- Author: Tacu Vang
- Editor: Emily Harris
"What did you bring for us to try today?"
This is the question I'm asked by my students in every class that I teach nutrition lessons. Tastings are brought throughout the school year for students to try new, healthy foods. It is the goal of UC CalFresh to give different types of tastings that come from the five food group on MyPlate for the students to sample. During the school year, I would always reference MyPlate with the tastings that the students were getting for that month. This gives them an idea which food group each tasting belongs to. 
Many teachers created nutrition corners based on the different tastings the students tried during this school year. One of the teachers who did so was Mrs. Thao at Bakman Elementary. Mrs. Thao went over the tastings with the students and then posted pictures of each tasting on the nutrition corner to remind the students of the great foods they were able to try through the UC CalFresh Nutrition Education Program. Each time I visited Mrs. Thao's classroom, the students would remind me of what food they tasted, and tell me how much they enjoyed it or didn't enjoy it. Of course, all of the feedback from the students is great to help us improve our tastings for them to try in the future.
I've enjoyed talking with my students this year about the foods they were able to try. It's always exciting to see students try new foods, which leaves me with my own question:
"What will we bring for them to try next time?"
- Author: Nora Lopez
- Editor: Emily Harris
Last month students in our program tasted grapefruit! This gave students the opportunity to explore the differences between an orange, a lemon, and a grapefruit. They were able to taste and see the differences in flavor, color, size, shape, and texture, and they wrote about their experience.
During the tasting the students had lots fun! Thank you, teachers, for helping your students experience a new food.
Check out all the foods our students have tasted this year on our website.
- Contributor: DeAnna Molinar
- Author: Sandra Ortega
When you think of carnivals what normally comes to your mind?
Cotton candy and other sweet treats of course! But not at Aynesworth Elementary!
Students attending Aynesworth Elementary carnival recently learned that carnivals can have delicious healthy treats!
To support a healthy school environment, DeAnna Molinar and Sandra Ortega, Program Coordinators for the UC CalFresh program, taught students and their parents about MyPlate through an interactive display.
Parents and students also got to try a 2oz tasting of the "Energy Snack," which was a hit!
Recipe: Energy Snack
- 1 cup of Kix cereal
- 1 cup of whole wheat Chex
- 1 cup of Wheaties
- 1 cup of golden raisins
For some families, this was their first time tasting golden raisins. What a great way to introduce a new food!
The booth was buzzing with students eagerly awaiting their turn to build a healthy plate!
Two students try golden raisins for the first time!
Parent signing up for no-cost nutrition education classes.
Student building his healthy plate.
Does your school, agency or community center have a carnival or major event coming up? If so, contact your UC CalFresh coordinator to have a nutrition booth displayed at your next event!
