Discovering the Food System Lesson 1: Food and You

Home • Division of Nutritional   Sciences • Department of   Horticulture • Acknowledgements

Printer-friendly .pdf version of this lesson Summary Today we face an array of food choices in our supermarkets, school cafeterias, and homes. Because of the importance of establishing healthy eating habits at an early age, we are never too young to need a good understanding of how what we eat impacts our nutrition and health. Eating is also a very real way that knowingly or not, we connect with our food system - several times each day! Food and You makes connections between the foods we eat, our health, and the food system. This lesson introduces the U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, and the national nutrition education tool that implements these guidelines - the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Guide Pyramid. Other food guides have been developed for specific places, people and goals. For example, the Northeast Regional Food Guide (NERFG) is designed to promote healthful diets from foods grown and processed in the Northeast region of the United States. In this lesson, we will analyze the content and meaning of these important resources in terms of diet and health. We will also compare and contrast the U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the USDA Food Pyramid with the NERFG to identify the differences and similarities between national and regional food guides. We will learn how seasons affect the availability of certain foods in our area and what different forms foods can take on the supermarket shelf. Completing the Lunch Laboratory will teach us how to design a balanced, local and seasonal menu using our school or home lunch menu, or the Discovering the Food System Café menu provided. Finally, the Food for Thought Journal for this lesson will help us reflect on our own daily food choices. Learning Objectives Upon completion of this lesson, we should be able to: Use the USDA Food Pyramid to identify the food groups, the proper number of daily servings from each group and how to choose a healthy diet. Describe the similarities and differences between the USDA Food Pyramid and the Northeast Regional Food Guide. Identify examples of seasonal differences in produce availability in the Northeast Identify the different forms in which food is available in the supermarket. Recognize that other forms of the food guide are used in other parts of the world. Key Concepts Nutrition Food Guide Food Group Dietary Guidelines Seasonal Availability Food Choices Food Forms - processing and preservation Plant Foods Animal Foods Activities See Printer-friendly .pdf version of this lesson for complete actvities, background information, handouts, etc. The Power of Pyramids There's a Reason for the Season The School Lunch Laboratory Food for Thought Journal Websites used in this lesson: USDA Food Pyramid Northeast Regional Food Guide Dietary Guidelines for Americans Seasonal Produce Lists Oldways Historical Food Guides Background and Development U.S. Department of Agriculture