MEMORANDUM
TO:
County Superintendents
County Nutrition Directors
FROM:
Richard J. Goff, Executive Director
Office of Child Nutrition
SUBJECT: West Virginia Board of Education
Policy 4321.1, Standards for School Nutrition
Food and Beverages as a Reward
RE:
OCN Guidance Memo 86- 3.16, 5.1.3
DATE:
February 12, 2010
This memo provides clarification on foods and beverages being used as a reward or
punishment under Policy 4321.1, Standards for School Nutrition effective July 1, 2008.
Food has commonly been used to reward students for good behavior and for achieving
academic goals. Many times, the food and beverages used as a reward involves candy or
other unhealthy foods that are high in calories, fat, sugar, salt, and provide little nutritional
value. While these easy and inexpensive rewards are offered with the best of intentions, they
can play a negative role in children's health and undermine efforts to provide a healthy school
environment.
On occasion it is nice to reward students for their accomplishments at school, whether those
accomplishments are academic or behavioral. Unfortunately, most rewards seem to focus on
food or parties with food and beverages as the first choice. Policy 4321.1, Standards for
School Nutrition, Smart Foods=Smart Kids, encourages teachers and school staff to promote
a healthy learning environment by using non-food rewards.
According to Policy 4321.1, 5.1.3, “Foods and beverages shall not be offered as a reward or
used as a means of punishment or disciplinary action for any student during the school day”.
Also, according to policy 4320, 126-85-114.1, “In no case shall a student be denied a meal or
part of a meal or served a different type of meal as a means of discipline or as a result of
discipline for violation of school policies”. Policy 4320, 126-85-114.2, states, “In schools
where Offer Verses Serve is practiced or where choices of menus or menu items are offered,
the student being disciplined and/or the student in detention hall must have the identical type
meal service available to other students.
Research has shown that schools play an important role in shaping students’ health
behaviors. Children need to be taught and encouraged to make wise choices about food and
healthy eating behaviors. Nutrition principles taught in the classroom are meaningless if those
principles are contradicted by rewarding students with candy, sweets or other unhealthy
foods. Students need to receive consistent health messages throughout the school
environment and must be given ample opportunity to use those messages.
OCN Guidance Memo 86 – 5.6
Page 2 of 2
August 24, 2012
Although rewards and incentives can be an effective way for teachers to encourage positive
behavior, rewarding children in the classroom does not need involve chewing gum, candy
and soft drinks, and other foods that reinforce unhealthy eating habits. Instead of food, health
experts recommend using alternative rewards. Research on child feeding practices has
shown that food preferences for sweet (and non-sweet) foods increase significantly when
those foods are presented as rewards. These preferences may greatly decrease the chance
that students will be open to eating the wide variety of healthy foods needed for growth and
health.
The use of food and beverages as a reward can reinforce the habit of eating outside of meal
and snack times, as well as, communicates to a child that there are reasons for eating other
than hunger. Associating food with good or bad behavior creates long-lasting effects on a
child’s food preferences, and cause a habit of rewarding or comforting oneself with food.
Children today are faced with a high risk of being overweight and having serious future health
problems. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over the past three
decades the childhood obesity rate has more than doubled for preschool children aged 2-5
years and adolescents aged 12-19 years, and it has more than tripled for children aged 6-11
years. Rewarding children with unhealthy foods provide extra calories, fat and sugar that may
contribute to weight gain or an unhealthy weight.
Solutions/Recommendations:
Research shows that healthy students feel better, learn better and behave better. The
ultimate goal of rewarding children is to help them internalize positive behaviors so that they
will not need a reward. Eventually, self-motivation will be sufficient to induce them to perform
the desired behavior, and outside reinforcement will no longer be necessary.
"Social rewards", which involve attention, praise, or thanks, are often more highly valued by
children than a toy or food. Simple gestures like pats on the shoulder, verbal praise
(including in front of others), nods, additional play time, or smiles can mean a lot. These types
of social rewards affirm a child's worth as a person
Using food as a reward has many consequences, but finding alternative rewards is limited
only by time, resources and imagination. It is time to use our creativity to provide school
environments that foster and support those healthy behaviors in our students.
If there are further questions pertaining to the use food and beverages as a reward, please
contact Natasha Jones at 304-558-3396 or njones@access.k12.wv.us.
RJG/tdr
pc: OCN Staff