Wellness Policy
Teaching Family Homes Wellness Policy per USDA
Last Updated: November 30th, 2022
Section 1
Teaching Family Homes will convene twice a year for a meeting to update the Local Wellness Policy. In order to keep things progressing and to keep the public informed on our Local Wellness Policy, our committee will meet twice a year for open discussion.
The dates for the next two years will take place on the first Tuesday of the month for the following months:
January 2023
July 2023
January 2024
July 2024
The leaders of the Local Wellness Committee consist of Courtney Raske-Knox – Recreation and Nutrition Coordinator, and all supporting Teaching Family Homes Administrative Staff, and Direct Care Staff. All individuals and community members interested in providing input on client wellness opportunities are more than welcome and are encouraged to reach out to a member on the Teaching Family Homes Wellness Committee.
In order to complete outreach and public notification, the Teaching Family Homes board members will be invited for input on the Local Wellness Policy. We also will openly communicate all important nutrition, recreation, and enrichment opportunities with our clients and all parties involved with our clients via direct contact or email.
POLICY
Each youth at Teaching Family Homes will be educated on the importance of nutrition and wellness. They will be educated through daily meal service time and outreach during breakfast and lunch in the group homes. Each youth will also be expected to complete at least one hour of physical activity during campus recreation time. Recreation time is held daily by Courtney Raske – Recreation and Nutrition Coordinator. While youth are at the homes, Direct Staff Care will be responsible for implementing all four categories of recreation required – Physical, Social, Cultural, Intellectual. Between these 4 categories, the time spent on each must add up to a total of 2 hours per day. This will be tracked by keeping Recreation Logs that will be collected by Courtney Raske. These will then be electronically logged, and put into the electronic database for recordkeeping purposes.
When reviewing the policy, the committee will assess the outreach programs to the youth and the public to see if they have been successful or not. We will also review the Recreation Logs from each home to make sure all youth have been participating in the 2 hours of mandatory recreation time daily. The committee will then make updates and corrections as needed.
Section 2
NUTRITION PROMOTION
To promote the importance of nutrition to the youth at Teaching Family Homes, the SFA will hang posters in each of the residential homes that help remind and encourage youth to eat a well-balance meal. An example of a poster that is posted in the homes is the USDA “You Control You” poster. This poster is a reminder on the importance of choosing to eat a balanced breakfast. Another way we have promoted nutrition is by getting all of the youth involved in our Teaching Family Homes Garden. We have found that the youth get excited and are more likely to eat fresh produce when they have watched the process of growing it themselves.
Additionally, on the Teaching Family Homes website, there is a link for “Meet up and Eat up”. This link will help you find the nearest location that is serving free meals for students during the months outside of school. This program allows access to free, nutritious meal to students aged 18 and under. It is ran through the Summer Food Service Program in hopes to alleviate some food expenses on families in need. The link listed here (https://www.mcgi.state.mi.us/schoolnutrition/) can also be found on the Teaching Family Homes website under, Residential Group Homes.
NUTRITION EDUCATION
The youth at Teaching Family Homes will partake in outreach at least 3 times throughout the school year. The outreach will consist of nutrition education on the importance of eating breakfast, how each of the components benefits you nutritionally, and what you can do to ensure you are having a well-balanced meal. The nutrition education outreach will also consist of group discussions with the youth on how to eat a balanced meal and any questions can be answered at this time.
PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
Each youth on campus will be required to participate in at least 2 hours of physical activity a day. This will be tracked and monitored via “Recreation Logs” that are kept in a binder in each of the homes. The recreation logs are completed daily and consist of 4 different categories of recreation in which the youth must actively participate in. The 4 categories consist of Physical, Social, Intellectual, and Cultural Recreation. Every 2 weeks, the recreation logs are collected and entered into the electronic database here at Teaching Family Homes.
OTHER
While at school at Teaching Family Homes, the youth are required to participate in the “Special Daily Activity”. This consists of a physical activity or a special guest will come in and promote things such as nutrition, music, dance, agriculture, arts, crafts, etc. In addition to this activity, TFH youth will be participate in Outdoor Adventure based activities including our High and Low Ropes Course, Team building activities, off-campus hiking, canoeing, fishing, snowshoeing, skiing, and youth will participate in a weeklong summer-camp/Adventure Week annually.
Section 3
STANDARDS
All residential homes are required to be in compliance with USDA School Nutrition Program standards. This consists of meeting the requirements of the Breakfast, Lunch and Snack Meal Pattern for grades 9-12. Each youth will be offered 2 different types of milk with each meal (either 1% or Fat Free), and any juice that is served with meals will count as a fruit – not a beverage, and will not exceed over 50% of their weekly fruit total. Since Teaching Family Homes is a Residential Child Care Institution (RCCI), there are no sales or marketing on foods or beverages.
TRIENNIAL ASSESSMENT
When the Triennial Assessment of the Local Wellness Policy happens, the committee will assess the Local Wellness Policy to see if goals, policies, and procedures have been met. If changes are needed, they will be written into the updated policy. Some tools used to assess the implementation of the policy will be public survey and an assessment of recreation logs and on-site monitoring reviews. Teaching Family Homes will also refer to past triennial assessments as guidance to keep improving on the Local Wellness Policy.
Courtney Raske-Knox
Recreation and Nutrition Coordinator
1000 Silver Creek Rd.
Marquette, MI 49855
(906) 249 – 5437 ext. 123
craske@tfhomes.org