LANA:
Learning About Nutrition Through Activities

Introduction

The LANA Preschool Program was developed through a grant from the National Cancer Institute to the Minnesota Department of Health. With the goal of promoting preschoolers’ consumption of a variety of fruits and vegetables, LANA was originally designed and tested as a 24-week program focusing on eight specific, highly nutritious fruits and vegetables*. These targeted fruits and vegetables are featured in activities throughout the program related to three main areas:

 Program Areas  Activities
  • Menu and Mealtime    
    To increase opportunities for children to eat more fruits and vegetables
  • Add targeted fruits and vegetables to menus
  • Serve fruits and vegetables at snack everyday
  • Reduce competitive items on menu when appropriate
  • Encourage positive mealtime interactions
  • Fruit and Vegetable Related Activities
    To increase children’s preference for and knowledge of fruits and vegetables
  • Feature one of the targeted fruits/vegetables each week as the “fruit or vegetable of the week”
  • Offer weekly tasting and cooking activities
  • Offer one curriculum theme unit focusing on fruits and vegetables each month during the program.

  • Family Involvement    
    To give families information about the program and activities to do at home
  • Offer three periodic family events
  • Provide quick and easy kid-tested recipes using fruits/vegetables
  • Provide Parents Talk… About Feeding Kids flyers, addressing day-to-day feeding questions and concerns
  • Supply take-home fruit/vegetable tasting kits

 

*The activities feature the following targeted fruits and vegetables. They demonstrate how this approach can be used to introduce any new fruit or vegetable to young children, from toddlers to school-agers.

  • Broccoli  
  • Cherry tomatoes
  • Sugar Snap Peas
  • Sweet Potatoes
  • Sweet Red Pepper
  • Apricots
  • Kiwi
  • Strawberries

LANA Overview Introduction (pdf 1 pg/39kb)

Updated Wednesday, 10-Apr-2013 11:20:18 CDT