State Releases School Guide on Nutrition

The state has released a new "school foods" guide, a toolkit designed to help schools implement administrative rules for foods available in public schools that are outside the regular U.S. Department of Agriculture school meals program.

The guide was announced on Tuesday by the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Public Health Services, Obesity Prevention Program.

All foods made available in public schools during school ours are impacted, according to the department.

The guide identifies nutrition standards for school boards to adopt that are accepted by the state Department of Education. The state Board of Education approved the rules almost a year ago.

"Over the course of a child's life, a large portion of their day is spent in school and thus a good part of their food consumption occurs while they are there as well," Dr. José Montero, director of the NH Division of Public Health, said in a statement. "In our figiht against obestiy, it is imperative that we look at the foods served in schools and at school functions. This toolkit is designed to make the task of implementing the new regulations easier."