March was National Nutrition Month, and as part of that celebration the National Dairy Council hosted a #WellnessImpact Twitter chat on March 28. You can read a full transcript of the chat here; the discussion centered on the recently-released Wellness Impact Report from National Dairy Council, which includes sections on:
- Prerequisites to Learning: Healthy Students and the Tools They Need
- Neuroscience: What it Reveals About Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Learning
- Where it All Begins: The Potential and the Price Tag
- School Wellness Right Now
- Time to Act: Recommendations and Next Steps
The chat was led by Karen Kafer, RD (NDC) and Dayle Hayes, MS, RD (@SchoolMealsRock).
Participants used the hashtag #WellnessImpact to follow along and join in the conversation. The chat was structured using eight questions that were posed by Karen Kafer via @NtlDairyCouncil:
- What do you think children should be eating for breakfast?
- Let’s understand the importance of breakfast. What are you seeing as the impact of eating or skipping breakfast?
- How can we improve access to breakfast so ALL children have opportunity to eat it each day?
- Let’s talk about the other side of the equation: physical activity. How many times per week do schools you know have PE?
- School resources are limited, how can we improve focus on physical activity in schools & support our community?
- What can we do NOW to ensure children have better access to breakfast and physical activity, and to help build lifelong habits?
- [Questions from the audience.]
- It’s resource-sharing time: Where do you go to get more information and tools?
It was an excellent discussion, and included many voices: teachers, nutritionists and dietitians, folks from FRAC, NEAHIN, National Dairy Council, and many more. We want to thank National Dairy Council, Karen Kafer, and Dayle Hayes for hosting a terrific event. Some of our favorite ideas shared during the #WellnessImpact Twitter chat:
- Donating used fitness equipment to a school so students can get active! (via @fzavacky)
- Serve breakfast for lunch so students can taste test breakfast, and invite parents/families to eat breakfast with kids in school to help promote the program. (via @HealthGen_Foods)
- Teachers adding 5-10 minute activity breaks to help students boost brain power. (via @ccliffRD13)
We are also grateful for Fuel Up to Play 60, GENYOUth Foundation, and Western Dairy Association for sharing the following links—we’re passing them on for you to enjoy!
- Fuel Up to Play 60: Funding is available through Fuel Up to Play 60—apply today!
- GENYOUth Foundation: Funding opportunities are also available through GENYOUth Foundation
- Wellington Middle School Fuel Up to Play 60 success story! (via Western Dairy Association)