The best advice for healthy eating is more simple than most people think. Some important aspects include: eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables and whole grains (like whole wheat, oats, brown rice, and popcorn), avoiding foods with trans fats, drinking more water, and limiting intake of sugary drinks. Teaching kids about healthy eating, tips for healthy snacks and meals, and improving access to healthy foods in different environments through policy are critical ways to make sure kids are eating healthier.
Curricula & Trainings
Eat Well & Keep Moving
Cheung LWY, Dart H, Kalin S, Otis B, Gortmaker SL. Eat Well & Keep Moving: An Interdisciplinary Elementary Curriculum Nutrition and Physical Activity (Third Edition). Human Kinetics, Champaign, Illinois, 2016.
Newsletter Handouts
Newsletter handouts to send home (educators can send home these sample newsletters to inform parents and complement the Eat Well & Keep Moving lesson topic being taught in the classroom). Newsletter handouts related to healthy eating:
– Fats in Foods
– Fruits and Veggies
– Stay Cool
– Be Sugar Smart
– Super Snacks
– Tune Out the TV
– Whole Grains
Trainings
Training Workshop for Food Service Staff
Six training modules for food service staff provide an overview of the Eat Well & Keep Moving program, focusing on the role of food services in making the link between classroom and cafeteria. An additional lunch break demonstrates some cafeteria dishes.
Training Workshop for Teachers
Six training sessions provide teachers with an overview of the Eat Well & Keep Moving program as well as a review of the curriculum’s classroom lessons. The training workshop is designed to last a total of six hours.
Food & Fun After School
Full, 600-page Food & Fun After School curriculum
This curriculum includes all units, planning tools, recipes, and parent materials. Units related to healthy eating:
– Unit 1: Fruits and Vegetables—Take a Bite!
– Unit 3: Sugar Sweetened Drinks—Be Sugar Smart!
– Unit 4: Healthy and Unhealthy Fats—Go For the Good!
– Unit 5: Whole Grains—Go for Whole Grains!
– Unit 6: Healthy Snacking—Super Snacks!
– Unit 7: Fruits and Vegetables—Mix It Up!
– Unit 8: Reduce TV Viewing—Tune Out the TV!
– Unit 10: Hydration—Be Active, Stay Cool!
– Unit 11: Food & Fun Finale!
Staff Training
Food & Fun After School has several training strategies to help afterschool staff learn about and implement the curriculum, including training videos.
Parent Handouts
These handouts – available in English, Spanish, and Chinese – include topic area information and tips for success for parents to create healthier environments for their children. Parent handouts related to healthy eating:
– Fruits and Veggies
– Whole Grains
– Healthy Fats
– Super Snacks
– Take Control of TV
– Hydration
Learn more about Food & Fun After School here.
Planet Health
Citation: Carter J, Wiecha JL, Peterson KE, Nobrega S, Gortmaker SL. Planet Health: An Interdisciplinary Curriculum for Teaching Middle School Nutrition and Physical Activity (Second Edition). Champaign, Illinois: Human Kinetics; 2007.
Learn more about Planet Health here.
Fact Sheets
Out-of-School Nutrition and Physical Activity (OSNAP) Initiative
Tip Sheets
These tip sheets, informed by out-of-school/afterschool program experiences, can help afterschool and other out-of-school-time programs make sustainable changes to program practices. They are practical guides designed to simplify healthy changes and describe promising practices for out-of-school/afterschool staff. OSNAP tip sheets related to healthy eating:
– Fruits & Vegetables
– Turn Off that Screen!
– Say “No” to Trans Fat!
– Whole Grains
– Water, Water Everywhere!
– Sugar-Sweetened Beverages
– Healthy Staff, Healthy Kids!
Learn more about OSNAP here.
Tools & Guides
Childhood Obesity Intervention Cost-Effectiveness Study (CHOICES) Project
>>Featured resource:
Strategy Profile: Fast-Food Restaurant Calorie Labeling
Fast-food restaurant calorie labeling requires fast-food chain restaurants with 20 or more locations to list calories for standard menu items on menu boards along with succinct statements concerning suggested daily caloric intake. This profile describes the estimated benefits, activities, resources, and leadership needed to implement this strategy, which can be useful for planning and prioritization purposes.
Learn more about the CHOICES Project here and browse more tools & guides related to healthy eating in the CHOICES Resource Library.
Food & Fun & Family
A Guide to Help Busy Families Develop Healthier Habits at Home
This guide contains lots tips and ideas for meals and activities that are healthy and fun for the whole family.
Recipe Packet
This recipe packet contains fun, healthy, and inexpensive recipes that are quick to prepare for both snack and dinner time.
Learn more about Food & Fun here.
Out-of-School Nutrition and Physical Activity (OSNAP) Initiative
Fast Maps
These tools are designed to help out-of-school/afterschool program staff overcome systematic challenges that go beyond the site level. For example, addressing issues of limited space for physical activity in out-of-school/afterschool programs might involve meeting with school principals or partnering with nearby community spaces. OSNAP Fast Maps related to healthy eating:
– Improving Fruit & Vegetable Consumption
– Eliminating Trans Fats
– Reducing Screen Time
– Improving Water Consumption
– Promoting Whole Grains
– Eliminating Sugary Drinks from Snacks Served
Practice Assessment Tool
This form can help out-of-school/afterschool program staff see where their program is currently at regarding the OSNAP standards. This form will help identify areas an organization can take action on to improve the health of kids.
Learn more about OSNAP here.
Research Briefs & Reports
Massachusetts CHOICES (MA-CHOICES) Project
Research Brief: Boston, MA: Creating Healthier Afterschool Environments (OSNAP)
–View as an accessible webpage
–Download as a PDF
Learn more about the MA-CHOICES project here.
Childhood Obesity Intervention Cost-Effectiveness Study (CHOICES) Project
>>Featured resource:
Research Brief: Supporting Healthy Food and Beverage Choices in Afterschool Programs in Allegheny County, PA
This brief summarizes a CHOICES Learning Collaborative Partnership model examining the potential impacts of a healthy snack policy in afterschool programs that already provide snacks through the National School Lunch Program or the Child and Adult Care Food Program.
Learn more about the CHOICES Project here and browse more research briefs & reports related to healthy eating in the CHOICES Resource Library.
External Resources
The Nutrition Source, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
– Healthy Eating Plate
– Kid’s Healthy Eating Plate
– What Should I Eat
Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity (DNPAO), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
– Nutrition and Obesity Policy Research and Evaluation Network (NOPREN)
Team Nutrition, United States Department of Food and Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service
Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act, USDA Food and Nutrition Service
Last updated: April 17, 2024