It is an exciting time for kids to get creative with nutrition! Last week, the top kid chefs from the 2015 Healthy Lunchtime Challenge were announced, and students across the country are Cooking up Change and getting connected to school food. The CheckOut MyPlate Video Search provided another opportunity for kids to showcase their creative thoughts and ideas about food and health.
The video search was created and implemented by a group of MyPlate National Strategic Partners to help educate and empower children to take healthy eating and physical activity into their own hands and bring it to life via video. Parents and teachers of kids ages 2-18 in three age groups: (2-10, 11-13, and 14-18) were challenged to create a 60 second video demonstrating a MyPlate inspired healthy eating message and a physical activity tip. Videos were accepted March 9 through April 30, 2015. The video search resulted in over 100 submissions featuring kids across America. From the videos submitted it was clear that food and physical activity can be a fun topic for kids.
The sponsoring organizations, Gerber Products Company, Fresh Baby, Canned Food Alliance, and USA Rice, and promotional sponsors, Chop Chop Magazine and School Nutrition Association, say it was an easy decision to collaborate and select MyPlate as the focus of the video search:
“We all want to feel our best each day, and making healthy choices makes you feel better. Using MyPlate makes it easy to understand and include all the food groups into one’s daily diet. Making sure we teach kids to eat a rainbow of colors, get lots of activity each day, and drink water to quench thirst is a fantastic way to live a happy healthy life! It works for everyone!” Fresh Baby
“It created an opportunity for partners to come together to help educate and empower children about healthy eating. MyPlate is a practical, relatable way for parents and their kids to understand what a healthy plate looks like and how food groups can easily be incorporated into meals.” Gerber Products Company
On June 12th the winning entries were announced on www.CheckOutMyPlate.com. We are excited to share the first place winning videos and a glimpse of what’s inside.
Ages 2-10: Featuring Hamilton B., submitted by Rebecca B., “Hamilton’s MyPlate Video”
Creating healthy recipes in the kitchen is fun. It's easy to add all the food groups to a meal. Eat healthy and add lots of water to your day and you will have energy to play! It's fun to create your own healthy recipes and add all the food groups to your meal. Eating like this and drinking lots of water will give you energy to play your favorite activity!
Ages 11-13: Featuring The Banana Boyz, “Check Out MyPlate by The Banana Boyz”
Follow the MyPlate guidelines and turn healthy eating into a fun daily routine - not a chore! Turn healthy foods into fun, appealing, and nutritious treats!
Ages 14-18: Featuring Amherst Steele High School, Medical Health Tech Class of 2015, submitted by Kim H. “Lunch Line Flow!”
Eating healthy is easy at school. Getting physically fit with your friends is fun. Eat healthy at school!
Second place winning entries: (ages 2-10) Featuring Kendall & Isabelle, “MyPlate Rap!”, submitted by Marci H.; (ages 11-13) Featuring Mr. G’s Class, Marshall Middle School, San Diego, CA. “My Food Plate”, submitted by Ryan G.; (ages 14-18) Featuring Dakota H., David W., Jonathan P. & Josh F., submitted by Shannon S. “MyPlate Video Health News”.
Third place winning entries: (ages 2-10) Featuring Ava L., submitted by Margaret L. “Confessions of a Reformed Picky Eater”; (ages 11-13) Featuring Trinity W., Texas, submitted by Kera W. “Take-A-Long Taco”; (ages 14-18) Featuring Mehmaz T., submitted by MZ T. “Check Out MZ’s Plate”.
Congratulations to all winners, finalists, and entrants! Your enthusiasm to lead a healthy lifestyle following MyPlate messages inspires us! We encourage everyone to view all the creative entries at www.CheckOutMyPlate.com.
CNPP would like to thank the sponsors for showing America that it is possible to make healthy eating choices and have fun at the same time with MyPlate!