The primary goals of the Dexter R-XI School District's wellness program are to promote student health, reduce student overweight/obesity, facilitate student learning of lifelong healthy habits and increase student achievement. The following procedures will guide the implementation of the district wellness program.

Nutrition Guidelines

All foods and beverages sold to students during the school day on any property under the jurisdiction of the district will meet the nutrition standards established by the U.S. Department of

Agriculture (USDA). The district may supplement portion sizes of certain foods sold to students, and those foods will be subject to the nutrition standards established by the USDA. These nutrition standards apply to all food and beverages' sold to students, including those sold in vending machines, school stores and through district-sponsored fundraisers (which encompasses fundraising conducted by district-sponsored and student-initiated groups), unless an exemption applies. For the purposes of this procedure, the school day is the time period from the midnight before to 30 minutes after the official school day.

Fundraising Exemption to Nutrition Guidelines

Unless otherwise prohibited by Board policies or limitations on marketing, the following are exemptions to the rule requiring that foods sold as fundraisers meet USDA standards:

1. Foods sold off campus, outside the school day or to nonstudents do not have to meet the USDA standards.
2. Distribution of order forms for and delivery of foods that do not meet USDA standards and are not intended for consumption at school are permitted during the school day to the extent it otherwise complies with district policies and procedures.
3. Each school building within the district may hold up to five one-day fundraisers per school year on district property during the school day that involve the sale of foods that do not meet USDA standards.

Water and Milk

Students will have access to free drinking water during mealtimes in the places where meals are served. Lunches served by the district will include a variety of fluid milk options consistent with the most recent Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Food and fluid milk substitutions will be provided to students in accordance with law and Board policy.

Nutrition Education

The district's nutrition education goal is to integrate sequential nutrition education with the comprehensive health education program and, to the extent possible, the core curriculum taught at every grade level in order to provide students with the necessary knowledge and skills to make healthy nutrition decisions.

Nutrition Promotion

The district will promote the importance of good nutrition in its schools and in the community.

Physical Activity

The district's physical activity goal is to assist students in learning to value and enjoy physical activity as an ongoing part of a healthy lifestyle by ensuring that every student has the opportunity to develop the knowledge and skills necessary to perform a variety of physical activities, maintain  physical fitness and regularly participate in physical activity.

Policy Review

The wellness program coordinators will provide policy revision recommendations to the Board as part of its report. The Board will revise the wellness policy as it deems necessary.  Administrative procedures will be revised accordingly.