Betty S. Thompson, UANN –Maricopa County, Rosario Espinoza, Cartwright Wellness Administrator, and Diane Gruman, Cartwright Food Service Director

As our Evaluation Team designs Arizona’s SNAP-Ed evaluation plan, one of our guiding principles is utility. Utility means that stakeholders can use evaluation data to plan and implement even stronger programs. This month, we learned from the University of Arizona Nutrition Network (UANN) in Maricopa County about how the results of their local wellness policy assessments using WellSAT 2.0 has supported new successes in school health policies, systems, and environments.

Here’s what they told us about their partnership with the Cartwright School District:

“The Cartwright Food Service Director discussed the WellSAT 2.0 results at the January Cartwright School District Wellness Team Meeting along with potential next steps. The Food Service would take the lead and start writing updates based on the Score Card Recommendations. A new "Cartwright School District Wellness Procedures” document emerged from addressing the WellSAT 2.0 Score Card Recommendations.

Cartwright School District also created a Health and Wellness Administrator position that now will be responsible for the implementation of the LWP. The UANN-Maricopa team provided technical assistance and support to the Food Service Managers to offer a school wide special event, Rainbow Day at the Salad Bar, at every Cartwright School. This event elevated the efforts of Food Service proving they are integral to the school health initiative and increased student consumption of a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables during school lunches.”

In addition to using their evaluation results to take action, the UANN-Maricopa’s testimonial highlights their coordinating role working with leaders at multiple levels of the school and district administration to advance improvements in wellness policy and implementation. Crucially, the SNAP-Ed team also highlighted the important role of the food service program in enhancing each school’s nutrition environment.

Kudos to UANN Maricopa and Cartwright School District for this win!

Desert Sands Middle School Food Service Team, led by Felicitas Preciado, delivered a variety of beautiful fruits and veggies to students in celebration of Fruit & Veggie month!
The 1,121 students were treated to a variety of fruits and veggies in a wide range of colors of the rainbow, for the first Build A Rainbow at the Salad Bar Event for Desert Sands.