Today, USDA and the White House released the next set of regulations to implement the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act: the proposed rule for local wellness policies<https://s3.amazonaws.com/public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2014-04100.pdf> (LWP). In addition to strengthening nutrition and physical activity in schools, the rule includes a new provision to limit unhealthy food and beverage marketing in schools. Below is a summary of the rule and ideas for a number of ways you can support it (we have 60 days to comment). Please let me or Hannah know what you/your organization can do.

* Share with your members and networks information about this important step toward continuing to strengthen physical activity in schools, improve school foods, and limit unhealthy food marketing in schools (see model Facebook posts and Tweets below).

* Join the subcommittee that will be developing a model comment on the rule.

* Join the tweetchat on food marketing in schools this Friday (2/28), 1-2 pm EST, hosted by MomsRising and CSPI (follow the #FoodFri hashtag).

* Send us ([log in to unmask]) examples of unhealthy food marketing in schools (include the school name, date, city and state). It will help policy makers, press, and parents to see examples of marketing in schools. We are gathering examples on Pinterest<http://www.pinterest.com/cspinutrition/food-marketing-in-schools/>.

* Once the model comment is done, we hope you will send in your own comment to USDA and encourage your networks/members to send a letter in support of a strong final rule (we will provide a model action alert once the model comment is drafted).

Model Social Media Posts

Tweets:

• Great news! New guidelines from @USDA & @MichelleObama will strengthen wellness in schools & limit unhealthy food marketing: http://bit.ly/1karagl

• New school wellness policies support healthy school foods, strengthen nutrition ed & physical activity & decrease unhealthy food marketing!

Facebook:

• Great news! Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture & First Lady Michelle Obama announced new guidelines for strengthening nutrition and physical activity in schools and limiting unhealthy food and beverage marketing. http://bit.ly/1karagl

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Summary of Proposed Rule on Local Wellness Policies and Food Marketing in Schoolshttps://s3.amazonaws.com/public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2014-04100.pdf

Nutrition and physical activity local wellness policies (LWP) were passed under the leadership of Representative Boehner in 2004 (and were implemented in schools by 2006), when he was chair of the U.S. House of Representatives' Education and Workforce Committee. In 2010, through the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, LWPs were updated to strengthen implementation, increase community engagement, better inform parents about the policies, and provide schools with technical assistance.

Local wellness policies are an important and low-cost approach for school districts to implement the updated school meal standards and Smart Snack guidelines, as well as address other school foods and physical activity.

• The rule will strengthen LWP, and thus healthy school foods and physical activity by:

o Strengthening implementation of LWP -- not only at the district level but also at the school level

o Enhancing community involvement in LWP

o Actively notifying parents about school physical activity and nutrition policies and goals, providing transparency and an incentive for schools to comply, and keeping parents better informed

o Providing regular assessments of school nutrition and physical activity wellness policies

• LWP will be included in school food assessments by state agencies

• School districts will provide annual progress reports on the content and implementation of LWP

• School districts will conduct an assessment every 3 years of compliance by schools within the district with LWPs

• Required components of LWP:

o Nutrition education and promotion

o Address the nutritional quality of all school foods

o Permit marketing in schools of only those foods that meet Smart Snack standards

o Physical activity (school districts have to address physical activity, but it is up to them how to do it -- PE, recess, safe routes to school, shared use, in-class physical activity, before and after school activity [sports, clubs, intramurals], and/or having a policy against withholding physical activity as a punishment)

o Other school-based wellness activities (for example, staff wellness, encouraging schools to participate in the HealthierUS Schools Challenge, farm to school, information for parents, fundraisers)

• For the first time, LWP need to address food marketing in schools. School districts can only allow marketing of foods that meet the USDA Smart Snacks guidelines (i.e., the standards for foods sold through vending, a la carte, school stores, and other competitive foods).

o USDA is seeking comment on the definition of school food marketing (the rule doesn't define food marketing, but the preamble mentions the outside of vending machines, posters, menu boards, coolers, cups, etc.).

o For more background on food marketing in schools, see the fact sheet at http://bit.ly/1mDGWFt, which outlines that food marketing works, the majority of public school students are exposed to food marketing at school, and most of the food marketed in schools is unhealthy.

o Some may raise concerns that schools can't afford to limit unhealthy food marketing, however:

• Public Citizen reported that 2/3 of schools with advertising get no income at all from it, and only 0.4% of schools earn more than $50,000 from school marketing.

• Under the rule, schools can still allow food and beverage marketing if they swap out unhealthy products for healthier ones (e.g. instead of featuring the Coca-Cola logo on a high school scoreboard, feature Dasani water).

• There are many alternatives to unhealthy food marketing to raise revenue. School districts have had success with non-food fundraisers that are easy to implement and profitable, including selling fruit, jewelry, holiday items, and toys, walk-a-thons, discount cards, and recycling printer cartridges (see examples at http://www.cspinet.org/new/pdf/healthy-school-fundraising-success-stories.pdf).