From the White House to my house (and maybe yours too) there is more talk about where our food comes from and how children and adults can make healthy choices about the food we eat. The new My Plate program put out by the US Department of Agriculture can help. It is not only designed to help individuals, but can be used by educators who are looking to enhance health lessons, compliment the Farm to School efforts of your food service, link science standards to real life experiences and help students think critically about the choices they make.

My Plate encourages consumers to be thoughtful about the foods that we eat. The guidelines state: make half of your plate fruits and vegetables, make at least half of our grains whole grains, meet your protein needs with a variety of foods, use fat-free or low fat milk, choose foods with low sodium content, reduce consumption of sugary drinks and enjoy your food, but eat less. The website provides a lot of information and resources about these guidelines including a page with "10 tips to a great plate" (www.choosemyplate.gov).

Adding more fruits and vegetables to our diets, can be a great launching pad for discussions about how those items are raised and where they come from. The produce aisles in supermarkets can easily provide a geography lesson, especially since a law was passed in 2009 that requires most produce to be labeled with its country of origin. Send your students on a scavenger hunt to see how many different countries are represented by the fruits and veggies in their supermarket. Introducing children to the vast array of fruits and vegetables available to us can certainly increase their awareness and consumption of these foods. As part of that lesson, don't forget to look at the fruits and vegetables that are raised in New Hampshire. Some larger stores are now stocking items which they label as "locally grown/raised". It's worth investigating their sources because "local" means different things to different people.

Of course the best way to learn about the source of food is to go directly to that source by visiting a farm stand or attending a farmers market where you can meet the producers and talk to them about how they raise their products. A lot of farm stands have closed for the winter, but more and more communities are holding winter farmers markets. As the demand for local food has grown, more New Hampshire farmers are using season-extending techniques such as high tunnels and green houses to grow greens and vegetables even when the ground outside is frozen solid. Also, there are plenty of crops such as winter squashes, potatoes, onions and other root crops that if stored properly can last well into the winter or even spring. So in addition to filling half a plate with fruits and veggies, maybe at least half of those could come from local farms.

Teaching children about dairy products, protein sources and grains can also provide opportunities to learn about farming. The dairy industry in our state has experienced some severe challenges over the years, but there are still 130 local farms milking cows and additional farms that raise goats for milk, and/or make cheese, yogurt and other dairy products. The Granite State Dairy Promotion (www.nhdairypromo.org) provides helpful information about the history of dairy (great to include in a fourth grade history lesson), nutritional information and activities for kids to help learn about the importance of dairy products.

Dairy and plants (beans and nuts) can provide some of our protein needs, but so can the many meat producers in our state. From beef, pork, chicken, turkey, lamb, and other more exotic sources such as red deer, buffalo and emu, New Hampshire farmers can help meet the My Plate goal of having a variety of protein sources. Though our coastline is small, New Hampshire also can provide some of its protein from locally harvested seafood. The local sources of protein are less likely to be processed or include added ingredients. Reducing consumption of processed meats is something the My Plate guidelines recommend.

The My Plate website provides educators with information and activities to help students become more aware of the role that food plays in their health. NH Agriculture in the Classroom can help make the connections between that food and the health of the land, community and people who produce it. Contact us to explore more ideas if you are interested.