Two New Websites with Materials for Students and Caregivers about Healthy Eating and Activity
This month the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) launched two new websites as part of its Eat Smart. Play Hard.™ campaign. The sites will help caregivers and children learn about balancing their food intake and activity levels, as well as have parents and other caregivers better understand the need for the new wellness policies and get them involved in teaching students about healthy lifestyles.
The Eat Smart. Play Hard.™ website for children includes interactive activities with the campaign mascot, Power Panther, which focus on eating moderate servings of healthy foods and fun ways to be physically active. Power Panther leads kids through a virtual community, exploring the Town Library, Theater, Fitness Center, Power Tunes Store, Post Office, Eat Smart Grill, Fun Times Arcade, and Travel Center. Behind each door in this neighborhood, kids learn healthy lifestyle skills through geography, music, reading, and science activities. The site is filled with songs, experiments, activity sheets, comics, clipart, worksheets, games, posters, e-cards, recipes, and other materials that help to form and reinforce healthy behaviors.
The second website targeting caregivers is Eat Smart. Play Hard.™ Healthy Lifestyle which provides parents and other caregivers information on healthy living, such as low cost menus and recipes that meet the new food guidelines. The site includes a calorie burner chart, the My Pyramid Tracker and the Eat Smart. Play Hard. Tracking Card.
Source: FNS website