Eat Smart, the CATCH Way!

CATCH – EAT SMART component can help your school cafeteria become an exciting place where creative and nutritious meals are served in a colorful environment that promotes healthy eating and nutrition messaging. EAT SMART in the cafeteria reinforces classroom learning about healthy habits and choosing foods wisely for good health.

The CATCH Eat Smart School Nutrition Program Guide is a useful tool for child nutrition services staff in grades K-8 providing:

  • Healthy menu planning, purchasing, preparation, and promotional tips
  • Introduces coordinated school health and facilitates wellness policyconcepts
  • Resources for planning foods for school parties, staff & parent functions,vending machines, and fundraisers
  • Provides useful tips on how to implement GO, SLOW, WHOA as an aid in helping children choose healthy foods and to promote positive nutrition messages throughout the school and to parents

What is Go, Slow, and Whoa?

GO, SLOW, and WHOA is a simple method developed by the CATCH research team and tested as a tool to help children and their families choose healthier food options  everyday. The goal is to eat more GO foods than SLOW foods and more SLOW foods than WHOA foods.

GO describes foods that are whole grain, unprocessed fruits and vegetables, lowest in fat, contain no added sugar, and can be eaten daily.

SLOW describes foods that are slightly processed and may have some added salt, fat or sugar.

WHOA describes foods that have the highest fat and sugar.

The GO, SLOW, WHOA method has been adopted by many organizations outside of CATCH and is widely used throughout the country.

How to Promote Healthy Eating in the Cafeteria

A great way to introduce children to healthy eating is with the school cafeteria’s daily or weekly menu. Include a short nutrition game or activity with the menu. A variety of fun activities can be promoted to increase interest in the program. Here are some examples:

  • Label menu items as GO, SLOW, or WHOA in the cafeteria and on web menus
  • Hang GO, SLOW, WHOA posters
  • Host a GO, SLOW, WHOA poster-making contest and hang entries and winners
  • Give out CATCH stickers as reinforcement for eating more vegetables
  • Schedule cafeteria and kitchen tours for students and parents on back-to-school nights

For products that reinforce the CATCH message in the cafeteria, shop the CATCH store.