We are pleased to announce that the Petaluma City Schools Food Services Program has joined the California Department of Education's "Shaping Health as Partners in Education" (SHAPE) California Program. SHAPE California is a network of school districts working together to improve the health and academic success of California's children, in recognition that actively engaging students in learning to make healthy food choices develops healthy habits for life.

Nutrition plays a vital role in children's health and their ability to learn, and the SHAPE California program has worked for over 10 years to improve students' overall access to healthy food choices. The SHAPE program's efforts led to the national requirement for school wellness policies to ensure consistent policies promoting consistent nutrition education, food sales, and USDA school meal programs to support student health. As part of the SHAPE team, Petaluma City Schools nutrition staff, teachers, school administrators, family members, and the community work together to provide consistent nutrition education in school meals, classrooms, and throughout the school environment.

The SHAPE California initiative led to the USDA "School Meals Initiative," updating meal nutrition requirements and establishing new training resources for USDA meal planning options. As part of joining the SHAPE California team, our Food Services Program will begin using the "SHAPE Nutrient Standard Menu Planning" option, a special menu planning approach designed by California nutritionists and approved by USDA to support the School Meals Initiative. This option encourages the use of a increased number of fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grains, and legumes to meet the current Dietary Guidelines for Americans. In Petaluma, we also support the use of local, seasonal food choices and the integration of garden-enhanced nutrition education.