Smart Snacks and the Healthy Kids Act

The Urbandale Community School District promotes a learning environment that supports students in developing lifelong healthy behaviors including healthy nutritional practices and regular physical activity. Urbandale CSD aligns health and wellness practices with the Iowa Healthy Kids Act which establishes physical activity requirements and nutritional content standards for food and beverages sold on or provided on school grounds from midnight to 4:00 p.m. The USDA has developed “Smart Snacks in Schools” standards that adhere to guidelines in the Healthy Kids Act. More information is provided below for families to reference when providing birthday treats, individual snacks, classroom treats, fundraising events, and eating lunch with your student during the school day.

You’re also welcome to view the Smart Snacks Calculator to see if an item meets the Smart Snacks in Schools standards. For additional student health and wellness information, please review the Urbandale CSD’s Board Policy 518 and the School Wellness Policy Progress Reports. Thank you for your cooperation and support as we continue making the health and well-being of all students a top priority.

Birthday Treats

All treats must be store-bought and pre-packaged, or purchased through the Urbandale School's Nutrition Services Catering Program. No homemade treats may be brought to school to be shared with other students.
Treats that are to be shared with the entire class for celebratory reasons (birthday treats) are recommended to meet the Smart Snacks in Schools Nutritional Guidelines.
Treats provided for celebratory reasons will be consumed after lunch. These snacks must be confined to the classroom.
Food allergies can be severe and life-threatening, which is why UCSD is an Allergy-Aware District. Parents, guardians, and students are encouraged to be mindful of food allergies (peanut, gluten, soy, tree-nut, dairy, etc) when providing snacks. Always check with your child's classroom teacher to confirm the presence of any food allergies. If there is an allergy present, treats will need to follow allergy guidelines.
Check out this great resources for non-food celebrations!

Individual Student Snacks (personal daily snacks)

We encourage students bringing individual snacks from home to meet the Smart Snacks in Schools nutritional standards, but they are not required to do so.
Some recommended snack options are available in the image to the right.
Food allergies can be severe and life-threatening. Always check with your classroom teacher to confirm the presence of any allergies, as bringing in snacks containing those allergies can be severely harmful even if not ingested by the allergic student. If an allergy is present, any snacks brought into the classroom will need to follow allergy guidelines.

Lunch With Your Student

Family members who wish to eat with their student(s) in the lunchroom are encouraged to purchase a school lunch to eat along with their student(s) in the cafeteria.
Commercially prepared food (i.e. "fast food") brought in for families to consume with their children cannot be eaten in the cafeteria. Before bringing food from outside vendors into the cafeteria, please check with your school to confirm a separate place to have lunch is available. Many schools do not have a separate area outside of the lunchroom so food from outside vendors is not allowed.
While students are encouraged to bring a healthy lunch, a student's individual lunch brought from home is not required to mee the Healthy Kids Act nutrition standards.
Food allergies can be severe and life-threatening, which is why UCSD is an Allergy-Aware District. Parents, guardians, and students are encouraged to be mindful of food allergies (peanut, gluten, soy, tree-nut, dairy, etc) when packing lunches. Always check with your child's classroom teacher to confirm the presence of any food allergies. If there is an allergy present, treats will need to follow allergy guidelines.

Classroom Parties and Fundraising Events

School sponsored events must follow the Healthy Kids Act. If families would like to provide snacks for their child's class party (i.e. classroom party, school-wide celebrations, etc) then the snacks are required to meet the Smart Snacks in Schools standards as the event is a school sanctioned activity.

All food and beverages sold to students for fundraising activities that take place from midnight to 4:00pm must meet the Smart Snacks in Schools Standards. The standards do not apply for fundraising events that take place during non-school hours, on weekends, and at off campus fundraising events.

Families, schools, and PTOs can purchase snacks for Classroom Parties and Fundraising Events through Nutrition Services by filling out this form. Please be sure to order at least 2 weeks in advance.

Additionally, parents, teachers, and PTOs can look to these resources for ways to celebrate with students without using food, or in conjunction with food.

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