The 2nd-grade students at Riverside, Parkside, and Chegwin Elementary Schools were thrilled to get creative while learning about MyPlate and trying new foods. If you have children, you know that trying new foods can be a challenging task. This topic is an important one to cover and it reinforces the same messages students receive from teachers and caregivers about trying new foods. FoodWIse educators read the fascinating book, Carla’s Sandwich, a book about a young girl who liked to bring unique sandwiches for lunch. The other students in the book teased her about being different, but then eventually tried the creative sandwiches and liked them. Naturally, we included a discussion about being kind to those who are different and avoiding judgment on unique foods and people.

After reading the book, the students reviewed the MyPlate food groups and got to create their own sandwiches on paper. Each student had the challenge of including each of the 5 food groups on their sandwich. The students came up with some fantastic ideas and many of them expressed interest to try their own creative sandwich at home.