Communicators and Educators

Whether you communicate with the public or professionals, or teach students or other educators, MyPlate offers a framework for communicating food and nutrition messages based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020-2025.

MyPlate is for Everyone

Healthy eating is important at every stage of life. MyPlate offers a framework for the messages you communicate about the importance of foods and beverages rich in nutrients to help make every bite count.

The simplicity of MyPlate makes it a versatile and flexible tool for any audience. Created to be used in various settings and adaptable to meet personal preferences, cultural foodways, traditions and budget needs, MyPlate is used by professionals across sectors to help people learn how to build their own healthy eating routine.

MiPlato en español: There are many MyPlate materials available in Spanish — the MyPlate Quiz, the MyPlate Plan, tip sheets and printable resources, graphics, and more than 1,000 recipes in the MyPlate Kitchen.

The MyPlate website is filled with tools, tips, and resources for you to help your audiences Start Simple with MyPlate to create a healthier eating routine.

What’s on MyPlate?

MyPlate works best when it is customized for the individual consumer to include eating style, food likes and dislikes, cultural foodways, and family favorites. Help your audience start simple and take the first steps toward personalizing MyPlate to fit their needs:

• Everyone loves a quiz! Introduce the MyPlate Quiz to assess one’s current eating routine and identify their healthy eating interests. It can also be an effective one-on-one or group teaching tool about the food groups and how to make healthier choices that help build a healthy eating routine.
• Each person who completes the quiz receives a snapshot of how they're doing on the food groups, along with personalized resources and tip sheets.
• Users can also sync their quiz results in the free Start Simple with MyPlate app and set food group goals based on those results. Other features of the app include how-to tips, periodic challenges for users to stay motivated, and badges earned for progress and successes.

Helping Kids to Start Simple

Food can be a universal language for sharing and learning in and out of the classroom. MyPlate resources and tools are designed to be used alone or in lesson plan modules, as teaching aids, or at home. Help kids and teens to build a foundation for healthy eating at every stage of life by starting simple with MyPlate.

• Explore each of the food groups -- Fruits, Vegetables, Grains, Protein Foods, and Dairy - with photos of portion sizes and discuss how foods from different cultures fit into MyPlate.
• Enhance your lesson plans with free, printable resources and activity sheets on the Kids page, including kid friendly MyPlate messages and a printable certificate for becoming a MyPlate Champion.
• Consider adding MyPlate messaging and graphics to your classroom calendar or bulletin board.
• For older students, encourage them to take the MyPlate Quiz or download the free Start Simple with MyPlate app for extra credit. Get the most out of the app with its Scavenger Hunt Worksheet, Student Lesson Plan, and Community Lesson Plan.

Healthy Eating for the Whole Family

Healthy eating is important at every stage of life, and MyPlate can be adaptable for everyone:

• Make the most of family meals. Visit the Families page for food-related activities and tips. Resources include the Healthy Eating for Families tip sheet, and resources on food groups, meal planning, and specific guidance for family members of all ages.
• Search for specific resources by audience and topic by accessing the customized search feature on the Professionals page.
• Excite your audience about planning and cooking meals together. Introduce parents, caregivers and kids to MyPlate-inspired games and activities.
• Search and explore MyPlate Kitchen for recipes, meal inspiration, videos, and other resources. Families can even create their own cookbook!

More Ways to Talk About MyPlate

• MyPlate National Strategic Partners work individually and together to create materials and initiatives targeted toward specific food groups and various demographics.
• MyPlate Federal Partners work collaboratively with MyPlate.
  • The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed) teaches their participants about good nutrition and how to make their food dollars stretch further.
  • Team Nutrition offers training and technical assistance, nutrition education, and school and community support for healthy eating and physical activity.
  • The Child and Adult Care Food Program provides meal and snack reimbursements for nutritious meals and snacks in participating settings.