CHOOSE

MY PLATE

Kelley Fitzsimmons
PPE 310: Health Literacy for Schools
Vance Miller
September 13, 2015

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Introduction

Students spend the majority of their days inside the classroom. That makes a
teachers role in the health and nutrition of students imperative. Choosemyplate.gov is a
tool that educators can use to make sure that students are not only receiving the correct
amount of nutrition and physical activity each day, but that their schools are providing for
the students. Using the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the National Standards for
School Meals, together, both teachers and students will be able to assure that their schools
are offering them substantial meals and food choices to promote healthier lifestyles for the
school body as a whole.

National Standard for School Meals

The rule requiring national school lunch programs to be in alignment with the

Dietary Guidelines for Americans states that there needs to be an increase in fruits,

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vegetables, and whole grains as well as a decrease in the amount of sodium, saturated fat,
and trans fats within school meals. There should also be fat-free and low-fat options
(Nutrition Standards, 2012). At Desert Ridge High School in Gilbert, Arizona their lunch
program is in alignment with these requirements, technically. If a student is inclined to be
healthy it is possible but it is much more accessible for the student who has no interest in
health. For breakfast they do have fresh fruit but besides that a students choices include a
breakfast burrito, muffins, donut, French toast sticks, or a cinnamon roll. Lunch is a little
more health conscious with offerings that include salads, wraps, chicken and brown rice,
and whole-wheat grain tortillas. However lunchroom staples including pizza,
cheeseburgers, French fries, chicken nuggets, and nachos still heavily dominating the
lunchroom.

On the Gilbert Public School Website there is a place where parents are able to fill

out applications for free and reduced lunch opportunities. All children in households
receiving benefits from food distribution programs or are on an Indian Reservation are
able to qualify. Foster children who are under the care of agencies or courts, homeless,
runaway, head start, and migrant children also qualify. For a child to receive a reduced
price on meals their household income has to be within the limits of the federal eligibility
income chart.

Dietary Guidelines for Americans
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans emphasizes three main core ideas: have a
balance between calories consumed and the amount of physical activity it takes to maintain
a managed weight, consume more foods with nutrients like fruits, vegetables, and whole-

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grains, and finally consume less sodium, saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, added sugars,
and refined grains. If your average student is eating breakfast and lunch as I had
demonstrated on the food tracker than they are not meeting the Dietary Guidelines for
Americans (2010). According to the food tracker, this student is not even half way to the
amount of grains (44%) that are suggested in one day and most of the grains they have
consumed have been refined. This student is also not getting enough dairy (65%) and is
substantially under when it comes to vegetables (23%). They have consumed 424 empty
calories and are almost at their entire allowance of calories (1360) by lunch. The only
positive statistics about this students breakfast and lunch was that they have received 92%
of their protein for the day and have largely succeeded the amount of fruit required
(115%).
It is also suggested that this student perform at least 150 minutes of physical
activity per week. With students only taking one period of physical education this is
impossible to complete within school. Not to mention most students are not even required
to take four years of physical education and with more and more physical education
programs being cut in the schools the amount of activity possible within the allotted school
time with continue to decrease.

School Lunch Improvement

Desert Ridge High School could easily make improvements to both their breakfast

and their lunch program to better help their students nutritional needs. Their breakfasts
only healthy offering is fruit. They could offer oatmeal or better whole grain cereals instead
of just Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Apple Jacks, and Frosted Flakes. Instead of just offering

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foods that are high in refined sugars like muffins, donuts, French toasts sticks, and
cinnamon rolls, they could offer foods that include vegetables or more protein like Greek
Yogurt.

For lunch, Desert Ridge needs to incorporate more whole grain options and less

food that is so greasy. The pizza that they have could be served on whole grain crust and
their chicken does not all have to be breaded. Instead of only offering French friends they
could also have a sweet potato fry option. Personally, I dont really see the nutritional value
in something like nachos so I do not believe that they should be serving that at all. Desert
Ridge could also develop a salad bar with more options instead of just having prepackaged
ones.

All of these changes would require minimal effort but the effects would produce

maximum rewards. If schools are not willing to change their food programs to meet the
needs to the students then they need to start allowing for more opportunities for the
students to be physically active within school time.

Reflection

This activity is extremely beneficial to both students and teachers as a whole. For

teachers, using the food tracker is useful in seeing just how nutritious the food being served
at their own school is. A teacher can see whether or not their school breakfast and lunches
are in alignment with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and if they are following the
National Standards for School Meals. After using the food tracker a teacher can be an
advocate for new menu items if their breakfasts and lunches are not up to par. A teacher
could also see just how much physically activity their students should be having compared

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to what they are eating and have activities where students get to be more active within the
classroom. It is part of a teachers job to promote positive eating habits and nutrition as
well as physical activity to their students and using the food tracker is an excellent way to
achieve that.

The food tracker is also a great way for students to see how the foods they are

eating fit into the nutrition that they are supposed to be receiving each day. Most students
do not think about what they are putting into their mouths and how it relates to them in
the long run. The food tracker could be a fun and interesting way to get students engaged in
their daily nutrition inside of the classroom. Students would be able to compare and
discuss the foods that they are consuming each day and which meals were better for being
what goals. The food tracker is a good way to see how food really does have a long-term
effect on their body and could help them become more aware in the future. If students see
that what is being served in schools is not nutritionally beneficial to them that could also be
a great way for students to make a change within the schools and they could contribute to
the foods that they do want.

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References
Dietary Guidelines for Americans. (2010, January). Retrieved September 9, 2015, from

http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2010.asp#overview

MyPlate. (n.d.). About us. Retrieved September 9, 2015, from

http://www.choosemyplate.gov/about.html
National School Lunch Program (NSLP). (2015). USDA. Retrieved on September 9, 2015,
from http://www.fns.usda.gov/nslp/national-school-lunch-program-nslp
Nutrition Standards in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs. (2012).

Federal Registrar, 77(17), 4088-4089. Retrieved September 9, 2015, from

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2012-01-26/pdf/2012-1010.pdf

September 2015 Desert Ridge High School Breakfast and Lunch Menu. (2015, September).
Retrieved September 9, 2015, from
http://gilbertschools.nutrislice.com/menu/desert-ridge

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