This is a compilation of resources relating to childhood nutrition education and school food. You can also join & invite others to the
created exclusively to share these materials with others.
Teachers College has developed a LiFE curriculum, Linking Food & the Environment. It is being published by the National Gardeners Association, which wrote
. You can read more about these materials and purchase them at these links:
(grades 4-6).
for their main Center for Food & Environment site.
by Pamela Koch of Teachers' College of her work with the effectiveness of Cookshop (the brainchild of Toni Liquori) and improving healthy food consumption of kids in school.
Developed by Drs. David and Catherine Katz at Yale University, this nutrition education curriculum will teach elementary school students how to read food labels and detect marketing deceptions while simultaneously teach them to identify and choose healthy foods. The information can be taught using a "train the trainer" model, where high school students learn how to teach younger kids. It's free - all you have to pay for is shipping & handling.
The federal Child and Adult Care Food Program has designed a curriculum for use in child care settings, but could be implemented anywhere. There are also health topics available in Spanish.
Here's a compilation of agriculture-based youth education resources on the website of GROW NYC, formerly the Council on the Environment of NYC (CENYC).
Lesson plans and resources on nutrition. In particular check out the lesson plans on sustainable diet for Grades 10-12.
Hunger Curricula Nutrition: A Global ViewThis book series is targeted for middle schoolers (10-14 year olds) and includes 5 textbooks: Nutrition & Politics, Nutrition & Poverty, Nutrition & Science, Nutrition & Society, Nutrition & You. If you can't immediately integrate this into your curriculum, please at least order a set for your school's library so you (and your supervisor) can check them out yourself. Check the website for more details and to order, or email me and I'll send you an order form.
Action Against Hunger: Hunger Guide to teach kids about world hungerAction Against Hunger is an international aid organization that fights hunger and poverty in impoverished countries. They have developed a curriculum to teach children about hunger, as well as a plan to participate in the organization's Race Against Hunger campaign. They have also listed out additional supplementary resources.
World Hunger Year - Kids Can Make a DifferenceHere is a program dedicated to teaching kids about hunger & poverty & what they can do about it.
Social Marketing for Nutrition and Physical ActivityCDC Social Marketing ResourcesUse social marketing to influence children's attitudes towards food and eating behaviors! Be sure to check out the Social Marketing for Nutrition and Physical Activity Web Course. Also click on my blog's "social marketing" tag for more information
More Child Nutrition Resources
Dr. Dolgoff's Weigh
Dr. Dolgoff's Child and Adolescent Weight Management Program uses a traffic-light based system to allow children to lose weight safely and easily. You can sign up for a free newsletter.
Healthy Kids ChallengeThis organization has great ideas for making the school day healthier for kids grades K-5. They also put out a weekly newsletter that you can subscribe to (Wednesday WOWS) (under the Resource Downloads tab).
Action for Healthy KidsHere's an organization working for improved nutrition and physical education programs for children. On the left-hand panel you can find a great nutrition education tools search engine ("Resources to Improve Schools"), descriptions of programs and toolkits, state-by-state action, and detailed reports.
See here for the most recent report of Progress or Promises.
Healthy Kids Healthy New York After-School InitiativeGovernor Paterson released this initiative and toolkit, which focuses on educating children on nutrition, physical activity, and limiting screen time and includes a self assessment instrument, implementation resources, and materials for parents. The toolkit can be downloaded here.
Super Kids NutritionAnswers about child nutrition from the experts...and much more!
The 12 Year Old's Guide to Ending Childhood ObesityThis is a great blog from a child's perspective! It could be quite influential since children relate better to other children. Natalie is on the Youth Advisory Board for the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, a joint initiative between the Clinton Foundation and the American Heart Association.
Here's President Bill Clinton's talk about the Alliance for a Healthier Generation.
