Running Head: Choose My Plate

Benjamin 1

Braylee Benjamin
Choose My Plate
PPE 310: Dr. Lineberry
March 20, 2016

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Introduction
In the ever growing society we live in today, there are many struggles we must face on a daily
basis. One of those struggles includes increasing obesity rates. Younger and younger children are
becoming obese, being diagnosed with Diabetes, and their health is starting to have negative
effects earlier and earlier due to many factors. The lower a familys social economic status, the
higher the risk of obesity in that family. This is mainly due to lack of money for foods that fit

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into a proper diet. This is where schools come in for those students who get breakfast and lunch
once they get to school. It becomes the schools responsibility to provide a lunch that fits into the
Dietary Guidelines for Americans as well as the National Standards for School Meals. It
becomes the schools job to teach the students about having a proper and healthy diet.
National Standards for School Meals
According to the Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service (FNS, 2012), all schools
must meet these requirements for breakfast and lunches: offer fruits and vegetables daily and
separate components; less starchy vegetables; offer whole grains; offer a daily meat/meat
alternative for breakfast; offer fluid milk that is fat free or if unflavored, low fat; require students
with free or reduced meals to get a fruit or vegetable; and prepare meals with ingredients that
contain zero trans-fat per serving. My school does meet these requirements in the following
ways: they provide a fruit or vegetable in each breakfast bag, as well as on a salad bar during
lunch, they do use whole grains in many of their options, they do have vegetarian and meat
options at every meal, they offer fat free and low fat milks, and the majority of their foods
contain no trans-fat. Because my school is a Title I school with free and reduced meals, they also
must follow the Local Wellness Policy. This policy requires goals for nutrition promotion and
education, physical activity, includes nutrition guidelines to promote health and reduce childhood
obesity, permit everyone to participate in the development, implementation, and review of this
policy, inform public of the policy, and be measured periodically for compliance (USDA, 2015).

Dietary Guidelines for Americans

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Based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, schools should be providing foods to reduce
sodium intake to less than 2,300 mg, have less than 10% of calories consumed be saturated fatty
acids, that help students consume less than 300 mg per day of dietary cholesterol, limiting foods
with trans fatty acids, reduce the intake of calories from solid fats and added sugars, and limiting
consumption of refined grains (USDA, 2010). If a student consumes the two meals above,
breakfast being eggs, bacon, and cheese on an English muffin with hash browns, and lunch being
a chicken Caesar salad, they could still be meeting these requirements. With these two meals
combined, they have been able to keep the sodium to under the daily intake of less than 2,300
mg, at only 1655 mg. They help reduce the intake of calories from solid fats and added sugars by
only serving 14 g between the two for two meals combined.
Improving Nutrition
Even though the numbers for these particular meals are fairly low, they could always be
improved further. One way the school could improve to meet the Dietary Guidelines for
Americans would be to decrease the amount of refined grains between the two meals. This
includes ensuring the products used for items such as the English muffin are not made with
refined grains. Another way to accomplish this could include looking into a different method of
creating the sandwich that could take out the amount of breading all together. One area this
school does quite well in is limiting the amount of calories from solid fats and added sugars.
Even though, combined, they only equal 14 g, saturated fat is only half of the limit of 22 g. The
school could reduce that number even further by decreasing the amount of cheese on the menu,
including on their breakfast sandwich. By taking away the items with high saturated fat contents
like cheese, and replacing them with an item such as milk, we can increase the amount of dairy
products. Lastly, the amount of fruits and vegetables could increase. This is a little tricky due to

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every student have the option to grab a fruit or vegetable and are recommended to do so, they do
not always. Or in the mornings when they get a certain fruit in their breakfast bags, the usual
case is it is being thrown away or shoved into backpacks for later. Improving their knowledge
of how to have a proper diet in ways that motivate them to choose and actually eat their fruit of
vegetable is vital at this school.
Reflection
Teaching students about a healthy lifestyle is important for their growth and development. Seeing
as teachers will see a student more than the average parent, especially at the Rhodes, it is their
responsibility to ensure their students are educated about their health. Many students today are
hooked on fast food restaurants and junk food due to the ever growing industry targeting the
youth. In order to pull students away from the trend of obesity and Diabetes diagnosis younger
and younger each year, schools must do everything in their power to teach kids about health.
Something as simple as having posters with people eating healthy, and using only the best
ingredients despite the costs can change students lives. In order to teach students about their
health in a classroom environment, an activity such as the Food Tracker (SuperTracker) could
teach students about the importance of eating certain foods and not eating others. The great part
about an activity like this is it could be used in any classroom. For example, a math classroom
could use this as a graphing project. Students can record their food every day using the Food
Tracker, and write about what they could change based on their graphing and comparing their
amounts to what they should be having. An activity such as this can include a math component,
reading component, and a writing component which could become a dual subject project for
older students in middle school.

