Food Demonstration/Recipe Tasting

Create opportunities for pantry clients to see how items they are receiving can be used to create a healthy meal.

• Create a simple cold or hot dish for clients to sample. Note that the Health Department requires running water if the meal is prepared onsite. Another option is to have volunteers prepare a recipe in advance to be sampled.
• Suggested recipes from the Capital Area Food Bank website. Provide printed recipe cards (English/Spanish) for participants to take home.
  • Green Bean Salad With Sesame Dressing
  • Magical Fruit Salad

Table Displays

Pick one or more of the following display options:

• “How Much Do I Eat?” display
  • MyPlate poster.
  • Eat a Rainbow poster (this is what kids will glue their cutouts onto — see activity below).
  • Display What Counts as One Cup handout.
• “How to Buy Veggies” display
  • Show a can, bag of frozen veggies and fresh veggies.
  • Display United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Smart Shopping for Veggies & Fruits handout.
• “How to Prepare Veggies” display
  • Display poster where volunteers and food pantry customers can write their tips for preparing/getting kids to eat veggies. The poster will be displayed the following month at the food pantry, so parents can learn from other parents.
  • Display USDA Kid-Friendly Veggies & Fruits handout.
  • Display how many ways there are to serve/prepare veggies — roast, use in family favorite meals, prepare as a delish side, etc. Talk about “formula” meals, where you can use whatever you have on hand to make a stir fry, sandwich/wrap, salad, soup, pasta, etc.
    • Dr. Yum has an awesome “meal maker” feature on her website, where you choose the ingredients you have on hand to develop a recipe. http://recipes.doctoryum.org/en/makers/power-pasta

Children Activities

• Eat a Rainbow Craft: Children cut out a fruit or vegetable to paste onto the rainbow. Let children get creative with drawing and cutting out their own produce, but provide samples to give them ideas. Each child can write his/her name on their cutout and paste it onto the rainbow. Display the rainbow at the food pantry for the kids to see next month.

  Items needed:
  • Large poster board with the outline of a rainbow.
  • Construction paper.
  • Pictures of fruits and veggies from each color group.
  • Kid safe scissors.
  • Glue sticks.
  • Crayons.

• Grow Your Own Veggie: Children select and plant vegetable seeds in a paper cup with potting soil. Label popsicle sticks with type of seed. Explain how to water and when transplant into ground or larger pot at home.

  Items needed:
  • Paper cups.
  • Potting soil.
  • Vegetable seeds.
  • Spoons.
  • Popsicle sticks.
• Activity Sheets: MyPlate Coloring Sheet; MyPlate Printable Materials; Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Activity Sheets.
  • Quiz Wheel - Participants spin wheel to answer nutrition questions and win prizes. Wheel sections can contain pictures of MyPlate characters. Children can name a food that belongs in that food group or a fruit or vegetable that is a certain color.

Handouts

• Smart Shopping for Veggies & Fruits (English and Spanish)
• Kid-Friendly Veggies & Fruits (English and Spanish)
• What Counts as One Cup (English | Spanish)

Giveaways/Prizes

Note: Look for organizations that may be willing to donate items to reduce cost. Suggested items for purchase may include:

• Pencils/small toys (watermelon bouncy balls).
• Healthy Food Stickers (veggies/fruits).
• Piece of fruit (clementine, etc.).

Event Set-Up/Suggestions

• Print out resources needed for event.
• Table(s) needed for table displays and food demos.
• Food items need for each food group display. Use as many pantry items as possible.
• Props for displaying portion sizes.
• Food samples and/or recipes prepared.
• Napkins, toothpicks for sampling foods, hand sanitizer, gloves for sampling food.
• If creating a meal — food items, assembly tools, serving plates and utensils.