Honoring National Nutrition Month In Your School

March 10, 2015

From National Reading Month to St. Patrick’s Day, the first day of Spring and more, there sure is an awful lot to celebrate this month! Did you know that March is also National Nutrition Month? Sponsored by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, National Nutrition Month occurs each March to promote awareness about the importance of making healthy choices and developing healthy habits; seems pretty timely seeing as how last month was American Heart Month! And just like we did last month, today, we’re going to offer a few ways that you can honor this monthly observance in your schools and classrooms over the next few weeks:

1. Taste Test: Either in individual classrooms or the gym/auditorium, set up tables where students can taste different healthy foods. For example, you might put out a fruit or vegetable spread that includes items other than your traditional apples and oranges. And if your students are up to it, you might even consider asking them to take a taste with their eyes closed to see if they can determine what it is without any visual clues.
2. Name That Food: For this game, print out several pictures of different foods and assign one to each student. Then, one at a time, have them show the picture to the class, but without them seeing it. After the class knows what it is, have the student ask them yes or no questions to determine what food they were given.
3. Decoding Labels: Nutrition labels have the potential to look like a foreign language in the eyes of anyone reading them. Therefore, it would be a good idea to introduce their structure to your students and teach them what to look for and where when purchasing an item.

Although a student’s natural reaction to fruits and vegetables is likely not a pleasant one, by turning them into a hands on activity, you might just find that they are more inclined to want to discuss and even try them for themselves! What better way to get your students eating their greens?

Looking for another way to honor National Nutrition Month in your school? How about updating your cafeteria furniture? As the designated space for students to eat, we recommend making it as inviting as possible (while also keeping it stocked full with healthy choices, of course!) For more information on the furniture solutions we offer for your cafeteria and/or food court, contact us at (631) 666-0200 today.