HOW TO USE THE APP
Use the Food for Thought app to start the conversation around the REAL cost of our food. By examining the environmental footprint of food, calories and cost, teachers and parents can engage students in conversations about the impact of our(their) food choices from economic, social, and environmental perspectives.
The cross disciplinary nature of the app provide flexibility, so it can be used in science, social studies, math, and language arts classrooms, depending on the learning goals of the educator.
Possible ways to engage with the app include:
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Have students create their favorite meal using the app, and then create a meal with greater or lesser resource use and talk about why
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Use the app to talk about what comprises a healthy diet and portion size.
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Use the app to talk about the cost of foods, and how food costs and access to food differs within communities and between countries.
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Engage the students in a solution-based discussion by examining the problem of food waste, and how unused food has resource, cost and nutrition connections.
Suggested Challenges
Build the meal you ate yesterday.
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Build your favorite meal.
Build a meal with high/low resource use.
Build a meal that is environmentally friendly.
Build the most expensive/least expensive meal.
Compare the meal you created to someone else’s meal.
Additional Questions
Is there anything that you find surprising?
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Is there a resource that you think is the most important to consider when choosing food? Why?
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Looking at the data, would you make different choices in the foods you eat?
If you were going to make a change in the what would be the hardest for you/ what would be the easiest?
Looking at the data, would you make different choices in the foods you eat?