KIDS FIRST

Food Safety

AFood safety matters! On a typical school day, millions of children eat at their schools, consuming everything from cafeteria meals to snacks to whatever they bought at the school basketball game.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that approximately 76 million cases of foodborne illness occur in the United States each year, resulting in 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths. Medical costs and productivity losses range between $6.5 billion and $34.9 billion annually. Foodborne illness can be prevented and you can help!

Food-Safe Schools

Through a grant awarded to the Rhode Island Department of Education from the CDC the Food-Safe Schools program was developed. Rhode Island was the first state to develop and certify the nation's first Food-Safe Schools. The RI School Food Safety Partnership, consisting of the RI Departments of Education and Health, Kids First, the University of Rhode Island and the RI School Nurse Teachers Association developed the Food-Safe Schools Action Guide toolkit to assist schools on the journey to becoming a food-safe school. The project was led by Elizabeth Bugden, MS, Certified Food Safety Specialist from Kid First.

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