Nutrition

 NUTRITION

We know that healthy eating habits begin in early childhood. We want to partner with families in promoting these habits for their children.

Three meals a day are offered at ACC; breakfast, lunch and after nap snack. These meals which meet federal nutritional guidelines for children provide a wide variety of healthy food choices. They are nutritious and tasty! Substitutions are also provided for children with food allergies or for family preferences such as vegetarian meals. Families may also opt out of the food program and provide their own food for their child. The cost of the meals is included in tuition fees.

From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

Nutrition and the Health of Young People

Benefits of Healthy Eating

• Proper nutrition promotes the optimal growth and development of children.
• Healthy eating helps prevent high cholesterol and high blood pressure and helps reduce the risk of developing chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes.
• Healthy eating helps reduce one’s risk for developing obesity, osteoporosis, iron deficiency, and dental caries (cavities).

Consequences of a Poor Diet

• A poor diet can lead to energy imbalance (e.g., eating more calories than one expends through physical activity) and can increase one’s risk for overweight and obesity.
• A poor diet can increase the risk for lung, esophageal, stomach, colorectal, and prostate cancers.
• Individuals who eat fast food one or more times per week are at increased risk for weight gain, overweight, and obesity.
• Drinking sugar-sweetened beverages can result in weight gain, overweight, and obesity.
  • Providing access to drinking water gives students a healthy alternative to sugar-sweetened beverages.
• Hunger and food insecurity (i.e., reduced food intake and disrupted eating patterns because a household lacks money and other resources for food) might increase the risk for lower dietary quality and undernutrition. In turn, undernutrition can negatively affect overall health, cognitive development, and school performance.