The document discusses a school's food literacy program that teaches students about nutrition in the classroom, dining commons, and at home. In the classroom, students participate in lessons, cooking activities, and taste tests integrated into the curriculum. In the dining commons, the school prepares mostly homemade and healthy meals, offers a salad bar, and sources local ingredients when possible. At home, the school communicates nutrition information to families through monthly menus, recipe cards, and their website. The goal is to educate students on making nutritious food choices and developing relationships with their food system.

1. Food Literacy
at
The Learning
Center!
A North Carolina
Charter School
Small Bites

2. We teach food literacy …
— In the classroom

3. We teach food literacy…
— In the Dining Commons

4. We teach food literacy…
— At Home

5. In the Classroom
— Stand-alone lessons or units on nutrition
First graders eat a
a healthy
“sunshine salad”
they made
themselves as part
of their MyPlate
unit

6. In the Classroom
— We are building a nutrition library of food and farm
related books.

7. In the Classroom
— Cooking and tasting activities integrated into the
curriculum
Fourth graders
participate in a “book
cook” after reading The
Memory Coat

8. In the Classroom
Eighth graders make bread as
part of a study of microbiology

9. In the Extended Classroom
Kindergarteners
make “stone soup”
over a fire in The
Outdoor Learning
Center

10. In the Extended Classroom
Students in grades 7 and 8 discuss a wide range of topics--
from anatomy to local food culture and history—as they
attend a local hog butchering.

11. In the Extended Classroom
Left: Students prepare
the greenhouse for fall
planting.
Right: Kids meet kids on
a farm field trip.

12. In the Dining Commons
— Our child nutrition staff prepares healthy meals,
mostly from scratch, every day.

13. In the Dining Commons
— A beautifully fresh salad bar is offered almost daily

14. In the Dining Commons
— We purchase local products when possible. Much of
our beef and pork is locally produced and we are
currently working toward purchasing local chicken
for next school year.

15. In the Dining Commons
— Dining monitors are involved in encouraging
students to make good food choices.

16. In the Dining Commons
— We hold special promotions to encourage
participation, such as National School Breakfast
Week shown below.

17. In the Dining Commons
— Healthy eating information is displayed on bulletin
boards, the serving line and the morning e-bulletin
board.

18. In The Dining Commons
— Signage assists students in making healthy food
choices

19. In the Dining Commons
— Our Early Bird Breakfast Club offers free breakfast to
all students.

20. In the Dining Commons
— We have recently begun doing taste tests aligned
with ASAP’s “get local@school” calendar.

21. More Taste Testing

22. In the Dining Commons
— Periodically, electives in food preparation are offered
to our middle school students. They are taught by
child nutrition staff.

23. At Home
— We strive to get the message into our students’
homes with our brightly colored monthly menus
which contain nutrition information and recipes.

24. At Home
— We send home recipe cards from taste tests and also
make them available in the school office.

25. At Home
— Our blog and school website contains information on
choosing and preparing healthy foods.

26. To learn more, please visit us at…
— Naturallygrownkids.org
— tlcgrowzone.org/blog/
— Email us at maryjo@naturallygrownkids.org
or debby@naturallygrownkids.org

27. Words of Inspiration
"I believe that every child
in this world needs to
have a relationship with
the land...to know how
to nourish
themselves...and to
know how to connect
with the community
around them.“
Alice Waters