Where did the food on your plate come from?

As part of her Let’s Move! campaign, First Lady Michelle Obama is is once again teaming up with flagship PBS station WGBH Boston, the U.S. Department of Education, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to host the fifth annual Healthy Lunchtime Challenge to promote cooking and healthy eating among young people across the nation.

One winner from each U.S. state, territory, and the District of Columbia will win the opportunity to be flown to Washington, D.C. to attend the 2016 Kids’ “State Dinner” at the White House, where a selection of the winning recipes will be served.

Open to children between the ages of 8 and 12, this year’s challeng spotlights homegrown pride and invites participants (with their parents or guardians) to create an original recipe that is healthy, affordable, and delicious.

This year, in celebration National Nutrition Month and the MyPlate, MyState initiative, kids (and their families) are encouraged to include local ingredients grown in their state, territory, or community As part of the effort, the USDA’s is serving up maps with each state’s signature food products as well as regional maps where fruits, grain, and other produce is grown, plus math and nutrition lessons.

The deadline for entries is April 4, 2016.

Filed under: K-12 Outreach Programs