Tiffany Revelle — Record-Bee staff
LAKEPORT — As students all over Lake County were headed off to the lake, swimming pools, various camps and of course three months of sleeping in, Lakeport Unified School District was being honored for its hard work toward providing good nutrition for those in its care.
The California Wellness Task Force recognized the efforts of 45 school districts from across the state at a Wednesday, June 13 luncheon ceremony in Sacramento.
Of all 45 of the districts statewide who participated in the first-ever School Wellness Challenge, Lakeport was one of a handful to complete the program, according to Executive Director Leah Cox.
“Lakeport is ahead of the game,” said Cox. “Not only did they pass the policy but they”re working to implement it,” she said. Cox explained that school districts across the state were invited to participate voluntarily in the challenge, which ran from January through April and featured live Web cast training conferences to avoid expensive travel.
The challenge”s aim was “to combat the increasing number of overweight and unfit children,” according to program literature. Training was to help develop policies that would address not only nutrition on school campuses but physical activity as well.
Although no one from Lakeport Unified attended the luncheon, Cox said the district”s participation was no less honorable.
“Without funding and without a lot of accolades, they”re doing a lot of hard work,” said Cox.
The idea was to help school districts successfully plan and implement Local Wellness Policies (LWP). In June 2006, school districts across the nation adopted LWPs, motivated in large part by a federal mandate requiring such policies in order for schools to continue receiving federal school meal assistance.
Two bills were passed in 2005 relating to nutrition in schools, Cox pointed out. Senate Bill12 limits the sale of junk food on elementary, junior high and high school campuses. Another was SB 965, called “the soda bill,” which eliminates soda from school vending machines.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com.
