The nutrition services department in the Milton Public Schools District is dedicated to increasing healthy habits and lifelong nutrition practices in their students.

Milton Public Schools Wellness Policy states that it strives to provide a healthy environment for learning about positive dietary and lifestyle practices, and discourages practices that promote unhealthy activities. Through the Framingham State Coordinated Program in Dietetics, student dietitians are able to visit multiple schools within the district in order to provide the nutrition education that is stipulated by the district’s wellness policy. On November 18, 2019, Ashley Llewellyn visited Glover Elementary School to teach 3^rd grade students about MyPlate. During this Food Group Hustle lesson, the students learned the basic health benefits of each food group.

They also learned how to utilize the portion sizes given on the MyPlate image in order to monitor their intake of each food group during mealtime. They did this by using images of different food items and as a group they made a balanced meal using the images they were given. It was emphasized that they do not need to have all five food groups at every meal, but that they should strive to have at least three especially fruits and vegetables.

For more information on how to educate children on MyPlate and the five food groups in schools, please visit the K-12 lesson page of the JSI Resource Center.

Submitted by: Ashley Llewellyn, FSU Food and Nutrition graduate student in the Coordinated Program in Dietetics.