Menu Planning Activity

Menu planning might sound easy, but can become much more difficult when having to meet guidelines to keep school meals healthy. The goal of this activity is to have groups of 2-3 students with the help of a staff member or staff members plan a school lunch menu for 1 week that meets all the requirements and has plenty of good, tasty meals.

Directions

1. Print off enough copies of the Lunch Meal Requirements sheet so each group can have 1 copy.

2. Print enough copies of the Lunch Menu Plan: Grades 6-8 form for each student and staff member to have a copy.

3. Have students and staff get into groups of 2-3 students and 1 or 2 staff members.

4. Present the Lunch Meal Requirements table to all the groups together. Be sure to explain some background on the requirement, each of the different food groups and give examples of each (including the different vegetable subgroups), why it is important to eat a variety of food, and how school lunch provides a complete, healthy meal because it follows these guidelines.

5. Complete the Lunch Menu Plan form. Ask students to fill in both foods they enjoy that currently appear on the school menu as well as new items they would like to see.

6. After filling out the forms, have each group share their menu plan.

Lunch Meal Requirements These are the USDA standards for each food group that school meals must meet.

Meal Component Amount of Food Per Week (Minimum per Day) Fruits (cups) 2.5 (0.5) Vegetables (cups) 3.75 (0.75)  Dark Green  0.5  Red/Orange  0.75  Beans/Peas  0.5  Starchy  0.5  Other  0.5 Additional Veg to reach total 1 Grains (oz eq) 8-10 Meat/Meat Alternatives (oz 9-10 eq) Fluid Milk (cups) 5 Other Specifications Daily Amount Based on the Average for a 5-Day Week Min-max calories (kcal) 600-700 Saturated Fat (% of total <10% calories) Sodium (mg) <710 Trans fat Label or Specifications must indicate 0 grams trans-fat per serving

Lunch Menu Plan: Grades 6-8

Component Weekly M Tuesday Wedn Thursday Friday Weekly Total o Requirement n d esday a y

2.5 cups

M o n Wedn Total Vegetables 3.75 cups Tuesday Thursday Friday Weekly Total d esday a y

Dark Green 0.5 cups

Red/Orange 0.75 cups

Beans/Peas 0.5 cups

0.5 cups

Additional 1 cups

M o n Wedn Tuesday Thursday Friday Weekly Total d esday 8-10 (oz eq) a y

M o n Wedn Tuesday Thursday Friday Weekly Total d esday a Meat/ Meat Alternative 9-10 (oz eq) y

M Tuesday Wedn Thursday Friday Weekly Total 5 cups o esday n d a y

M o n Wedn Tuesday Thursday Friday Weekly Total Extras / Condiments d esday a y