"MyPlate" Replaces USDA's Food Pyramid
Posted by Josh Wachs on Friday, June 3, 2011
Yesterday, I was pleased to join First Lady Michelle Obama, U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and U.S. Surgeon General Regina Benjamin at the launch of MyPlate, the government’s new icon to help Americans make healthier food choices. The colorful plate is a streamlined version of MyPyramid, which many of you may remember learning in school.
Participants in Share Our Strength’s Cooking Matters courses tell us all the time how much they want to provide the best nourishment possible for their families. MyPlate offers a simple, clear visual to help guide healthier food choices, like filling half of your plate with colorful fruits and vegetables, choosing low-fat dairy, and watching portion size. It’s an empowerment tool. As Surgeon General Benjamin said yesterday, instead of telling people what they can’t eat, “let’s start telling Americans what they can eat to become healthy.”
Secretary Vilsack said that MyPlate “symbolizes mealtime.” Cooking Matters emphasizes that at-home meal preparation is the key to making healthier food choices. We hope the streamlined food icon will help more Americans plan, shop for, prepare, and share meals together as a family. It should also offer an opportunity for parents and other caregivers to teach children about choosing healthy, balanced meals at home or away.
MyPlate will be an excellent addition to the tools and resources we utilize in Cooking Matters courses, and we are excited to roll it out to our participants soon. But, as the First Lady said yesterday, more needs to be done. Share Our Strength is working hard to ensure all children have access to the healthy foods they need, and we’re empowering more families than ever with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to prepare healthy and affordable meals. Together with our partners, volunteers and supporters, Share Our Strength will make MyPlate our plate.
To read how nutrition, health and consumer advocates, including Share Our Strength, view MyPlate, visit: http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?contentid=2011/06/0226.xml&navid=NEWSRELEASE&navtype=RT&parentnav=LATESTRELEASES&edeployment_action=retrievecontent.
June 3, 2011 | 0 comment(s) | Tags: cooking matters, michelle obama, my plate, USDA
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