PETERSBURG, Ala. — Petersburg School Board is considering a stricter nutritional policy for the district. The new policy focuses on encouraging healthy eating.
Gone are the days when teachers could hand out candy bars to students for doing well in school.
Ginger Evens is the coordinator of the school district’s Healthy Living Grant that was awarded from the state.
“We’re not supposed to use food as rewards in our classrooms,” Evens says. “So, we can do different things, elementary school instead of celebrating birthdays with cupcakes and balloons, they get their name announced, they get books which is great. We want our kids to be readers.”
New nutritional standards known as the “Gold Standard” are recommended through the state grant.
Evens told the school board that Petersburg doesn’t have to make major changes to its nutritional policy because it was already a good one.
“I would have to say that our policy prior to this was probably one of the better ones in the state,” Evens says.
The proposed changes basically tighten up the policy’s wording making healthy food and activity even more of a priority for students. That would include changes to the rules on fundraising through food sales. Currently, fundraising from food, like concession stands, can only happen half an hour after the last bell rings which is a federal mandate. Now, the board is considering changing the price of foods as well, making healthy choices cheaper than non-healthy ones.