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Jazzy Food and Nutrition Bulletin Board Ideas

Division of Nutrition Assistance

School Lunch is for Every Body

Directions for Design
Four different silhouettes of boys and girls are depicted engaged in various activities that require different levels of energy.

Suggested Materials

White background, red figures and letters, or
Royal blue background, white figures and letters, or
Bright yellow background, black figures and letters are possible good combinations.

Learning Activities
Background information: The school lunch program is designed to provide students with 1/3 of the Recommended Daily Allowances (RDAs) of calories, protein, and selected vitamins and minerals. This provision means that the levels are set for the students needing calories in the higher range. The school lunch program has adjusted the portion sizes for the various age groups. However, within each age group, physically active students with large frames need the most calories. Inactive students who have small frames need the least. Obesity is a major concern in the United States. To encourage healthful eating habits among students, review these tips.

1. What are the ins and outs of school lunch?
What is "in"?

Taking a bite of every food selected.
Eating a variety of foods offered through the school lunch program.
Listening to internal hunger cues. Don’t let the portion served determine how much to eat. Stop halfway through the meal and ask yourself, "Am I full?"
Eating regular meals. Eating school lunch and making wise snack choices keeps hunger at bay and reduces the chances of overeating or binge eating.
Selecting more fruits and vegetables. Those foods usually are low in calories and high in nutrients, which is a plus for anyone!
Having adequate time for lunch. Take time to eat lunch and savor the flavor of foods. The brain has more time to realize how foods taste. Scheduled lunch breaks and multiple serving lines give students at least 20 minutes to eat their lunch after receiving their trays.
Enjoying a favorite food. Even if the food is high in calories, eating the food in smaller amounts and less frequently is better than avoiding the food until you crave it to the point of overeating. So pizza is okay, if it is eaten with a fresh fruit and skim (fat-free) milk.
Visiting quietly with friends at mealtime. Mealtime should be a time to relax and enjoy being with friends.

What is "out"?

The "clean plate club"
Overeating
Skipping meals
Foods of minimal nutritional value (junk foods)
Eating on the run
Long cafeteria lines
Eating the same food daily. Eating a hamburger, French fries, and a lettuce and tomato salad every day is dull.
Dieting. Meal habits need to be developed for a lifetime. Fad diets and special diet foods don’t work. Overweight, young children who are growing should maintain their weight as they grow taller.

2. Select foods to meet your energy needs.
Need all of your calories? Select and eat all five food items offered, including whole milk and dessert. During training, athletes may need extra sale items to meet their energy needs. Schools usually do not offer seconds on milk and single items, in order to keep their meal costs low.

Need fewer calories? Use the offer vs. serve program to select foods containing fewer calories and to reduce the amount of food on the plate.

Review school lunch menus for the week. Use the nutrient analysis if available. Select meals from the food items available for a large, physically active student, for students who are not as active or large and need fewer calories, and for students who are trying to maintain their weight.

3. Start a Nutrition Advisory Council (NAC).
Work with the school food service manager or parish/city supervisor to establish a NAC for the students. The primary purpose of NAC is to educate students about the importance of good nutrition. Through such a group, students gain an appreciation of the total scope of school food service and can give their input to the school food service program.

4. Build a salad.
Some salads are higher in calories and fat than others. Is the salad your main meal or a side item? Ask students to work individually or in teams to build either a 1000-calorie or a 100-calorie salad. Note that calories can add up quickly in a salad, if lots of cheese and salad dressings are used. Tuna and pasta salads, made with mayonnaise, provide extra calories. Using the chart from the appendix to build a salad, instruct students to calculate the total calories in their salads.

Ask the following questions:

Students who are trying to maintain their weight should select more of which food items from a salad bar? Less of which food items?
Does the salad provide foods from all of the food groups?
How could active students, who need lots of calories, make a meal from a salad bar?

For more bulletin board ideas:
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