March is Nutrition Month
"Eat Your Fruits and Vegetables" Program
Parents, be a healthy role model.  Food shop with your child(ren) and point out healthy alternatives, read Nutrition Facts labels, and try a variety of fruits and vegetables that are "the colors of the rainbow".  Try some new recipes from websites, eat some new items yourself, have healthy  snacks easily accessible and talk to your child(ren) about healthy eating!  This is Nutrition Month for EVERYONE!
USDA Guidance:
"Encourage children to eat vegetables and fruits by making it fun.   Provide healthy ingredients and let kids help with preparation, based on their age and skills.  Kids may try foods they avoided in the past if they helped make them."

What is the daily goal of the program?

Students have the opportunity to earn a grape charm by eating 2 fruits and 2 vegetables a day. Parents should initial each day on the Tally Sheet to verify that their child participated.  Daily try to eat a variety of colors for your fruits and vegetables by picking "colors of the rainbow".  Additional daily fruits/vegetables consumed do  not carry over for the count of the next day BUT IT IS STILL GOOD FOR YOU! 

How does my child(ren) earn a grapevine tag?

Reach your daily goal and return the completed and legible Tally Sheet to your homeroom teacher.  Only one tag per student can be earned.

What is a Serving Size?
courtesy of Sue Maume, DTR, ACE, CPT, Nutrition Department Manager at  Jim White Fitness & Nutrition Studios, Partners in Education
Children, over age 6 years, should have an average of 3 - 5 servings of foods from the Vegetable Group, and 2 - 4 servings from the Fruit Group.  This is a general guideline and does not have to be met daily but rather an average over a period of one or two weeks. 
Servings from the Vegetable Group: 1 cup of raw or 1/2 cup of cooked or chopped raw vegetables


Servings from the Fruit Group: 1 small fruit (apple, banana, orange, etc): 1/2 cup of chopped, cooked or canned fruit (unsweetened), 1/2 cup of 100% fruit juice.
Sue's favorite websites for children's nutrition that provide more information, recipes and games/activities:
http://www.eatright.org/kids/
http://www.choosemyplate.gov/children-over-five.html
http://www.superkidsnutrition.com/
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