Your Body Food is Elementary© by Antonia Demas

Food is Elementary© is a unique curriculum integrating academic disciplines with food, nutrition, culture and the arts. The curriculum is a research based program modeled after the award winning, Trumansburg, New York, study "Food Education in the Elementary Classroom." This study, the Cornell University doctoral thesis of Dr. Antonia Demas published in 1995, proved that a food-based curriculum results in dramatic dietary acceptance of diverse healthful foods among children in the elementary school lunch program. Additionally, the study shows that a hands-on,experiential food-based curriculum provides academic enrichment for all students.

The Food is Elementary© curriculum provides a means for children to accept the healthier foods experiential learning. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has mandated that all public schools conform to its Dietary Guidelines for Americans which recommend that total calories form fat be no more than 30% of calories consumed. Yet, the current percentage of calories from fat provided by school lunch programs nationally is substantially higher. The Food is Elementary© curriculum offers an educational means for children to accept a more healthful and diverse diet which can be integrated with the school lunch program.

The methodology and the Food is Elementary© food-based curriculum, has resulted in two prestigious awards:

National Award for Excellence in Nutrition Education (1994) from the Society for Nutrition Education National Award for Most Creative Implementation of the Dietary Guidelines (1994) from the USDA