We celebrated a lot of delicious, nutritious, healthy observances in October including National School Lunch Week, National Farm-to-School Month, and National School Bus Safety Week, to name a few. We also featured some great stories within those themes, including a popular post detailing all of the great things going on in Alaska’s Farm-to-School program. By partnering with the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Services, Alaska Farm-to-School has been able to offer greenhouses, school gardens, and nutrition education along with their locally-grown school lunch ingredients.
The month of November also provides opportunities for creative school nutrition marketing through various health and wellness observances. Whether you are looking for a food-related theme, a seasonal celebration, or a healthy awareness topic to highlight, there are some great options available.
Pecans, Peanut Butter, Spinach, Squash, Pomegranate, and Plum
November is the official month to celebrate Georgia pecans, spinach, squash, pomegranate, and plums! If your school has a farm-to-school program and one of those foods is available, you can do special menu items featuring these fruits and vegetables throughout the month; a visit from the local farmer is always hugely popular with students, and an opportunity to throw in some educational programming as well.
While it’s not National Peanut Month (that’s in March), November is National Peanut Butter Lovers Month. November is also National Pepper Month, and National Raisin Bread Month.
Thanksgiving
We’ll talk more about the spirit of Thanksgiving in another blog post later this month, but we can’t ignore the oft-repeated phrase, “Hunger doesn’t take a vacation.” The Thanksgiving holidays remind us that many children rely on the food they receive during the school day, and long breaks often mean extended periods of hunger. Reach out to find out how you can help local families in your community during the holiday season.
Diabetes Education Week
Join forces with your school’s physical education and/or health teachers to create a diabetes awareness campaign to the student body during Diabetes Education Week, and on November 14 which is celebrated as World Diabetes Day. Did you know that this year’s theme is Diabetes and Healthy Living, and that the key message from the International Diabetes Foundation for this year is the importance of breakfast in combating diabetes worldwide? The power of a healthy breakfast reaches far beyond the classroom, as we well know.
America Recycles Day
November 15 is America Recycles Day, an opportunity to spread the message—Keep America Beautiful! The America Recycles Day website has a great toolkit that includes posters and flyers, as well as images for social media. Promote your current cafeteria recycling program, expand it school-wide, or get to work on implementing a pilot program with student volunteers!
World Kindness Day
November 13 is World Kindness Day, and kindness is as nourishing to our souls as healthy food is to our bodies. Find great ideas for kindness ideas, resources for educators, and more on the Random Acts of Kindness website.
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