Local School Makes National News with Healthier US Schools Challenge

The Tewksbury Public School system is making national news by working to support and improve the health of our children and our community. As a part of their effort, healthy items are featured on their menus and physical education and activity emphasized. Their efforts are part of the Healthier US Schools Challenge (HUSSC).

USDA’s Kurt Messner, Acting Northeast Regional Administrator for the Food and Nutrition Services Division of the United States Department of Agriculture and Kathleen C. Millett, Executive Director of the Office for Nutrition, Health & Safety Programs, MA Department of Elementary & Secondary Education will visit the John F. Ryan School on Wednesday, February 11, 2015 at 9:00am to present the John F. Ryan elementary school with the bronze award.

The Healthier US School Challenge is a voluntary national certification initiative for schools participating in the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program. It supports First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move Campaign by recognizing schools that are crating healthier school environments through their promotion of good nutrition and physical activity. Sponsored by the USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), the initiative encourages all schools to take a leadership role in helping students make healthier eating and physical activity choices that will last a lifetime. Schools, such as the John F. Ryan school in the Tewksbury School system, that champion the HUSSC work hard to make changes to their school environment in order to (1) improve the quality of the foods served, (2) provide students with nutrition education, and (3) provide students with physical education and opportunities for physical activity.