Make a Great Nutrition Month Display in 3 Stress-Free Steps

It’s Nutrition Month, which makes it a perfect time to communicate the key nutrition education messages that you’ve been dying to address. Whether you’re psyched to finally be able to discuss the role of saturated fats in heart health, excited to explain the connection between added sugars and obesity, or anything and everything in between, your time has finally come. But how can you ensure that your audience is engaged in what you’re trying to communicate? Well, that’s where Nutrition Month displays come in. Follow these simple steps and you will have put together a colorful, engaging, and informative display that actually reaches the audience you’re trying to address.

Part One: Location, Location, Location

You want to make sure that your display is in an area that both draws high traffic and promotes lingering. Though the elevator might be full of people at all hours (and they certainly are a captive audience), the time limits imposed by its speed in reaching its destination make it an unappealing place for a display. Plus, it might get a little cramped in there. By the same token, the conference room at the end of an untraveled hallway might have plenty of space but be unlikely to draw a crowd. Look instead for places that can draw a crowd and keep them there for a bit. Think the company lobby, a break room, a lunch area, etc. Of course, if you’re setting up your display at a wellness fair or nutrition show, then you’ve already got a great location and part one will be a breeze.

Part Two: The Visuals

Once you’ve got a great location, the next step is drawing people to your display. Visuals will be your “make or break” here. With a colorful, intriguing display, you can pique people’s interest and bring them over to learn more. Once they’re engaged, you can delve further into the information you’re trying to communicate. So, what kind of visuals can you use? Consider any of the following…

  • A question on a banner. You want to ask something that your audience wants to know the answer to. Skip a dull title like “saturated fats” and instead ask a question like “What are Saturated Fats Doing to YOUR Heart?” Consider coming at the problem from a unique angle. For example “Is Chocolate a Health Food?” tends to draw a crowd because people genuinely want to know whether the answer is yes. Think about what will prompt your participants to… well… participate.
  • A poster or two. A pop of color in an unexpected place really draws the eye. Posters offer a great way to communicate the absolute key messages that you want to get across, and do so by addressing several different learning styles. You can browse the amazing selection of posters at the Nutrition Education Store, or craft your own at home. Consider including a chart or graph, a few key points about your topic, and an illustration or two. Craft stores offer scrap booking supplies or you can make and print a poster at a print shop.
  • A gift or prize. Do you have something that your participants want? Whether their visit to your display enters them into a raffle for an extra vacation day or you just happened to put a bowl of awesome wristbands out in a highly visible area, if you have something they want, your audience will come to you. A selection of tasty samples for a nutritious cooking demo or quick lunch idea has been known to draw a crowd. They may come for the prize, but then they’ll usually stay for your information.

Of course, you aren’t limited to one or two “hooks” to draw your audience. It could be effective to combine a few of the ideas above. After all, you want your display to appeal to a wide range of people so that everyone will stop by at some point.

Here are popular topics right now:

  • Portion control
  • Guide to food labels
  • Diabetes awareness
  • Gardening vegetables
  • Supermarket tours
  • Healthier cooking with colors
  • Energy drink over-consumption
  • Healthy 123 – how to make healthier choices for people who are time and budget strapped and making all the wrong choices
  • Moving more
  • Fad diet 101

Cheryl Bachinski, a school nurse, is planning a health fair and she needs a banner to help people who are constrained by time and money to make better choices for their families who are struggling with their weight. She says they drink too many sweetened sodas, eat too many cupcakes and chips, and they never exercise. The Healthier Choices 123 Banner was created for her. Check it out and you can buy it on sale or use the display idea for your own.

Part Three: Follow Up

You don’t want to oversimplify and limit yourself to communicating solely through the eye-popping, interest-grabbing visuals. Once people are drawn in by part two, often they will want to know more detail about the subjects you’re addressing. That’s where handouts, recipes, and scientific studies come in. If you’re offering samples of a nutritious dish, for example, it would be wise to have copies of the recipe on hand so that anyone who is interested can make the food themselves. You might also stock a couple handouts about the health benefits of the foods that the recipe features. By the same token, if your visual is a banner asking people whether or not they are eating too much salt, you might want to have some handouts about salt consumption and a few peer-reviewed studies for people to read if they drop by your booth. It’s best if you have lots of copies of whatever you’re disseminating. That way people can review the information multiple times and use your resources as a reference long after the display is dismantled.

There are lots of other things that you can do to make a great Nutrition Month display. You can coordinate activities, bring in a guest speaker, play games, etc. The possibilities really are endless, but the steps above are a good place to start. Of course, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel — there are tons of display kits that are ready-to-go in the Nutrition Education Store. After all, we gathered this knowledge about how to make an engaging display. Why wouldn’t we apply it right away in order to offer you all the tools you need, with none of the effort? There’s no need to burn the midnight oil crafting the perfect poster/handout combination when there are hundreds of options already available in the store. Plus, we happily (and quickly) create custom supplies upon request.

