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October
OCTOBER
Safe Routes: Walk/Roll to School Day | Food Day | Healthy Halloween
Safe Routes to Schools (SR2S): International Walk/Roll to School Day (October 2)
“Healthy Kids, Safer Streets, Strong Communities” Safe Routes to School Programs, in partnership with Alameda County, organize and support activities that encourage families to walk, bike, carpool, and take transit to school. International Walk/Roll to School Day on October 2, is an opportunity to celebrate studnts and famlies that use active, safe ways to get to school.
Communications
- Bulletin board
- Set up a board with stickers that let's students answer “How did you get to school today?"
- Save your International Walk/Roll to School Day poster that tracks how students got to school that day. Keep it up for the community to see.
- Add photos of students biking or walking to school safely.
- School Announcements
- “International Walk/Roll to School Day is on October 2nd!"
Activities
- Have a Walk/Roll to School Day event at your school. Use the Alameda County SR2S Activities and Resources to help plan your event.
- Check out SR2S's other available events and request an activity for your school.
Resources to Share
- Contact your school's Safe Routes to School Wellness Champion
- Safe Routes to School California Partnership
- National Center for Safe Routes to School
- Safe Routes to School National Partnership
Food Day (October 24)
Food Daly celebrates the connection between food and both individual and environmental health. Food Day is focused on helping people eat less processed foods and eating more real foods (natural or with minimal processing).
Communications
- Bulletin Board
- Include a copy of your school cafeteria’s menu for the month of October, highlight California Thursdays! (every Thursday of the month).
- If any classes have done Food Day projects (such as tracking the miles of their food) consider hanging some of their posters in your display case/bulletin board.
- If your school has a garden, post some photos of students in the garden learning about where their food comes from.
- Hang some “Instead of this…Try that” comparison photos highlighting real food (for example, instead of orange soda, try eating an orange; or instead of eating Corn Pops cereal, eat corn on the cob). You could even hang some of the Food Day curriculum cards that show products/foods with their amount of processing versus how healthy they are.
- School Announcements
- “Every October 24, thousands of events all around the country bring Americans together to celebrate and enjoy real food, and to take action to solve food-related problems in our communities at the local, state, and national level. Try to follow the Food Day Eating Goals of “Eat Real,” “Mostly Plants,” and “Not Too Much.”
- “Let's think about how [school name] can help our community have access to nutritious foods and beverages and advocate for changes in the food environment to make it easier for everyone in your community to eat real food."
Learning for Students
- Facilitate a lesson from the Food Day Curriculum to help students learn about the importance of eating real food and a balanced diet.
- Food Day Curriculum
- Food Day Slides of Food (pp. 12-16)
- Food Day Curriculum
Activities
- Use the Food Miles Calculator to track how far your food has traveled to get to you!
Healthy Halloween
As people prepare for Halloween, how can you help your school community think about healthy celebrations?
Communications
- School Announcements
- “Let’s keep Halloween fun, safe, and healthy! Our school is a candy-free zone. Please celebrate at school and in classrooms with non-food or healthy items, or focus on an activity like a costume dance party. [insert information about school activities happening, ex: Our school-wide Halloween parade will be...] Thank you!"
Activities
- Organize a pumpkin hunt!
- Get active & crafty: Think costume dance parties; “ghost, ghost, goblin” instead of “duck, duck, goose”; craft projects; and learning.
- Eat healthy snacks such as citrus jack-o-lanterns and pretzel and cheese broomsticks.
- Offer non-food gifts like stickers, bookmarks, and pens.
- More Ghoulishly Great Ideas from the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
Resources to Share
- Wellness Champions Healthy Celebrations Guide
- EatingWell Heathy Halloween Recipes
- Bulletin board