The Sartell-St. Stephen middle and high schools will incorporate the NuVal^®Nutrition Scoring System in the a la carte and vending lines Jan. 18 to help students and faculty improve their health by making it easy to identify the more nutritional food choices. The initiative was made possible thanks to a $28,000 grant given by the Medica Foundation making Sartell-St. Stephen the first school in Minnesota and the second in the nation to offer the scoring system to students.

The NuVal^®Nutrition Scoring Systemwas developed by David Katz, M.D., director of the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center, and a dozen of the world’s leading minds in health and nutrition. It gives food and beverage items a score from 1 to 100; the higher the score, the higher the nutrition. The system takes more than 30 different nutrients into account when developing a score.

Over the past 15 years, the obesity rate in Minnesota has increased by 73 percent, with one in four adults currently suffering from obesity. “By listing the overall nutritional value of the food they eat in plain sight, students and faculty can see, at a glance, how nutritious the foods are that they are choosing, hopefully prompting them to make more healthful choices,” said Jodi Rohe, BLEND (Better Living Exercise & Nutrition Daily) program coordinator. “We aren’t trying to be the food police and won’t be dictating what students should purchase. What we want to do is inform students, parents and faculty about the NuVal^® food scoring system and in doing so empower them to trade up for better health.”

“Our vision of excellence is holistic and promotes the attributes of quality life-enriching behaviors,” said Joe Hill, EdD, superintendent of Sartell schools. “We believe that each child deserves to be healthy, safe, engaged, supported and challenged. I am enthusiastic to be a part of this exciting partnership.”

“At the Medica Foundation, we believe that providing kids with nutritional information along with support from family, school and food suppliers is key to helping kids make thoughtful choices,” said Rob Longendyke, executive director of the Medica Foundation. “The Medica Foundation appreciates the opportunity to support this effort as we are always looking for innovative ways to help kids stay healthy.”

Click here to learn more about NuVal.