Kai and Me: Food Choices and Labels

You need: paper plates · food picture cards or magazine cut-outs · glue · food group guide

1. Divide your paper plate: half for vegetables and fruit, a quarter for grain foods (mostly wholegrain), a quarter for protein foods (legumes, eggs, fish, chicken, meat, nuts if safe).
2. Add a small circle beside it for milk or a milk alternative, and a glass of water.
3. Build a plate for breakfast, lunch or dinner for a made-up young person using the picture cards.
4. Swap with a partner. Can they find a food from every group? Is there colour and variety?
5. Add one food from a culture you know to show balance doesn't mean 'plain'.

How you'll know: Your plate has all the food groups, is about half vegetables and fruit, and includes water. There are no 'bad' foods on the table, just everyday and sometimes ones.

Go further: Label where protein, calcium, iron and fibre come from on your plate, and explain why each matters while growing.

You need: three empty packets of a similar food (cereals, muesli bars, yoghurts or crackers) · comparison table · calculator

1. Find the nutrition information panel on each packet and the 'per 100 g' column.
2. Record sugar, sodium, saturated fat and fibre per 100 g for each product.
3. Compare with the handy guide: sugar under 10 g, sodium under 120 mg (over 600 mg is high), saturated fat under 5 g, fibre over 6 g per 100 g.
4. Read the ingredients list. Ingredients are listed from most to least. Circle anything that is a kind of sugar (sucrose, glucose syrup, honey, fruit juice concentrate).
5. Choose the best everyday option and write two reasons from the label.

How you'll know: Your choice is based on the per 100 g numbers and the ingredients list, not on the picture on the front or the serving size.

Safety: Use empty, clean packets only. No tasting in this activity.

Go further: Check whether the product with the most Health Stars is also the one that won your comparison. If not, why might that be?

You need: empty drink bottles (fizzy, sports drink, juice, flavoured milk, water) · sugar · teaspoons · clear plastic cups · digital scale (optional)

1. Find the sugar per 100 mL on each label and the size of the bottle.
2. Work out the total sugar: sugar per 100 mL × bottle size ÷ 100.
3. Convert to teaspoons: grams ÷ 4.
4. Measure that many teaspoons into a clear cup and line the cups up in front of their bottles.
5. Compare with the water bottle. What would it take to swap one drink a day for water?

How you'll know: You can calculate and show the sugar in a drink. A 600 mL bottle of regular fizzy holds around 15 teaspoons.

Safety: Don't eat the sugar. Wipe up spills so the floor isn't slippery, and wash hands afterwards.

Go further: Find out why fizzy drinks harm teeth even when they are sugar-free (hint: acid), and make a short explainer for a junior class.

You need: three food ads or packets aimed at young people · ad-tricks checklist · the product labels

1. For each ad, write who it is aimed at and how you can tell.
2. Tick the tricks: cartoon characters, celebrities or sports stars, prizes or games, bright colours, words like 'natural', 'real fruit' or 'energy', links to fun, friends or being sporty.
3. Find the main claim on the front and check it against the label per 100 g.
4. Decide whether the ad is fair, and what it leaves out.
5. Rewrite the claim so it's honest.

How you'll know: You can point to a gap between what the ad suggests and what the label shows, and name the technique used.

Go further: Design an honest ad for a food that is good for young people, using the same techniques for good.

You need: interview card with four questions · notebook or a voice recording (with permission)

1. Ask a whānau member or family friend: What food reminds you of growing up? What food do we make for special occasions? Who taught you to cook it? What rules or customs do we have around food?
2. Write down one recipe, tradition or custom and what it means to your family.
3. Bring it to class and share only what you and your family are happy to share.
4. Listen to others and note one tradition that is new to you and one that is similar to yours.

How you'll know: You can explain a food tradition from your family and one from someone else's, and why shared kai matters to them.

Go further: Find the tradition in Te Ara or another trusted source and compare what you read with what your family told you.

You need: school or community garden (or seed trays) · heritage seeds or kūmara tipu (shoots) · trowels · a simple recipe · chopping boards, knives and aprons

1. Harvest what's ready in the garden, or plant heritage beans, kūmara tipu or taewa, depending on the season.
2. Wash hands and produce thoroughly.
3. Prepare a simple dish together, such as a roast kūmara and greens salad or a vegetable wrap bar.
4. Talk about where each ingredient came from and how far it travelled.
5. Share the dish and compost the scraps.

How you'll know: You helped grow or prepare real food, and can explain one way traditional kai was grown or cooked in Aotearoa.

Safety: Check the allergy register first. Wear gloves for soil and wash hands afterwards. Adults supervise knives and ovens; use a claw grip when cutting. Keep hot trays and ovens clear of other people.

Go further: Save seeds from something you grew and label them for next year's class.

You need: lunch builder card · supermarket flyers or websites for prices · budget sheet · ingredients (ordered through your teacher) · food preparation equipment

1. Read the brief: a balanced lunch for one young person within the set budget, easy to pack, and something your audience would actually want to eat.
2. Choose one food from each group, plus water. Work out the cost per serve.
3. Make a sample lunch and taste-test it in your group.
4. Improve one thing (taste, cost or balance) and record the change.
5. Present the lunch with a small card: what's in it, the food groups, the cost, and why it's worth trying.

How you'll know: Your lunch fits the budget, includes every food group, and your audience's feedback shows people would eat it.

Safety: Follow the allergy plan: no nuts or flagged allergens, and list every ingredient on your card. Keep cold food cold, wash hands, and use clean boards.

Go further: Make a version for a different dietary need (vegetarian, halal or dairy-free) and compare the cost.