California child nutrition advisory council: Opportunity for dietitian leadership in child nutrition programs

Abstract

The Position Paper on Child Nutrition Services, March, 1993, has reaffirmed The American Dietetic Association's (ADA) stance that all children, regardless of economic status, special needs, or race, should have access to nutrition services such as food assistance, nutrition education, and nutrition assessment. The ADA encourages members to provide leadership in the area of program development, reimbursement and regulations in support of child nutrition programs. The California Child Nutrition Advisory Council (CNAC) is composed of 12 members appointed by the State Board of Education. Currently four of the members are Registered Dietitians from designated programs, who are sharing their individual expertise and knowledge to guide the council in directing resources to meet the most critical nutrition needs within the state. Their recommendations have helped to strengthen programs and to more effectively meet the health and education needs of children. As directed by state (Education Code Section 49533) and federal (Public Law 95–166; Section 214 of the National School Lunch Act) statutes, the CNAC functions as advisory to the State Board of Education for child nutrition and nutrition education programs and to the California Department of Education for the Nutrition Education and Training Program and the Food Distribution Program. The CNAC serves as an important communication link between California Department of Education, California schools, child care institutions and their representative citizens. The Council's role has become increasingly important in advising the State Board of Education on legislation and policies which affect Child Nutrition programs. Recently, a proactive role has been taken in identifying recommendations for additions, deletions, and amendments to federal laws pertaining to Child Nutrition Programs during the Reauthorization process. Significant activities in the past year included reviewing, providing input, and adopting various California State Board of Education Policy Statements. Two of the critical issues addressed concerned the establishment of local policies on Nutritional Quality of Food and Beverage Sales on Public School Campuses and Nutrition Education Requirements for CA Teachers. Work in the area of nutrition education included recommendations for the addition of a nutrition component in the Physical Education Curriculum Framework, identification of necessary details for the Health Education Framework, and leadership of the Food Service Education Consortium. In both state and federal programs, Dietitians have the unique knowledge and the dynamic perspectives to share with other disciplines to affect the nutritional status of children.