RENO, Nev. (July 10, 2006) — Some 10,000 teachers nationwide will receive Choose Well kits this summer to help them teach grade schoolers about “power food” like beef.  Choose Well teaches children to recognize and eat nutrient-rich foods before they choose “extras” or foods with calories but little nutritional value. The program was developed by a grant from Pfizer Inc. and funding from the Beef Checkoff.

Choose Well is a continuation of checkoff-funded youth education activity, which in the last 10 years has invested some $2.5 million in classroom programs to reach more than 25 million children with information about beef nutrition.    

The new curriculum, aimed at fourth and fifth graders, is based on research that shows children don’t understand appropriate portion sizes, nor do they understand how to eat a nutritious diet, yet still allow themselves to choose extras. Choose Well uses eight classroom activities, a computer game and an award-winning video titled Food! to teach children to take control of their food choices. The kit also includes a MyPyramid poster, a Power Foods poster and two “take-home” activities.   

“Young people are our future, so it’s important to talk to them now about beef nutrition,” said James Rhein, an Arkansas producer and chairman of the checkoff’s Youth Education and Information Subcommittee. “We want them to understand why they need to eat from all five food groups and how nutrient-rich foods, like beef, help them grow strong and stay healthy.”
 

Choose Well is produced in partnership with the American Dietetic Association Foundation as part of its Healthy Families, Healthy Kids initiative. During the next school year, a research activity will place a dietitian in the classroom to co-teach Choose Well. The results are scheduled to be shared at a session during the American Dietetic Association annual convention in September 2007.  

Checkoff-funded youth education programs have garnered fans outside the classroom, too. Choose Well’s video, Food!, won a Telly Award, which recognizes video achievement from the top ad agencies, TV stations and production studios across the  country. A 2006 Parents Choice Award recently went to Zip4Teens, a checkoff-funded Web site for eight to 12-year-olds.