This is the list of nutrition education materials I learned about in my Teaching Methods class last year – if I did not provide a link, you can Google it to find out more:5 pounds of fat model
Beef Council Education/Live Well
Bone health models
Choose Well Nutrition Lessons:
TeachFree and
Zip4TweensDairy Council Health Fair Kit
Dairy Council Lesson Plans/Chef Combo
Destination Heart Healthy Eating
Discovering Fruit/Vegetable Puppets
Fast Food Scorecards
Fat Test Tubes
Fat, Sugar, Sodium Cases
Food Safety Card Game
Food Safety with ThermyFruit/Veggie Produce Wheels
Fun with Broc and Roll
Fun with Food Safety Music CD (free; just pay for shipping & handling)
Glo Germ Kits
Go with the Whole Grain for Kids (K-5)
Met Life – the Real Deal Slides
MetLife Healthy Kids kit
Moo To You Video/DVD
MyPyramid Popups/Pocket Pals (K-5)
MyPyramid Pursuit Game
NoteNiks Fruit/Vegetable Games CD
Nutrition Dice GameNutrition Jeopardy DVD
Portion Size KitSetting Up for Success in Nutrition Ed
Small Steps to Health DVD
Smart Fruit/Veggie Songs CD
The Portion Doctor
Weight Management Ball ($10)
Max’s Magical Delivery DVD
Powerful Bones Powerful GirlsFood Champs Smart Foods Rock
This is a nutrition curriculum for 2nd-3rd graders developed by Karen Ensle EdD, RD, FADA, CFCS of Rutgers Cooperative Extension. It comes as a CD with all of the handouts and curriculum written out as Word documents. For more information, email me and I'll send you a PowerPoint about it. Cost $20.00
To obtain, contact Karen Ensle:
Phone: (908) 654-9854 x 2234
Fax: (908) 654-9818
Email: ensle@aesop.rutgers.edu
RecipesHere are some child-friendly recipe pages from the Healthy Kids Challenge Newsletter:
Wheat Foods CouncilFruits & Veggies More Matters:
"Top 10 Fruit Snacks for Kids" and
"Get Smart! Entertaining"The next few are great resources for not only improving nutrition in schools, but also making your school more environment-friendly:Nourishing the Nation One Tray at a TimeGreat background information on "farm to school" initiatives in the Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act
Center for Ecoliteracy - Rethinking School Lunch GuideTools & creative solutions for improving school lunch programs, academic performance, ecological knowledge, and the well-being of children
Cooper, Ann and Holmes, Lisa M. "
Lunch Lessons: Changing the Way We Feed Our Children." New York: HarperCollins; 2006.
Ann Cooper is a phenomenal school foodservice director and chef who shares her expertise in how to revamp school food (including recipes!). She has completely changed the Berkeley Unified School District's system in California, where she has worked since 2005. She has collaborated with the Center for Ecoliteracy and other hotshots like Marion Nestle from NYU and Margo Wootan from CSPI to develop the
Center for Ecoliteracy's Model Wellness Policy Guide (available at the end of the book and also available here)
. The guide provides language and instructions for developing a wellness policy for school districts (which are actually mandated as of 2006 through the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004).
F is for French FryAnother similarly excellent school food website. This one is by Deborah Lehmann, a student at Brown University studying economics and public policy.
Better School FoodResources for raising the connection between food and children's health, behavior, and learning, and the blog of Dr. Susan Rubin. Contact Dr. Susan Rubin for more information or check out the
Facebook group page.NY FarmsExhaustive list of farm to school programs and resources all across the country:
Sustainable TableThere is a wealth of information on this website, from teacher resources to the interactive "Meatrix" to ideas on school gardens. The focus here is more on educating about conventional vs. sustainable farming, and ways to eat in a way that doesn't compromise the planet. You can find materials for just about any age group on this website, all the way up through high school.
S'Cool FoodThis website will give you some ideas of how communities in Santa Barbara, California are integrating sustainability into their school food.
Healthy School MealsA new initiative in Muskegon County, Michigan, where the plan is for 100% of the food served in schools to be from local, organic producers.
Oklahoma Farm to SchoolBring Nutrition Into the School System!!! (Facebook group)
Here are a few for increasing kids' physical activity:50 States in 50 DaysMotivating kids to become physically active while providing a website where they can track their progress. Geared towards ~8th grade
National Wildlife Federation - Green HourEncouraging children to be physically active while engaging with the natural world, with ideas for outdoor exploration. Kids any age can play outside!
"Take a Child Outside"Similar to above - encouraging children to go outside while providing activity ideas. Program partners are located all over the US but most concentrated in North Carolina.
The President's ChallengePhysical activity for all ages.
SPARKSPARK is a nationally recognized program that the NYC Department of Health encourages schools to use with children, particularly if the school has limited space for kids to participate in physical activity. It is a way to get kids moving during the school day, sometimes without even having to leave the classroom.
The next list was compiled by Sharon Salomon, a Registered Dietitian from Arizona:Resources for Parents and Educators
Success with School Gardens bookWestern Growers Association Arizona School Garden Teacher Training ProgramPartnership for Plant Based LearningAmerican Horticulture Society Youth Gardening
