Skip to main content
California Department of Education Logo

Nourish: Food and Community

This instructional resource contains a curriculum guide about food and sustainability.

Description

This instructional resource contains a curriculum guide that offers a rich set of resources to open a meaningful conversation about food and sustainability. The activities are interactive, well organized, and easy to follow. Overall objectives are listed in the curriculum. Students engage in the “story of food,” use critical thinking skills to reflect on current food practices and explore more sustainable ones, and link their learning to relevant action. The activities can be used in any sequence. The Nourish film traces the relationship to food from a global perspective to personal action steps. The curriculum can be used in social studies, science, health, or English classes.

What’s Inside

The curriculum includes a viewing guide, six learning activities, and suggestions for action projects, student handouts, bibliography, and glossary. Activity themes include The Story of Food; Seasonal, Local Food; Food Traditions; Food and Ecosystems; Analyzing Food Ads; and School Lunch Survey.

Activity Highlight

In Activity 2, Seasonal, Local Food, students define what a food “in season” means and discuss two foods brought into the classroom—one that is in season and one that is not. The class may engage in a tasting, and students can generate descriptive adjectives of the food. Students can also draw a circle with a 150-mile radius around their community and discuss what “local food” means. They make a “seasonal circle” and resource booklet to help them and their families find local, seasonal food in their community. The curriculum includes Nourish Action Projects with directions for choosing, planning, implementing, and reflecting on projects that could be the foundation for project-based learning activities.

  • Key Content Areas: After School, Cafeteria Connections, Food Literacy and Cooking Activities, Garden-based, Healthy School Environment, Integrated Subjects, and Media Literacy

  • Originator of Resources: WorldLink, developed in partnership with the Center for Ecoliteracy

  • User of Resource: Teachers

  • Audience: Grades 5–6, 7–8, and 9–12

  • Languages: English, some Spanish

  • Number of lessons: 6 lessons

  • Amount of time per lesson: 50–100 minutes per lesson

  • Format: Downloadable PDF; short films online

Resource

To access the curriculum, visit the Nourish Food and Community web page External link opens in new window or tab., select FREE! Nourish Curriculum on the home web page.

Contact

If you have any questions, visit the Nourish Contact Us web page External link opens in new window or tab..

Questions:   Nutrition Services Division | 800-952-5609
Last Reviewed: Tuesday, December 10, 2024
Related Content
Recently Posted in Nutrition
  • President Biden Approves Disaster Declaration (added 10-Jan-2025)
    President Biden approves Major Disaster Declaration to aid response efforts for the wildfires burning in the Los Angeles area.
  • Buy American Provision (added 10-Jan-2025)
    The Buy American provision is a procurement standard that SFAs must comply with when purchasing food products served in School Nutrition Programs (SNP). SFAs are required to purchase domestic commodities or products to the maximum extent practicable.
  • NSLP Equipment Assistance Grant: Allowable Costs (added 10-Jan-2025)
    The USDA issued Policy Memo SP 06-2025: National School Lunch Program (NSLP) Equipment Assistance Grants (EAG): Installation Expenditures which provides guidance on costs related to installing and using new equipment purchased with EAG funds.
  • Governor Newsom Proclaims State of Emergency (added 08-Jan-2025)
    Governor Newsom proclaims state of emergency to support the communities impacted by the Palisades Fire.
  • Buy American Provision (added 08-Jan-2025)
    This management bulletin provides school food authorities (SFAs) with updates to the Buy American requirements included in the final rule titled Child Nutrition Programs: Meal Patterns Consistent with the 2020-25 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

  • FFAVORS new requirement (added 08-Jan-2025)
    Effective January 5, 2025, (FFAVORS) user are now required to receipt within 2 business days of receipt of product or required delivery date (RDD).
  • CNIPS Update (added 06-Jan-2025)
    Transition of Child Nutrition Information and Payment System (CNIPS) server hosting and maintenance from California Department of Technology to California Department of Education (CDE).
  • October 22, 2024 Tuesday at 2 Town Hall Resources (added 03-Jan-2025)
    The California Department of Education (CDE) Nutrition Services Division (NSD) hosted the monthly Tuesday @ 2 School Nutrition Town Hall webinar October 22, 2024.
  • SNP-11-2024 Final Rule: Fluid Milk Substitutions (added 17-Dec-2024)
    This MB updates and replaces USDA-CNP-04-2010, related to Fluid Milk Substitutions in SNPs to align with the Final Rule.
  • Final Rule: Fluid Milk Substitutions (added 13-Dec-2024)
    This management bulletin updates and replaces USDA-CNP-04-2010, related to Fluid Milk Substitutions in School Nutrition Programs to align with the Final Rule.