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References
Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) USDA, Vol. 77, No. 17 Fed. Reg. 4088. (Jan. 26, 2012).
Rhodes Junior High School Home of the Road Runners. (2015, June 15). Retrieved from
http://www.mpsaz.org/rhodes/departments/cafeteria/cafenew/
SuperTracker: My Foods. My Fitness. My Health. (n.d.). Retrieved March 21, 2016, from
https://www.supertracker.usda.gov/foodtracker.aspx
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) (2015). Local School Wellness Policy
Requirements. Retrieved from http://www.fns.usda.gov/tn/local-school-wellness-policyrequirements
U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Dietary
Guidelines for Americans, 2010. 7th Edition, Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing
Office, December 2010.

Criteria
Introduction

Points (5) Exemplary

Introduction was well

Points (3) Proficient

Introduction was somewhat

Points (1) Needs Impr

Introduction was diso

SCORE:x.5

organized and created a

organized and created a plan

and did not create a p

ChooseMyPlate

plan for the paper

One breakfast and one

for the paper

Only one breakfast or lunch

the paper
Only one breakfast o

Analysis
SCORE: x1

lunch (or 2 restaurant

(or 1 restaurant option) was

1 restaurant option) w

options) were evaluated

evaluated

evaluated but was inc

Results reflect a
hypothetical student

Results reflected a
hypothetical student, but not

Results did not reflec

hypothetical student

Running Head: Choose My Plate

Application of

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Screen shot was

enough information was

included

provided

Contained a very

Screen shot was included,

but incomplete
Contained a somewhat

results and

detailed application of

detailed application of

proposed changes

National Standards for

National Standards for

SCORE:x1

Summary/Reflecti

School Meals
Contains very detailed

School Meals
Contained somewhat

applications of Dietary

detailed applications of

Guidelines for

Dietary Guidelines for

Americans
Contains very detailed

Americans
Contains somewhat detailed

discussions for 3

discussions only 2 changes

changes to improve

to improve nutrition

nutrition
A summary of the

A summary of the current

Screen shot was not

Contained little detai

application of Nation

Standards for School

Contained little detai

application of Dietar

Guidelines for Amer

Contained little detai

included 1 change to
nutrition

A summary of the cu

on SCORE:

current state of the

state of the school in terms

x1

schools nutrition was

of nutrition was included

but did not align with paper
A summary of the proposed

nutrition was not inc

A summary of the pr

changes was included but

changes was not incl

A reflection of the pr

included
Summary of changes
were included
A detailed reflection

did not align with paper

A general reflection of how

regarding how this

of the school in term

data as it relates to yo

classroom was missin

this data impacts your

teacher knowledge of

incomplete
students

students impacts your

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students inside and

outside your classroom
Writing

Most grammar and correct

Many grammar and c

punctuation is used

punctuation is used

punctuation issues ar

throughout the proposal

All sentences are clear

throughout the proposal

Most sentences are clear &

throughout the propo

Many sentences are n

& developed
Paper was at least 3

developed
Paper was 1-3 pages with

and underdeveloped
Paper was less than 1

SCORE: x1

Referencing Style

Proper grammar and

SCORE:

pages with standard

standard margins, font, and

length with larger tha

margins, font, & text

size of text

standard margins, fon

size
APA style referencing

APA style referencing

Many errors in APA

used throughout paper

mostly used throughout the

referencing througho

and on the reference

paper and on the reference

paper and on the refe

sheet

sheet with some errors

sheet

x.5

The file document name

The file name somewhat

The file document na

contains

contains the

not contain the

Lastname.firstname.assi

Lastname.firstname.assignm

Lastname.firstname.a

gn#.course#

ent#.course#

t#.course#

This rubric was added but

This rubric was not a

not at the end

the document submit

This rubric was attached