National Nutrition Month® is a nutrition education and information campaign sponsored every March by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. This campaign – which began in 1973 as National Nutrition Week, and becoming a month-long observance in 1980 in response to growing interest in nutrition – focuses attention on the importance of making informed food choices and developing sound eating and physical activity habits.
Nutritious diets play a key role in helping individuals stay healthy throughout their lives. However, as the 2022 White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health highlighted, millions of Americans face hurdles when it comes to accessing healthy food — and far too many are at risk of experiencing diet-related diseases.
This year’s theme is “Beyond the Table,” which addresses “the farm-to-fork aspect of nutrition, from food production and distribution to navigating grocery stores and farmers markets — and even home food safety and storage practices. It also describes the various ways we eat — not only around a dinner table, but also on the go, in schools and restaurants, at games and events. This theme also includes sustainability, for instance, decreasing food waste from school and work to home and beyond.”
“Thinking beyond the table takes into account the farm-to-fork aspect of nutrition, from food production and distribution to grocery stores and farmers markets to home food safety and food storage,” says registered dietitian nutritionist Theresa Gentile, an Academy Spokesperson in Brooklyn, NY.
Gentile provides the following Helpful Eating Tips during National Nutrition Month® and all year long:
Stay nourished on any budget.
“Limit your restaurant meals and eat at home more often to save money,” Gentile says. “Plan your menu for the week so that you can make a shopping list of foods that are on sale or in season. For those who are eligible, look into community resources such as SNAP, WIC and local food banks.”
See a registered dietitian nutritionist.
“Registered dietitian nutritionists are the food and nutrition experts,” Gentile says. “RDNs are uniquely educated and trained to create a personalized treatment plan to help their clients and patients meet their health goals and manage chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and obesity.”
Eat a variety of foods from all food groups.
“Whether fresh, frozen, canned or dried, eating foods from all of the food groups will help you meet your nutritional goals,” Gentile says. “Enjoy your cultural mainstays but explore new ingredients and try dishes from around the world to expand your taste buds.”
Eat with the environment in mind.
“Get creative with your leftovers by making them into casseroles, sandwiches or soups to avoid wasting food. Eat more plant-based meals and buy more foods in season or from local farmers when possible,” Gentile says.
National Nutrition Month®
Each March during National Nutrition Month®, the Academy hosts resources on its website to encourage consumers to make informed food choices and develop sound eating and physical activity habits they can follow all year long.
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