Introduction

Seminole State College cares about the health and wellbeing of our students, faculty, and staff and strives to create an environment that supports and encourages healthy living. We acknowledge that unhealthy eating habits, lack of physical activity, and exposure to tobacco lead to many serious health problems, including obesity and diabetes. We recognize that we can help improve the health and wellness of the students, faculty, and staff by implementing the following wellness policy.

 

Therefore, Seminole State College commits to creating a higher education campus environment that is conducive to healthy living by doing the following:

• Providing support for a wellness committee, team, or champion as needed for the implementation of the wellness policy.
• Promoting healthy behaviors and choices through appropriate communication resources, such as social media, email blasts, posters, and meetings.
• Conducting ongoing evaluations of wellness policies and programs.
  Seminole State College adopts this wellness policy, which includes the following Nutrition and Physical Activity.

 

Nutrition

Seminole State College commits to making healthy food options widely available and easily accessible by doing the following:

 

Selling and offering foods and beverages throughout the campus that follow these guidelines:

• Offer fruits, vegetables, and whole grain products wherever foods are offered and sold by campus dining services.
• Make cool drinking water available at all times at no cost.
• Respect the cultural diversity and religious preferences of students, faculty, and staff (e.g., encourage students, faculty, and staff to suggest local, cultural, and favorite ethnic foods).
• Offer healthy foods and beverages in on-campus vending and during on-campus events, including alternatives to sugar-sweetened beverages.
• Promote the purchase of nutritious foods and beverages through practices such as pricing strategies, posting flyers, or using other communication tools.

 

Promoting good nutrition and health eating habits through the following activities and services:

• Implement a program that identifies students who may be food insecure and provides assistance options on campus.
• Ensure access to a private space (other than a restroom) that has an electrical outlet, and providing faculty and staff paid or unpaid break times, to allow mothers to express breast milk and/or breastfeed.
• Provide trained nutrition professionals on campus and offer nutritional services (e.g. personal nutrition assessments, counseling, or workshops) to the greatest extent possible.
• Host, sponsor, or promote a farmers’ market on campus or nearby that is open to community members.

 

 

Physical Activity

Seminole State College commits to making physical activity opportunities widely available and easily accessible to students, faculty, and staff by doing the following:

 

• Provide free access or low-cost membership to an on-site fitness facility or to an off-site fitness facility for students, faculty, staff and their families.
• Provide access to an on-site changing room or locker-room with shower.
• Promote diverse recreation, physical activity, or competitive sports opportunities during each academic year.
• Offer “how to” physical activity classes that introduce new activities free of charge.
• Provide trained physical activity professionals on campus and offer physical activity services (e.g. personal fitness assessments, counseling, or workshops) to the greatest extent possible.
• Offer physical activity classes for academic credit.
• Encourage 10 minutes of physical activity into every work-day hour.
• Provide marked walking routes on campus and make a route map available.
• Promote use of stairs on campus where applicable.
• Post signage requiring cars to stop for pedestrians at all designated or marked crosswalks on campus.
• Provide safe and secure bicycle parking.
• Provide information about local physical activity resources and facilities, such as walking trails, community parks, and recreation facilities.