Team Nutrition is an initiative of the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service. Our mission is to promote lifelong healthy food choices and physical activity by improving the nutrition practices of the USDA child nutrition programs. We work to provide resources to schools, child care settings, and summer meal sites that participate in these programs.
Our Strategies
Team Nutrition uses three strategies to change behavior:
- Provide training and technical assistance to child nutrition professionals to enable them to prepare and serve nutritious meals that appeal to children.
- Increase nutrition education through multiple communication channels to help children have the knowledge, skills, and motivation to make healthy food and physical activity choices as part of a healthy lifestyle.
- Build support for healthy school and child care environments that encourage nutritious food choices and physically active lifestyles.
Our Messages
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans are the basis of federal nutrition policy, education, outreach, and food assistance provided through the USDA child nutrition programs. The Team Nutrition initiative helps schools, child care settings, summer meal sites, parents/caregivers, and children put the Dietary Guidelines for Americans into action through nutrition education, training, and technical assistance.
The MyPlate icon uses a familiar image - a place setting for a meal - to prompt consumers to build a healthy plate at mealtime. MyPlate also illustrates the five food groups, reminding everyone that these foods are the building blocks of a healthy diet. Team Nutrition helps communicate MyPlate messages to children and their caregivers through a variety of innovative delivery methods including hands-on activities, electronic games, songs, videos, lessons, stories, events, tweets, graphics, and gardens.
Our Channels
Team Nutrition delivers consistent nutrition messages to children and their caregivers through multiple communication channels:
- food service initiatives,
- classroom and child care activities,
- school-wide events,
- home activities,
- community programs and events, and
- traditional and social media.
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Contact Team Nutrition
Our national office is located at:
USDA's Team Nutrition
Braddock Metro Center II
1320 Braddock Place
Alexandria, VA 22314
For questions, please email Team Nutrition at TeamNutrition@USDA.gov.