Food Project

Activity: Food Project

Unit: Nutrition

Age: High School

Prep: computer lab/Chromebook/laptop access, school or personal budget for food, project scoring guide, cooking lab with ovens, dishes, and refrigerator.

Description of Project:

For this project the students will be planning out a meal that incorporates foods from each of the 4 main food groups, purchasing the food using a budget, and preparing the meal to eat. I do this project as a fun wrap up at the end of my Nutrition unit, as well as to give my students practice meal planning and prepping food. As this project is split into 3 parts it will take 3 days with the 3^rd day requiring 2 full class periods to complete. Though it can be a lot to juggle, it is often many of my students’ favorite project and is great for helping expose them to meal planning and cooking if they don’t already have experience.

Day 0

At the end of class the day before I start the project I ask my students who all has experience making food and following a recipe. Once I’ve taken a poll I choose 4 students to be my Head Chefs based on experience, leadership qualities, and responsibility. I then have them stay after class and conduct a private draft where they take turns picking other students to be a part of their cooking group until all the students have been chosen.

Day 1

On day 1 I will explain the project to my students and hand out their scoring guides so they know what is expected. During this time I also tell them who their cooking team will be as well as their Head Chef. Though the Head Chef will have the final say when it comes to making decisions, they are not a dictator and cannot boss other students around. Upon completing my instructions I take my students to the computer lab where they have the remainder of the class time to work in their groups and plan out their meal. For this they must plan out not only what they will eat, but they need to make sure it is within their budget and that they have specific directions on how to prepare each of their foods. My school allows me a budget of $20/group which is more than enough to buy food to feed each group.

Day 2 (optional)

On day 2 I take my students on a miniature field trip where we will walk to the grocery store located about a half mile away. Once we arrive at the grocery store I give them 20 minutes to purchase all of the ingredients that they will be needing to make their meal. During this time I walk around and give groups any assistance that they need, then once they are ready to check out I will purchase the food and we will walk back.
I am very fortunate as the school that I teach at is within walking distance of a grocery store, but if this were not the case then I would simply purchase the food myself before the final day.

Day 3On day 3 we will conduct class in the Food Lab where the students will take the class period to follow their recipes and create their meals. In addition to simply creating their meal and adhering to the scoring guide, I also turn this project into a competition. After they have finished making their meal they must then dish up a small plate for me and 1 other teacher who will be judging the competition. They will conduct a formal presentation about their meal. Once we have seen all the presentations and tasted all of the meals we give out rewards for Best Taste, Best Presentation, and Most Attractive Dish.

Prior to doing this lesson I get permission from the teachers that have my students during the class period either before or after Health to allow me to keep their students for two full class periods. As we have 45 minute periods at my school, 90 minutes is just enough time for my students to clean their kitchen area, make their meal, present their meal, eat their meal, and re-clean up their area.