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March Tip Sheet
HEALTHY SNACKS
Snacking is good when you feel hungry between meals. Choosing healthy snacks will help you and your family stay at a healthy weight. Healthy eating is an important way to support your child’s healthy growth and development. Snacks can help them get the nutrition they need and prevent them from feeling overly hungry between meals. For snacking to be healthy kids need to eat the right kind of food at the right time!
NO TIME? NO PROBLEM:
Prepare for unplanned snacks: Sometimes, well-meaning grandparents, friends, and teachers may offer your child snacks like chips, candy, and cookies. Your child may feel hungry faster than usual after eating these types of foods. However, explaining your goals to them and asking for their support may help ease your snack load.
Snack ideas with little to no preparation time:
- Whole-grain crackers with apple slices
- Dried fruit or nut trail mix
- Low-fat string or sliced cheese with 10 to 15 grapes
- Low-sodium sliced turkey breast wrapped around cherry tomatoes
- Low-fat, low-sugar Greek style yogurt and a small pear
- Sliced cucumber and whole-grain crackers
- Natural lean jerky stick (such as beef, turkey, or chicken)
- DIY trail mix – dried fruit, nuts, dark chocolate chips, and popcorn
- Blend plain fat-free yogurt with 100% fruit juice and frozen peaches for an easy smoothie
- Single-serving low-fat or fat-free yogurt
- Individually wrapped string cheese
KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE SIZE
Snacks shouldn’t replace a meal, so look for ways to help your kids understand how much is enough. Store snack-size bags in the cupboard or fridge and use them to help control serving sizes.
The Building Healthy Communities Program is undergoing an exciting transition within our broader school health initiative. We will not be accepting new applications for the elementary school program at this time; instead, we are expanding our impact through Building Healthy Communities: Step Up for School Wellness, a comprehensive K–12 program designed to support school-wide wellness initiatives across all grade levels.
The Building Healthy Communities: Step Up For School Wellness program builds on the success of our elementary model while offering:
- Expanded grade-level inclusion (K–12)
- Many additional healthy resources available for schools to select
- Greater opportunities for school-wide engagement and impact
While we are no longer accepting new applications for the Elementary School Program, we are proud of the many schools and communities that have participated and will continue to support our alumni schools through ongoing access to program resources and materials on this site.
This transition reflects our continued commitment to supporting healthier school communities through innovative, scalable, and inclusive programming. We are grateful for the impact of the Elementary School Program and excited for what lies ahead with Step Up for School Wellness.
For New Schools:
If your school is interested in launching or strengthening a wellness initiative, we encourage you to apply for Step Up for School Wellness resources. This program is now the primary pathway for schools looking to join the Building Healthy Communities network.
For BHC Alumni Schools:
We remain committed to our alumni schools and invite you to continue utilizing the resources available on this website to sustain the healthy school environment you built during your year of BHC programing.
BHC alumni schools are also eligible to apply for additional support! Consider applying for Step Up for School Wellness resources related to mental health and social-emotional learning to expand or deepen your school wellness efforts.
Click on the image above to view the full program description.