Nutrition is a key element in a child’s growth and development, and teaching children about healthy food choices is essential for their well-being. This supplement offers a range of engaging lessons, storybooks, and activities designed for elementary students (K-6), making it easy for educators and caregivers to introduce concepts about food, nutrition, and safety.
Each resource is crafted to provide fun, hands-on learning opportunities that promote an understanding of the importance of nutrition, food safety, and cultural diversity in food. Whether it’s through interactive games, stories, or recipe-based learning, children will explore a world of healthy eating and the journey food takes from farm to table.
Let’s Do Pizza
Kids love pizza! With “Let’s Do Pizza,” you can highlight the nutritional benefits of pizza in a fun and interactive lesson. This engaging session uses music, literature, and hands-on activities to teach kids about nutrition. Designed to be fun and easy, this 30-minute lesson requires minimal preparation, making it ideal for educators looking for a quick and effective way to engage children.
Audience: Child Care, Early Elementary
Format: Nutrition Lesson Package
Little Red Hen Helpers
In this lesson, kids will explore the nutritional benefits of bread while learning about wheat farming—from how wheat is grown to how it’s processed into food. Through stories and hands-on activities, children will also discover the value of teamwork. This 30-minute lesson is easy to implement, with all necessary materials included.
Audience: Child Care, Early Elementary
Format: Nutrition Lesson Package
Math Snacks: Problem-solving Fun with Food Manipulatives (1999)
Motivate students with math lessons that combine real-life problem-solving with food! This approach engages even the most difficult students, as they learn to solve worthwhile problems and enjoy a snack afterward. This book offers 144 pages of food-related math lessons that make learning practical and tasty.
Audience: Early Elementary
Format: 144-Page Book
Milk From Cow to Carton
Take children on a fascinating journey from the farm to their breakfast table! This storybook offers lively, factual text and full-color illustrations that explain how cows are milked and how milk is processed. It’s an educational adventure kids will love.
Audience: Child Care, Early Elementary
Format: Storybook
Multicultural Snacks (1995)
Food is a universal experience that brings people together. This book helps children learn about different cultures by exploring foods from around the world. With recipes and hands-on activities, kids will see, touch, smell, and taste foods from diverse backgrounds, fostering an appreciation for cultural diversity.
Audience: Child Care, Elementary, Parents
Format: 47-Page Recipe Book
Oliver’s Fruit Salad (1998)
Join Oliver and his grandparents for a delightful adventure involving fruit salad! This humorous story with vibrant illustrations educates and entertains young readers, making them excited about eating healthy.
Audience: Child Care, Early Elementary
Format: Storybook
Oliver’s Vegetables (1995)
In this engaging story, Oliver visits his grandfather and learns that there’s more to vegetables than just French fries. With charming illustrations and a fun narrative, this book introduces kids to the joys of eating and growing vegetables.
Audience: Child Care, Early Elementary
Format: Storybook
Operation Food Safety: Food Safety Curriculum (Pre-Kindergarten – Grade 4) (1998)
Developed through a public-private partnership, “Operation Food Safety” teaches children about the importance of food safety. With activity sheets and fun lessons, kids learn how to ensure that the food they eat is safe.
Audience: Elementary, Child Care
Format: Lesson Plans and Activities
A Perky Little Pumpkin (1990)
This delightful Halloween story will entertain children ages 3-7 as they follow the adventures of a lively pumpkin. With easy-to-read text, this storybook is perfect for young readers.
Audience: Child Care, Early Elementary
Format: Storybook
Prudence’s Book of Food
Introduce kids to healthy eating habits with “Prudence’s Book of Food.” This charming storybook uses clever storytelling to help children understand the importance of nutritious food choices.
Audience: Child Care, Early Elementary
Format: Storybook
Pyramid Café (1998)
“Pyramid Café” is an interactive nutrition program designed for primary grade children. Through the story of five friends who open a restaurant, kids learn about good eating habits and the Food Guide Pyramid. The program is engaging, age-appropriate, and easy to teach.
Audience: Early Elementary
Format: Lesson Plans, Teacher’s Guide, Reproducibles
Roads to Breakfast Game (1996)
This fun Dairy Council game teaches children the importance of breakfast as they travel along the road of good nutrition. The game includes a laminated mat, cars, dice, and questions that vary in difficulty for different age groups.
