While New York City has made progress in providing healthy food and nutrition education, public schools reopened this week with a majority -- 61 percent -- still not providing nutrition education programs designed and provided by outside experts, according to a study released by the Laurie M. Tisch Center for Food, Education & Policy at Teachers College. The Center is calling for a goal to double programs by 2020.

The study, "Expanding Nutrition Education Programs in New York City Elementary Schools: Understanding Practice to Inform Policy," analyzed 20 nutrition education programs in more than 600 elementary schools in Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens, that are offered by nonprofits, universities and other groups.

“There is much room for expansion,” said Pamela Koch, EdD, RD, Executive Director, Laurie M. Tisch Center for Food, Education & Policy at Teachers College. “Ultimately, we would like to see strong policies at the local, state, and federal levels that support the implementation and reach of high-quality food and nutrition education in schools.”

For a complete news release, including links to the full study and a summary of the study, please go to: http://bit.ly/1AbjqBj To view the full report, go to http://bit.ly/1u4s0Su To view the executive summary, go to:  http://bit.ly/1t59PJN