Wellness Principle: Promising Practice: Aim:
Nutrition Education & Health Education Taste Testing Events Taste testing events can help reinforce healthy eating messages and allow students to experience new and novel foods. New foods enthusiastically supported by students and faculty can be integrated into ongoing meal/snack venue in the school environment.
Taste Testing Events
1. The goal is for students to try and enjoy foods that they’ve never tried before. Work with a team of students and school nutrition staff to decide on a list of foods to include in the taste testing events.
Getting Started How To’s :
2. Request healthy food samples from local grocery stores and businesses. Feature nutrient-rich foods, especially fruits, vegetables, whole grains. 3. Advertise the taste testing event to your entire student body. Put up posters in high traffic areas, make PA announcements, use the school website and distribute flyers. 4. Get input from students. Let students vote up or down on the item being taste tested. Provide green (up) and red (down) paper squares your classmates can place in a bag to indicate their decision on the sample foods. Tally and share results after the taste test. 5. Let teachers taste test too. Invite school faculty and staff to taste testing events. Let them know how the taste test supports your school’s wellness policy and practices. 6. Provide nutrition information. During taste testing, provide students with nutrition information and trivia handouts. Ask classroom teachers to integrate nutrition education lessons on taste test days to encourage participation. 7. Serve good-sized samples – and make sure you have plenty to go around.
Try to have plenty of the new, exciting foods on hand. For example, three ounces of a new beverage is better than one ounce. A quarter of a sandwich is better than just one bite. 8. Offer taste testing events in a way that makes sense for your school. Have a special table inside/outside of the cafeteria or on a cart and go mobile. Be sure to locate where large numbers of students travel throughout the day. 9. Make the taste testing events fun and inviting. In addition to making your food samples tasty and appealing, think creatively about other ways to make the taste test experience fun. Play music, place signs and posters throughout the school, use balloons, ask the servers to wear costumes or give away gifts and prizes. 10. Reinforce messages about making better food choices. Take advantage of the taste tests as a time to communicate why the featured foods are nutritious choices. Use table tents with nutritional messages, put up posters or distribute stickers or other promotional items with key messages. 11. Play it safe. Make sure anyone involved with preparing and serving food at your taste testing event meets your school’s food safety standards. Work with your School Nutrition Manager to ensure safe practices.
Keys to Success:
Think about long-term impact of your taste tests. If the goal is to improve eating habits, plan for long-term success. Work with your School Nutrition Manager to think creatively about how you can make the new foods part of the ongoing meal service.
More Information:
Fuel Up to Play 60 Action for Healthy Kids Game On! The Wellness Challenge
References:
Action for Healthy Kids Game On! The Wellness Challenge Fuel Up to Play 60