Audience: Elementary
Format: Game
Super Snacks (1992)
“Super Snacks” offers easy-to-prepare recipes using common ingredients, with no added sugars or artificial sweeteners. Each recipe is seasonally appropriate, making snack time a learning experience for young children.
Audience: Child Care, Elementary, Parents
Format: 47-Page Recipe Book
Teaching Snacks (1994)
Turn snack time into a learning experience with the fun and educational recipes in “Teaching Snacks.” This book includes ideas for extending learning during snack preparation, while teaching kids about good hygiene and food safety.
Audience: Child Care, Elementary, Parents
Format: 47-Page Recipe Book
Terrific Topics in Food and Nutrition (1996)
With 32 hands-on activities, “Terrific Topics in Food and Nutrition” connects nutrition to core curriculum areas such as language arts, math, science, music, and more. The activities are designed to be engaging and easy to implement.
Audience: Child Care, Early Elementary
Format: 64-Page Book
Tomatoes
Dive into the world of tomatoes with this informative book! Kids will learn everything from the origins of tomatoes to how they are grown and prepared. It also includes nutrition information and kid-friendly recipes.
Audience: Child Care, Early Elementary
Format: 48-Page Book
The Tortilla Factory/La Tortilleria
This beautifully written and illustrated book explains the process of how a corn seed becomes a tortilla. The story follows the journey from farm to table, making it both educational and engaging for young readers.
Audience: Child Care, Early Elementary
Format: 28-Page Book (Available in English and Spanish)
Travel the World Cookbook (1996)
“Travel the World Cookbook” introduces children to 60 international recipes. Each recipe includes preparation instructions, kitchen tools needed, and fun facts about the food and its cultural significance.
Audience: Elementary, Parents
Format: 136-Page Book
The Ugly Vegetables (1999)
This heartwarming story by Grace Lin tells the tale of a little girl who grows “ugly” vegetables with her mother. As harvest time comes, she learns the value of these vegetables and discovers the magic hidden in the garden.
Audience: Child Care, Early Elementary
Format: Storybook
Vegetable Friends (1996)
“Vegetable Friends” introduces children to six vegetable characters—potato, broccoli, mushroom, celery, tomato, and corn—through delightful stories that teach kids about nutrition.
Audience: Child Care, Early Elementary
Format: Storybook
Vegetable Party
Kids will have fun learning about the nutritional benefits of vegetables through music, stories, and hands-on activities. This lesson package provides a complete, easy-to-teach 30-minute session, ideal for early learners.
Audience: Child Care, Early Elementary
Format: Nutrition Lesson Package
Vegetables, Vegetables (1994)
This science book introduces young readers to vegetable plants, explaining how they are grown, harvested, and prepared. With full-color photos and easy-to-read facts, it’s perfect for early learners.
Audience: Child Care, Early Elementary
Format: 32-Page Book
Vitamins and Minerals (1998)
This book uses full-color photos and easy-to-understand text to explain the importance of vitamins and minerals to young readers. It’s designed for children ages 7-9 and is packed with fun facts.
Audience: Early Elementary
Format: 48-Page Book
We Can Eat the Plants
“We Can Eat the Plants” is a simple, short story that helps early readers understand the parts of plants we eat. It’s an excellent resource for teaching children about plant-based foods.
Audience: Child Care, Early Elementary
Format: Storybook
What’s For Lunch (1998)
This science series takes children on a global food journey. Each book focuses on a specific food, from peanuts to potatoes, explaining how they are grown, made, and eaten. With vibrant photos and engaging text, the series fosters early interest in food education.
Audience: Child Care, Early Elementary
Format: 10 Books, 32 Pages Each
Wheat
Learn all about wheat in this educational book! From growing and harvesting wheat to milling it into products for the market, this book includes all the facts. Plus, it features a kid-friendly recipe.
Audience: Child Care, Early Elementary
Format: 48-Page Book
The World is a Supermarket
In “The World is a Supermarket,” children learn about foods grown and sold around the world through a short, engaging story. It’s perfect for early elementary students curious about global food cultures.
Audience: Child Care, Early Elementary
Format: Storybook