June 19, 2013

Industry News | March 2, 2012

NTF Joins USDA to Promote “What’s on MyPlate?” Day

National Turkey Federation (NTF) today teamed up with the nearly 6,000 USDA partners to make March 8, 2012, “What’s on MyPlate?” Day, to heighten public awareness of the importance of choosing foods for a healthy meal. 

NTF is committed to promoting a diet that reflects the latest recommendations in the 2010 Dietary Guidelinesfor Americans, and highlights the message behind the new MyPlate food icon. Turkey is a perfect choice as it is a nutrient-rich protein, low in fat, and is available in a wide variety of different cuts and products. 

The MyPlate icon, unveiled last summer, is the fresh, new USDA food graphic replacing MyPyramid, and is designed to be a visual cue to remind consumers to make healthful food choices. It supports the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, features the five food groups (fruits, vegetables, grains, protein, and dairy) and points users to ChooseMyPlate.gov to learn about and apply the guidelines for themselves. 

The goal of “What’s on MyPlate?” Day is to create nationwide attention by using the outreach strength of social networks such as blogs, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook to promote MyPlate and its related messages and resources like the new SuperTracker and the ChooseMyPlate.gov website. These resources empower consumers with the knowhow to build healthier plates. 

As part of this effort, NTF and the USDA Nutrition Communicators Network urge consumers to put MyPlate into action by taking a photo of their healthful plates to share on Twitter with the hash-tag #MyPlate. 

NTFand the USDA believe that seeing where and when consumers think about healthy eating can inspire people. Snap a photograph of a MyPlate-style breakfast, lunch, or dinner to share with the USDA Flickr Photo Group (http://www.flickr.com/groups/choosemyplate).

Those interested in becoming involved can sign up as a Community or National Strategic Partner by clicking onPartnering Program at ChooseMyPlate.gov, or follow USDA MyPlate on Twitter @MyPlate and NTF on Twitter @TurkeyGal.