Food Day School Curriculum 2013

Overview of the Food Day Lessons
Lesson 1: Eat Real
Eating real food is eating whole foods that come straight from plants or animals.
These foods are filled with the nutrients that our bodies need to do our best at
everything we want to do and help us stay healthy long into the future. Foods that
are processed, especially those that are overly processed, are stripped of nutrients.
Additionally the processing, packaging, transporting, and marketing of food uses
excessive energy and is harmful to the natural environment. At the end of this lesson,
students create an action plan to be on their way to eating real.
Lesson 2: Mostly Plants
When we eat plants, we get not only essential vitamins, minerals, protein, and
dietary fiber, but also thousands of phytonutrients that may help our bodies be their
healthiest now and protect us from diseases later. We eat all different parts of plants:
roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruits, and seeds. Animal foods are important too, as
sources of protein, vitamins and minerals, but they are also often high in saturated
fat and cholesterol so we should eat small portions. Students learn to use MyPlate so
they can make sure at least three-quarters of their meals are plants.
Lesson 3: Not Too Much
In addition to the goals of “Eat Real” and “Mostly Plants,” today’s food environment
demands that we also make a conscious effort not to eat too much, especially of
overly processed foods with little or no nutrients and high amounts of added fat,
sugar, and salt. Indeed, many of the typical portions of sweetened beverages and
snack foods contain a day’s worth of fat and/or sugar. When we are aware of this, we
can make a conscious effort to have whole foods instead of overly processed foods
and to small-size-it when we do have overly processed foods.
Lesson 4: Navigate the Environment
The food environment is everything including corner stores, advertisements on
television, gardens in our neighborhoods, fast food places that dot the countryside, to
fruit stands. The food environment strongly influences what we eat, despite our best
efforts to make healthful choices. When we become aware of choices that meet the
Food Day Eating Goals of “Eat Real,” “Mostly Plants,” and “Not Too Much”, we can
seek these options out and navigate our way to better health as a first step to having
today’s children live long, healthful, and productive lives.
Lesson 5: Be an Advocate
The best way to get us all following the Food Day Eating Goals is to create an
environment where real, plant-based foods are the norm and easy to find. We can do
this by having more farmers’ markets, fruit stands, gardens, farms, and restaurants
that serve whole, locally sourced foods, and families cooking and eating together.
Additionally, we want to create an environment where overly processed foods come
in small sizes and are not so prevalent. In this lesson, classes create a project to
become advocates who change the food environment in their community.
Food Day Lessons | 5