People who suffer from hunger need the same nutrients that everyone else does. Help them get those nutrients by creating a list of canned foods and other packaged foods that have a high nutritional content.

Kitchen Clean Out

Check out the list below of Food That Can Be Collected. Go through your kitchen (with your parents’ permission) and gather all the items that you would be able to donate according to the list. You will be reading and comparing all the labels on these.

Separate

Divide your food items into different piles, according to what group they belong to. Look below at Food That Can Be Collected to see some food groups you could use.

Label Lookout

Start comparing the labels on each item in each group. Then, compare each group to the other food groups. It might help to write down the information you gather. For each item, write down the fat, cholesterol, and sodium content along with the fiber, calcium, iron, and vitamin content. A great website to check out is the FDA's official site.

You should print this out and keep it with you as a reference guide.

What is that stuff?

Have you ever looked at a label on a food item only to find a huge list of ingredients—words you’ve never heard or seen? Below is a list of some ingredients that are not good for your health.

• Shortening, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil and hydrogenated vegetable oil- These are trans fats that can be found in margarine, salad dressing, dips, French fries, donuts, cookies, cake mixes, crackers and chips. These ingredients prolong the shelf life of food, but have been known to cause heart disease.
• Monosoduim Glutamate (MSG)- This is a flavor enhancer that can be found in canned or packaged soup mixes, as well as canned and frozen foods. Two percent of the population is allergic to MSG and high salt content can cause circulation problems later in life.

If you see any of these ingredients on the labels of your food items, separate these into a different pile.

Real Meal

Now that you have a list of all the nutrients found in your food items, put a few together to make “meals”. For example, you might choose canned salmon (for protein and Omega 3 good fat), whole-wheat pasta (for fiber), canned carrots (for Vitamin A) and 100% apple juice (for Vitamin C). Now you’ve got a nutritious meal that could be donated to a canned food drive.

Remember

Keep it up! Look at the labels of the foods you eat whenever you can. Focus on eating healthy all of the time, and you’ll feel healthy all of the time.