Only eleven percent of adults in Meade County consume the daily recommended five or more servings of fruits and vegetables. Thirty-four percent of adults in Meade County are considered obese. Educating youth at a young age and allowing them to discover new foods may help these issues.

In an effort to improve the health of Meade County youth, the Meade County Cooperative Extension EFNEP Assistant partnered with Ekron Elementary School. The Discover MyPlate Program was conducted with 19 Kindergarteners, nine females and ten males.  The curriculum consisted of six lessons, each focusing on a food group, hand washing, and physical activity.  At each lesson, the students took home an emergent reader book about the food group of the day. The students were given a healthy snack that correlated with the food group they were learning about that day.

By the end of the program, 79% of the students improved their knowledge of physical activity. Sixty-three percent were now able to recognize foods from the Dairy group. The students always looked forward to Discover MyPlate Day at school!