Balance Choice

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Chartwells School Dining Services is proud to provide high quality, nutritious meals to the students of Wilson Area School District for the 2005-06 school year. During this year, Chartwells will continue to step up the fight against the national obesity epidemic by promoting a wellness regimen, called Balanced Choices, that teaches students how to EAT, LEARN, and LIVE well.

 

Eating well this school year in Wilson Area School District cafeterias will include expanded Balanced Choices menu offerings for the students we serve. Balanced Choices promotes meals, snacks, and beverages that meet precise nutrition standards, conform to current Dietary Guidelines, and illustrate proper portion sizes, while ensuring that each food item makes a positive contribution of vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Colorful signage, shelf tags, and product labels including the signature Balanced Choices icon will enable students to easily identify and select these better-for-you food and beverage options. We will continue to feature a variety of fruits, vegetables, enriched or whole grains and breads, and low fat milk choices on the menus. Our dedicated cafeteria staff will encourage students to select these foods that too often are lacking in children’s diets.

Learning well requires not only a well-nourished child, but also knowledge of nutrition and the benefits of an active life. To help every child to succeed, Chartwells will donate a unique and comprehensive nutrition and physical activity classroom curriculum, HealthSmart, to Wilson Area School District. Our Celebrity CHAT Board kiosks displayed in the secondary school cafeterias will provide students with credible nutrition information of interest to teens, including brochures that will be updated on a monthly basis. Colorful posters with Pyramid Pete and Creatures displayed in the elementary school cafeterias will communicate simple yet important nutrition messages to our younger customers. To celebrate National Nutrition Month and Dr. Seuss’s Birthday this coming March, Chartwells staff will be available to visit elementary school classrooms to read a story starring Pyramid Pete and the Creatures and conduct a simple, fun activity that will reinforce the storybook’s message of nutrition and physical fitness.

 

Living well for students brings it all together to create a healthy school environment where students can practice healthy diet and lifestyle approaches. Chartwells will contribute to Wilson Area School District efforts to promote an environment of wellness by serving as a resource for healthy fundraising programs, healthy classroom celebration menus, and active learning programs such as health fairs, food demos, and kitchen tours, all with a healthy edge.

 

Nutrition standards for our Balanced Choices meals, snacks, and beverages are included on the following page. In addition, the specific nutrient values of our Balanced Choices meals are posted on this website. For more nutrition information, please be sure to check out our monthly nutrition tips that we will post monthly. If you have any questions or comments about the dining services program, please feel free to contact Karen Waitz, Director of Dining Services at 484-373-6122.

About Chartwells

Chartwells, a division of Charlotte, NC-based Compass Group, provides dining services for over 550 public school districts and private schools, comprising over 4,000 separate elementary, middle and high schools nationwide. Compass Group, The Americas Division, is the largest contract foodservice company with $6.7 billion in revenues and more than 152,000 associates throughout the US, Canada and Latin America. Its parent company, UK-based Compass Group PLC was ranked the 12th largest employer by Fortune magazine in 2005. It has worldwide revenues of $21 billion with over 400,000

associates working in more than 90 countries. For more information about Compass Group, visit www.cgnad.com.

 

 

CHARTWELLS BALANCED CHOICES NUTRITIONAL STANDARDS

 

 

 

BALANCED CHOICES MEALS

Nutrients

K-6

7-12

Allowable Range

Source

Calories

664

825

+/- 10%

USDA

Protein (g)

10

16

Minimum Allowable

USDA

Calcium (mg)

286

400

10 % below, no upper limit

USDA

Iron (mg)

3.5

4.5

10 % below, no upper limit

USDA

Vitamin A (RE)

224

300

10 % below, no upper limit

USDA

Vitamin C (mg)

15

18

10 % below, no upper limit

USDA

Fat (% calories)

30%

30%

Maximum Allowable

USDA

Saturated Fat (% calories)

10%

10%

Maximum Allowable

USDA

Fiber (g)

6

8

10% below, no upper limit

American Academy of Pediatrics

Cholesterol (mg)

100

100

No lower limit, 10% above

American Heart Association

Sodium (mg)

1300

1300

Maximum Allowable

20% Reduction

 

 

BALANCED CHOICES SNACKS

Nutrient

Parameter

Source

Calories

No more than 200

Products are limited to single serving portion sizes

Healthy US School

Challenge

Fat

No more than 35% of Calories

With caloric limit, fat would not exceed 8 grams per package

US Dietary

Guidelines

Saturated Fat

No more than 10% of Calories

With caloric limit, saturated fat would not exceed 2 grams per package

US Dietary

Guidelines

Sodium

No more than 480 mg

FDA Definition

of Healthy

Sugar

No more than 35% by weight

As such, products with sugar as first ingredient do not qualify as Balanced Choices.

US Dietary

Guidelines

 

 

BALANCED CHOICES BEVERAGES

Item

Source

100% Fruit Juice

No > 12 ounces

Healthy US School Challenge

Non-Fat and 1% Milk

No >16 ounces

US Dietary Guidelines

Water & Flavored Water

Without sugar, unlimited portion

Healthy US School Challenge

Carbonated water without sugar

Carbonated 100% fruit juice

With USDA/State Agency exemption

State and District Comparison

Non-caffeinated, except flavored milk

American Academy of Pediatrics

 

LOOK FOR BALANCED CHOICES OFFERINGS IN YOUR SCHOOL