Some of the most popular display kits have been selling like gangbusters in the leadup to Nutrition Month, so if you’re looking for one of these, check out the salt display kit (pictured on the left), the cooking demonstration display kit, or the health fair kit. There are also fantastic a la carte items available, things like a poster easel or a vinyl banner. Remember, if you don’t see something that you want, let us know and we’ll make it for you right away!

So, what displays are you putting together for Nutrition Month? Share your great ideas by tweeting us @foodhealth or writing on our Facebook wall.

3 Nutrition Month Activity Ideas and a Free Infographic

Nutrition Month is coming right up — are you ready to address this year’s theme? According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the New Nutrition Month PosterNutrition Month theme for 2014 is “Enjoy the Taste of Eating Right.” This theme offers a great way to introduce people to healthful — and delicious — new foods. To make this task easier for you, we’ve created a colorful new poster that addresses the theme of Nutrition Month 2014.

This nutrition poster is a great resource for Nutrition Month and helps its viewers realize the wide range of flavors and textures that abound in healthful food. With great photography and creative descriptions, this health poster is a wonderful way to brighten up any office or classroom.

Want to take it a step further? Try some of these great activity ideas to go with your new poster. Whether you’re looking for class discussions or games, we’ve got a little something for everyone…

Activity #1: Wheel of Flavor

Start by punching a hole in the middle of two index cards. Place a paper arrow over each hole and affix it to the card with a brad. Give the arrows a flick to make sure that they spin smoothly. Tape one index card over the photo of the vegetables in the center of the large wheel, and tape the second card in the center of the smaller “Dairy” wheel. Now you have transformed your poster into a set of game wheels.

Before your session, set up the poster in an easily visible area of the room.

Once your audience has arrived, divide the participants into 2 groups. The groups can then take turns sending members up to pick a wheel and spin it. The volunteer must then name a healthful food in that food group that could be described by the adjective the arrow landed on. For example, if the arrow lands on the word “tart” in the dairy category, the volunteer could answer “plain nonfat yogurt.” Once a food is correctly named, the volunteer earns a point for his/her group, and the other group gets a chance to send up a representative.

If a person guesses a food that is not part of the food group, does not posses the flavor chosen, or which is not healthful, the opposing group gets a chance to guess a food that fits better, thus picking up the point. At the end of the game, tally up the points and declare a winner.

Activity #2: Flavor and Texture, Together at Last

Slice up a few apples and distribute pieces to your participants. Brainstorm words that describe the flavor and texture of the apples. Are they sweet? Crispy? Crunchy? See how many different words your group can come up with.

For a fun variation, slice up a few different types of apples. Have participants compare the flavors and textures. How are they the same? How are they different?

Activity #3: Condiments and Flavor Boosts

Lay out a buffet of a few plain foods like baked potatoes, grilled chicken breasts (no skin), and/or brown rice. Arrange a second buffet nearby, this one full of flavorful toppings like salsas and fresh herbs.

Have participants taste the plain foods first, describing the textures and flavors. Then let them loose on the toppings bar. How do the flavors and textures change? How can healthful condiments make foods more palatable?

As far as toppings go, consider including any of the following: fresh or jarred salsas, roasted vegetable purees, fresh herbs, dried herbs, different kinds of pepper (white, cayenne, black), hot sauce, lemon slices, etc.

Free Infographic

If you’d like to help your clients enjoy the taste of eating right today, then download this great flavor wheel infographic. It’s perfect for email blasts, tweets, handouts, and more!

Who doesn't love a good infographic?

Is there anything else you need for Nutrition Month? Some of the most popular Nutrition Month materials include…

Nutrition Poster

Nutrition Poster

Cooking Demonstration Display Kit

Cooking Demonstration Display Kit

What's in Your Food? Poster Set

What’s in Your Food? Poster Set

Nutrition Bootcamp Presentation

Nutrition Bootcamp Presentation

Announcement: Nutrition Month Materials

For Immediate Release: January 29, 2014
Media and Consumer Inquiries: 800-462-2352

Louisville, CO — Food and Health Communications, Inc has compiled an impressive array of materials that will help educators communicate the key messages of Nutrition Month this March.

Judy Doherty, PC II and founder of Food and Health Communications, Inc, has stated that her goal in releasing these materials is to make the lives of health professionals easier. “Why have people stay up late and wrack their brains for effective ways to communicate their messages when the materials to do that already exist?” Doherty asks. “This way, nutrition educators can put their focus on other matters, knowing that with these products they will get scientifically-accurate and engaging materials without the struggle and fuss. Why reinvent the wheel?”

The theme for 2014’s Nutrition Month this March is “Enjoy the Taste of Eating Right.” The materials in the Nutrition Month Resource Center include aprons and cooking supplies, guides for cooking demonstrations, tabletop and wellness fair display kits, games, handouts, posters, banners, PowerPoint shows, and prizes. Custom materials are available upon request, and every item comes with a 100% satisfaction guarantee.

For more information, visit http://nutritioneducationstore.com. People can access the Nutrition Month Resource Center at http://nutritioneducationstore.com/catalog/Nutrition_Month-56-1.html.