Jamie Carlson, Pitt County's EFNEP educator, leads interactive activities to bring nutrition concepts to life. During a recent "Camp, Cook, Play" protein lesson at a local Boys & Girls Club, she guided several hands-on activities that kept participants energized and engaged.
Plant or animal game
Jamie opened the session with the "Plant or Animal?" game. Holding up photos of various protein-rich foods, she asked the youth to use their bodies to indicate whether a food was a plant or an animal.
Animal source: Take one baby step forward.
Plant source: Take a big bunny hop backward.
This active warm-up encouraged youth to think and move at the same time, reinforcing that protein comes from both plant and animal sources before they explored specific nutrients.
Next, Jamie shared a custom game she created called "Hero or Help!" to teach youth which foods are packed with iron and which ones need extra support. Each child received a two-sided paddle:
Hero: The food is a good source of iron.
Help: The food needs a nutritional boost from other foods.
Jamie held up food models and asked the youth to vote. The interactive game became a classroom challenge with children waving their paddles and competing to flex their nutrition knowledge. They discovered surprising "heroes" such as fortified cereal and black beans and learned that "help" foods such as carrots can be paired with leafy greens to boost iron, along with foods such as bell peppers for a source of vitamin C to support iron absorption.
This content is sourced from
NC Cooperative Extension Cabarrus County Center
. It reflects the author's views and has not been edited by our newsroom. It may have been generated using AI assistance.
