Maximizing the Message

Woman helping a girl chop fruit

 

The United States Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service has developed and tested 16 core nutrition messages to help enhance our dietary education efforts. In today’s media-overloaded environment it is important that nutrition messages are heard and remembered. The primary benefit of using these messages is a potential boost in our impact by increasing visibility and repetition of consistent and accurate messages.


What is the purpose?

  • To be used in Federal nutrition assistance programs
  • To reach and resonate with low income mothers and 8- to 10-year-old children



What is the target audience?

How can the messages be used in my program?

Messages for Mothers of Preschoolers

Photo of woman with toddler and fun food

Role Modeling Messages

  1. They learn from watching you. Eat fruits and veggies and your kids will too.
  2. They take their lead from you. Eat fruits and veggies and your kids will too.

Cooking and Eating Together Messages

  1. Cook together. Eat together. Talk together. Make mealtime a family time.
  2. Make meals and memories together. It’s a lesson they’ll use for life.

Division of Feeding Responsibility Messages

  1. Let them learn by serving themselves

Let your kids serve themselves at dinner. Teach them to take small amounts at first. Tell them they can get more if they’re still hungry.

  1. Sometimes new foods take time.

Kids don’t always take to new foods right away. Offer new fruits and veggies many times. Give them a taste at first and be patient with them.

  1. Patience works better than pressure.

Offer your children new foods. Then, let them choose how much to eat. Kids are more likely to enjoy a food when eating if it is their own choice. It also helps them learn to be independent.

 


Messages for Mothers of Elementary School-Age Children

Availability/Accessibility Messages

  1. Want your kids to reach for a healthy snack? Make sure fruits and veggies are in reach.
  2. When they come home hungry, have fruits and veggies ready to eat.
  3. Let your kids be “produce pickers.” Help them pick fruits and veggies at the store.
  4. They’re still growing. Help your kids grow strong. Serve fat-free or low-fat milk at meals.
 Photo of woman with groceries


Messages for 8- to 10-Year-Old Children

Photo of woman with toddler and fun food

Food Preference, Beliefs, and Asking Behavior Messages

  1. Eat smart to play hard. Drink milk at meals.
  2. Fuel up with milk at meals. And soar through your day like a rocket ship.
  3. Snack like a super hero. Power up with fruit and yogurt.
  4. Eat smart to play hard. Eat fruits and veggies at meals and snacks.
  5. Fuel up with fruits and veggies. And soar through your day like a rocket ship.

 

Ways to Incorporate the Messages into Facilitated Group Discussions and Interactive Classes

  • Host mom “support” groups at places that low-income moms of preschoolers frequent in your community
  • Facilitate discussions on concepts such as role modeling, eating together as a family, cooking with preschool-age children,
    and letting kids serve themselves at meals.
  • Encourage moms to talk about things their children might learn at mealtimes.
  • Provide a take-home handout featuring the core nutrition message and supporting content to reinforce the discussion.
  • Provide opportunities for moms and elementary school-age kids to be “produce pickers”
    • Host events that allow moms and kids to select and taste different fruits and vegetables.
    • Feature a fruit or vegetable of the month.
  • Encourage moms to keep milk on the table
    • Facilitate discussions with moms of
    • elementary school-age children on kids’ need for low-fat and fat-free milk and milk products.
    • Hold a “milk taste challenge” to help overcome perceived taste barriers to consuming fat-free and low-fat milk.
    • Provide parents with activity sheets for children that are based on the core messages for kids.
  • Use core nutrition messages with MyPyramid for Kids classroom materials on fruits and vegetables
    • Ask children to create an ad campaign for a vegetable based upon the super hero, rocket ship or “Eat smart to play hard” theme.
    • Ask children to create a poster, a TV ad, jingle or skit to perform for the class.


Ways to Enhance or Create Social Marketing Campaigns

  • Refresh current fruit and vegetable or milk/milk product promotion campaigns by incorporating core nutrition messages
  • Create a new social marketing campaign around one or more of the messages



Ways to Collaborate with Others

  • Share the messages with existing partners and engage new ones
  • Share with partners how you will use the messages and offer suggestions on how you can work together


For more information visit:

http://www.fns.usda.gov/fns/corenutritionmessages/Files/Guidebook.pdf
http://teamnutrition.usda.gov/resources/mypyramidclassroom.html