Wellness Policy

Wellness Policy

Wellness Committee and Leader:

The Helping Hands Committee meets annually to establish wellness goals, oversee children's health and safety policies, and revise the program by implementing and developing the policy’s yearly updates. Committee members include Sandra Bishop (Kitchen Manager/Cook), Janet Stephens (Director of Development), the directorial board, and one of the boys. Sandra Bishop is the designated officer to ensure compliance with the wellness policy.  Our Committee is Sandra Bishop, Kitchen Manager/Cook, Janet Stephens, Director of Development and Daily Operations, and the Board of Directors of Helping Hands, and a child that currently resides at Helping Hands of Clemson, Inc. Contact 864-646-2941 (office phone) or email us at helpinghandskids@helpinghandsofclemson.org.

• Helping Hands will include an updated (yearly) version of the Wellness Policy on the organization’s website, allowing for public review. 

Record Keeping:

Helping Hands will retain records of the written wellness policy, and the policy will be made available to the public on our website. We will document, review and update the policy annually to demonstrate compliance. This will include a list of Committee Members who are involved in the update, and a copy of the meeting notice will be posted on the website. The most recent assessment on the implementation of the wellness policy, and documentation demonstrating the most recent assessment on the implementation of the wellness policy will be made available to the public.

Food and Beverage Availability:

Helping Hands is committed to serving healthy meals to children with plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fat-free and low-fat milk that are moderate in sodium, low in saturated fat, and have zero grams trans-fat per serving (nutrition label or manufacturer’s specifications), and to meet the nutrition needs of our children within their calorie requirements. The Helping Hands meal program aims to improve the diet and health of our children, help mitigate childhood obesity, model healthy eating to support the development of lifelong healthy eating patterns, and support healthy choices while accommodating cultural food preferences and special dietary needs.                                                        

Helping Hands participates in USDA child nutrition programs through National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the School Breakfast Program (SBP) and is committed to offering school meals that:

• Are accessible to all Children

• Are appealing and attractive to children

• Are served in a clean and pleasant family style setting

Helping Hands will not use foods or beverages as rewards for academic performance or good behavior. We will not withhold food or beverages as punishment. 

Water is served to promote hydration. Free, safe, unflavored drinking water will be available to all children throughout the day, and during every meal.

Food and Beverages Marketing:

Any foods marketed or promoted to children at Helping Hands, during the day will meet or exceed the USDA Smart Snacks nutrition standards such that only those foods that comply with or exceed those nutrition standards are permitted to be marketed or promoted to our children.  These standards do not apply to marketing that occurs outside of mealtimes, such as after school hours or on weekends.

• Helping Hands policy on foods provided but not sold like birthdays and parties are done in the evenings

• Helping Hands policy for food sold is not applicable, because we do not sell food.

• Helping Hands has met the beverage marketing criteria for our children. The beverage machines have been removed. 

• Helping Hands has no other vending machines.                                      

Goals for Nutrition Education and Promotion:

Helping Hands will teach, encourage, and support healthy eating by all children. We promote wellness education through various channels. We have the USDA posters in our dining area, and we do a hands-on cooking and shopping day for the ones 14 years and over. They choose a menu for supper and snacks, make a grocery list of everything they need to purchase, go to the store, learn to read nutrition labels to include calories, sodium, and fats, and make the purchase. We then support them as they cook the meal.

Physical Education:

The children at Helping Hands go to middle and high schools, and they have Physical Education in school. We do encourage after-school activities outside, ex: basketball, kickball, and skateboarding. With our new indoor activity center we offer more activities, volleyball, football, basketball, air hockey, and a pool table. We have added numerous new exercise equipment. We also offer hiking, swimming, indoor rock climbing as activities when out of school. 

The Wellness Committee will assess its compliance with the policy every 3 years. They will assess how it compares to model wellness policies published by state and federal agencies, and our progress in attaining the goals of this policy. The results of this assessment will be made available to the public to showcase the wellness efforts being made by Helping Hands. Following this assessment Helping Hands will update or modify the policy as necessary and share these changes with the public on our website.