Newswise — According to the Centers for Disease Control, hand washing is the single most important means of preventing the spread of infection and germs that can cause colds and flu.
The United States Department of Agriculture through the National Food Service Management Institute at the University of Mississippi is promoting a national campaign to help ensure that schoolchildren understand the importance of hand washing. The project embraces NFSMI's mission to provide research-based education and training resources to child nutrition programs nationally.
During November, NFSMI has distributed more than 56,000 "Wash Your Hands: Educating the School Community" kits to school nutrition professionals nationwide. Each teaching package contains a booklet that explains the importance of hand washing and lists strategies to promote hand washing at schools; a formulated "invisible" ultraviolet powder, potion and miniature light to use in hands-on learning activities; and a training video, posters and compact disc with a PDF format of the information.
"Since we began the nationwide distribution to child nutrition professionals, we have received a remarkable amount of positive feedback," said Theresa Stretch, a food and nutrition specialist at the institute. "Schools throughout the nation are utilizing the 'Wash Your Hands' resource by implementing hand washing efforts in classrooms, training the school staff and promoting hand washing in local communities.
"We recently learned that the Connecticut State Department of Education is implementing a statewide hand washing effort," she said. That state's child nutrition leaders have involved state officials, superintendents and other school nutrition professionals in the campaign.
"Food safety is extremely important to school nutrition professionals," Stretch continured. "They provide more than 27 million healthful meals to children each day and understand the importance of hand washing."
Despite the simplicity of hand washing, "the reality is many people just do not wash their hands frequently and at appropriate times."
As part of research conducted by the American Society for Microbiology, 97 percent of females and 92 percent of males said they always wash their hands after using public restrooms. Later research suggests that only 75 percent of females and 58 percent of males were observed doing so.
"Hand washing practices of children are even more alarming," Stretch said. "Approximately 50 percent of middle-grade students wash their hands after using the restrooms, which means approximately 50 percent do not."
Stretch said that proper hand washing habits and messages have been a part of child nutrition programs for years. Prominently posted hand washing messages are encouraged in food preparation areas, near sinks, in bathrooms and on trash cans and refrigerator doors.
"With so many reminders, school nutrition professionals will wash their hands several times a day," Stretch said. "As food safety leaders, they are in the position to uniquely influence and promote hand washing skills to students, principals, teachers and other school staff."
Each "Wash Your Hands" teaching kit encourages school nutrition professionals to take charge and set an example, train fellow food service co-workers and educate the school and entire community about the importance of hand washing.
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