We do 45 minute school assemblies about the importance of healthy food choices to both elementary and middle schools. Using multi-media and a hip Game show format, Doof in Schools makes learning about good food FUN!

DooF Food Literacy Curriculum

Educational Goals – DooF encourages children to recognize healthy foods and make their own healthy food choices by:

• Inspiring an interest in and excitement about healthy food.
• Promoting children’s understanding of the process involved in bringing food from source to table (e. g., planting, growing, harvesting, cooking, and other food operations).
• Modeling skills children can use to prepare healthy food for themselves.
• Building an appreciation for healthy food in the context of children’s everyday lives (e. g., food as part of cultural traditions, favorite family meals, eating with friends, etc.).
• Empowering children to think critically about food messages they see and hear in their daily lives.

Food Literacy – DooF addresses these educational goals with an innovative and comprehensive approach to nutrition education called food literacy with content organized into four main categories:

Source – The geographic, historical, and cultural origins of food. Where food comes from, where it originated, how it is harvested, and how it gets to the kitchen.

Substance – The science of food. What food is and what makes it special. What food looks like, what it feels like, what changes about food during cooking, and its nutritional benefits.

Action – The art of food. How to prepare food with a focus on specific skills such as cleaning food, preparing it, cooking it, presenting it, etc.

Experience – The FUN of food. How to enjoy food and the experience of eating, appreciating food’s tastes, textures, smells, colors, etc.

Recently, a curriculum kit was created for DooF by two teachers working in the Oakland Unified School District in collaboration with Alameda County Nutrition Services. The curriculum kit is 166 pages long with full color photos, activities, and lessons about apples, squash, noodles, citrus, root vegetables and tomatoes. Stay tuned for the videos that go with each of these lesson plans.

Download the DooF Curriculum Kit

For more information, contact: Lauren Hopfenbeck – School Partnerships Coordinator