Local Wellness Policies are being updated: What can schools do?

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Find out about your district's Local Wellness Policy and how it affects your school.

School districts need to update their LWP to bring it in line with the updated requirements for school meals, snacks and beverages, reporting, and implementation. 

• What is your district’s current LWP?
• Is your district’s LWP known by few or many in the district and in each individual school within the district?
• Is there an existing wellness committee at the school and/or district levels? If yes, find out who is on the committee and how often the committee(s) meets.
• Is there information about the LWP and how to get involved on the school district/local education agency’s website, on each school’s website, and in what other ways is the LWP shared with parents and teachers in each school?
• Is there an implementation plan that describes resources and recommendations for how each school within the district can carry out the LWP?
• Has the LWP been evaluated via either the Rudd Center’s WellSAT 2.0 or Action for Healthy Kids’ Local School Wellness Policy Tool?
  • What qualitative or quantitative data is being/could be collected from the district regarding its implementation of the LWP (e.g. meeting goals for nutrition education and promotion, physical activity, and other school-based activities)? How is the data being collected? What do the results show?
• Do schools know that they can request training/resources from the school district on LWP model practices and implementation?

Resources on establishing a Local Wellness Policy

• Resource to Sustain & Strengthen Local Wellness Initiatives (Institute of Child Nutrition, step-by-step process for schools to develop their LWP)
• Local School Wellness Policy Process (USDA)
• Action for Healthy Kids Parent Toolkit
• How to Enforce a Wellness Policy (ChangeLab Solutions)

Resources on establishing a Local Wellness Committee

• Building a Local School Wellness Policy Committee (Alliance for a Healthier Generation)
• School Wellness Committee Toolkit (Alliance for a Healthier Generation)
• Wellness Committee Meeting Guide (Alliance for a Healthier Generation)

Take Action and Engage Allies

• Attend meetings and events hosted by entities such as: the school district or individual schools, school boards, city or county council/board of supervisors, and community groups (non-profit education, health and/or physical activity groups, local PTA) to highlight the current status of your school district’s LWP, implementation plan, and needed updates.
  • Deliver oral or submit written testimony at relevant meetings.
  • Attend town halls and raise the issue with local officials.
  • Present at meetings such as local PTA/PTO and school board meetings.
• Share how your school might need to update its LWP and develop an implementation plan with the community through a newsletter, report, school email listserv, social media, community newspaper, or other communication.
• Collect and use data on your LWP activities and implementation to secure a grant to support your LWP work.