Jul 1, 2020 | News
Last week, AccelerateED Task Force released its final guidelines to assist school districts in navigating the coronavirus pandemic and reopening schools across the state. The Task Force took into consideration that not all school districts are the same and plans will vary. They also took into consideration public comment and recommendations from professionals like SCDHEC and Eat Smart Move More South Carolina.
“After reviewing the draft guidelines, we felt it was necessary to stress the importance of the nutrition and physical activity component of the well-rounded student, especially during uncertain times like we’re experiencing today,” says Meg Stanley, executive director of ESMMSC. “As stated in our letter to the Task Force, good nutrition and physical activity can help students feel better, perform better, and reduce anxiety, as well as reduce risks of contracting communicable diseases.”
Stanley also informed the Task Force that local chapters, coalitions, partners, and members are being encouraged to get involved in local task forces for reopening schools. ESMMSC chapters and other healthy eating and active living groups and advocates can play a large role in their local task forces by encouraging local leaders to:
- Prioritize equity by recognizing that not all areas within school districts have the same resources; and use unemployment, poverty, and food insecurity data to direct resources in an equitable manner.
- Consider physical education as a core component to the educational experience and provide students physical education regardless of using a traditional, hybrid, or e-learning model; and incorporate physical activity throughout the day for staff and students.
- Maintain the evidence-based best practice of scheduling at least 20 minutes of daily recess for grades K-5.
- Maintain, when feasible, the state mandates outlined by the South Carolina Students Health and Fitness Act of 2005, including scheduling at least 150 minutes of physical education (at least 60 minutes) and physical activity (at least 90 minutes) a week for grades K-5.
- Maintain healthy standards for meals and snacks served as outlined by the United States Department of Agriculture; and utilize resources for elevating standards of food served to meet best practices and standards, such as those outlined by the Alliance for a Healthier Generation.
“Now more than ever, grassroots advocacy in the local education setting plays a pivotal role in the reopening of our schools and in providing safe and healthy atmospheres for students,” says Stanley. “This is the time for parents, teachers, public health professionals, and our coalitions to get involved in their local education task forces and to make their voices heard on shaping education during a pandemic.”
Contact your local school district for more information about your local task force. Use the resources below to help frame your advocacy messages.
ESMMSC Recommendations
SCDHEC Recommendations
SC Dept. of Education Reopening Plan
Apr 15, 2020 | News
Since March 13, Eat Smart Move More South Carolina (ESMMSC) has worked with more than 100 statewide partners to provide emergency preparedness materials and healthy food source locations to partners and the public in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
ESMMSC has been working with organizations such as local school districts, farmers, food pantries and community coalitions, SC Department of Education, SC DHEC, SC Farmers Market Association, Carolina Farm Steward Association, senior services, SC Hospital Association, SC Office of Rural Health, Healthy Learners, Food Research and Action Council, and SC Food Policy Council to identify needs, available services, capacity, and connect partners who normally would not work together.
“As a result of the food insecurity partnership during the COVID-19 pandemic, gaps in food distribution services that include staffing, equipment, transportation, physical distribution, public-private partnerships, and planning have been identified,” said Meg Stanley, executive director at ESMMSC. “As food insecurity needs increase, convening and connecting continues with all levels of consideration being presented.”
Part of the solution to the food insecurity issue is the Food Insecurity Resources webpage, which contains funding opportunities, guidelines, food system support, food insecurity data, and low- or no-cost healthy food sources for communities and organizations across the state. Since the webpage went live on March 20, ESMMSC has experienced an increasing amount of traffic to the website. Nearly 6,000 people from across the country have visited the page with 1,588 people clicking on the various links on the page.
“While we are thrilled the webpage is valued by partners and organizations, it is not the end-all of our work related to this crisis. We are assisting other organizations by addressing food delivery barriers and we’re seeking new funding to support community-level organizations with sourcing healthy food,” said Meg Stanley, executive director at ESMMSC. “We also continue to update the webpage daily with new and updated information, including information in Spanish.”
ESMMSC worked with Healthy Learners and SC PASOS to translate a portion of the page into Spanish. The Local Activity section, as well as the SC Food Banks and Farmers Markets spreadsheet located under Statewide Activity, will help the Latinx community find local healthy food.
“Our Latinx community is just as important as any other group. They make up a large part of the food insecure population,” said Stanley. “Because ESMMSC has a strategic focus on equity and inclusion, we felt it was imperative to provide a Spanish translation.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has put a spotlight on emergency preparedness within organizations and the importance of partnerships in addressing food insecurity during this time of crisis. Luckily, ESMMSC has a strong network of partners who have been working tirelessly to ensure South Carolinians have access to healthy food and organizations have access to best practices.
