What is Choose Sensibly?

Choose Sensibly is a proactive approach to applying the dietary guidelines to snacks purchased by students in New York Schools. This campaign is designed to be implemented school-wide wherever snacks and beverages are offered or sold.

Education must have practical applications in order to become a permanent part of a child's life. This program will encourage students to apply what they are being taught in the classroom in order to make sensible snack choices. All foods may be appropriate choices some of the time. Reading nutrition labels to make sensible choices is a skill which students need to develop and practice. Learning to make sensible choices will provide children with the ability to use their knowledge of nutrition throughout their lives. 

What are the standards for Choose Sensibly?

To be considered a sensible choice, a snack should contain:

• 7 grams or less of fat

• 2 grams or less of saturated fat

• 0 grams of trans fat

• 15 grams or less of sugar

• 360 milligrams or less of sodium

• One serving per package

Beverages:

• All low fat milks, including low fat flavored milks, are acceptable

• Elementary school juice drinks must be 100% juice. Junior/senior high school juice drinks must contain at least 25% juice

• Beverages with 10 milligrams or less of caffeine

• Water or flavored waters shall not contain added sugar, artificial sweeteners or caffeine

Our Choose Sensibly campaign has several elements:

• It recognizes the role of the customer in the School Food Service Business

• It recognizes the value of education and information to help the customer make informed choices

• It follows the dietary guidelines to choose foods which support good health

• It recognizes there are not good foods and bad foods, but that some foods are better nutritional choices

• It is easy to implement and every school food service line will have multiple foods which qualify as sensible choices

• It has a message which is more relevant to children — a sensible choice is easy to understand

 

Choose Sensibly Materials

NYSNA has created this Choose Sensibly Snack List to help identify those manufacturers and their products that meet the guidelines.

Check out the Choose Sensibly Brochure!