced lunch.
In 2003, we had few guidelines regulating school nutrition. Children typically brought sugary snacks to schools. Classroom celebrations often included cupcakes, brownies and soda. The cafeteria's salad bar was empty.
In the fall of that year, the "Changing the Scene" program through the University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension opened our eyes to the childhood obesity epidemic. Hardly a week went by without frightening reports on the health of today's children. We decided it was time take action.
On April 1, 2004, we formed the Dr. Crisp Wellness Team. Our mission from day one has been to promote healthy nutrition and fitness in a positive and educational manner. The team agreed that, rather than banning any types of "junk" food from the school, we would ask our school community to join us in making healthy choices. 
We set to work on plans to kick off the 2004-05 school year with a Health Fair that would set the tone for the entire year. At Open House in September 2004, we talked to our school community about childhood obesity and the importance of establishing healthy eating habits at a young age. Throughout the school, students displayed projects they had worked on to promote healthy nutrition. We held a health fair in our Café that included a Farmer's Market with fresh fruits and vegetables.
From that point on, we have continued on our mission to promote healthy nutrition and to improve our school nutrition environment. The school nurse conducts regular "snack patrols" stopping by classrooms during snack time to try to "catch" students eating responsibly. Every day, we praise students for their healthy choices.
The wellness team used grant money to write our own healthy cookbook; "Cooking the Crisp Way!" this 75-page book is full of healthy recipes that include nutrition analysis. It also features healthy snacks, cooking charts and student artwork. Every family in our school received a free copy of the cookbook.
We've promoted physical activity through "Kid Power," a state-sponsored program to get students moving. We gave every student a pedometer, a logbook or activity chart, and weekly information sheets promoting physical activity. Each student kept track of how many steps he or she took. Even very young students in the early grades maintained picture charts, where they circled pictures of their activities, such as jumping rope, riding bikes, raking leaves or vacuuming. At the end of four weeks, student logbooks and activity charts revealed that more than half the school population had fully participated in the program.
The 2006-07 school year has kept us busier than ever! Our team was thrilled to to hold our 3rd Annual Health Fair at Open House night in September. Again, we talked to our school community about healthy nutrition. The produce supplier for our school generously agreed to make a donation of 10 cases of fresh fruits and vegetables. Instead of selling produce at our Farmer's Market, we were able to give it away!
Since we began our work in 2004, we've made great strides in improving the school's nutrition environment. Our cafeteria has had to increase its produce order by over 30% to keep up with demand. Pre- and post- surveys analyzed by the University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension reveal that students are eating more fruit, playing outside more often and drinking less soda.
What lessons have we learned since we embarked on our program four years ago? It is essential to weave student health efforts into all the work we do. We cannot expect isolated wellness programs to succeed if our school's larger culture doesn't support healthy habits.
For additional information, plase contact:
Jane Quigley
Principal, Dr. Crisp Elementary School
quigleyj@nashua.edu
Further details about this story can be found at:
The Alliance for a Healthier Generation, Sucess Stories Volume 7, "Continuing the Growth of Healthy Initiatives," June 30, 2007
Jim Prevor's Perishable Pundit, "School Nutrition Success Cries for Research," June 6, 2007
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