Eat the Five Food Group Way^®

Getting Started

• Each lesson uses Dairy Council's Eat the Five Food Group Way!® handout. A PDF full-color or black and white version can be downloaded directly from this site. These exercises require the Adobe Acrobat Reader; you can download it here.
• Or you can order a full-color, mini handout from your local Dairy Council unit.
  Phone: 800-426-8271
  Fax: 800-974-6455 (toll-free)

• Nutrient-rich foods are classified into the Five Food Groups - Milk, Meat, Vegetable, Fruit and Grain. Each food group provides us with a different set of nutrients. For example, the Milk Group provides calcium, protein and riboflavin. The Vegetable Group and the Fruit Group provide vitamins A and C. And the Meat Group provides iron and protein.
• Some foods within each food group are a better source of nutrients than others. In the Vegetable Group, for example, tomatoes are a good source of vitamin C, but low in vitamin A. Carrots, on the other hand, are a good source of vitamin A but not of vitamin C. We need to eat a variety of foods within each food group to get all the nutrients our bodies need.
• Foods such as chips, soft drinks, candy, cookies and other sweets don't have enough nutrients to fit into any of the Five Food Groups. These foods, which are called 'Others' foods, are okay to eat in moderation. They should not replace foods from the Five Food Groups. If children fill up on 'Others' foods, they may not have enough room for nutritious foods from the Five Food Groups.
• Some foods - like pizza, tacos, sub-sandwiches and cheeseburgers - contain foods from two, three, or even five food groups! These Combination Foods are a good source of nutrients and make it easy for children to meet their daily Five Food Group recommendations.