By Manuela McDonough, Progam Manager, Institute for Hispanic Health
I don’t know about you, but I don’t eat from a pyramid—I eat from a plate—and a plate is exactly what the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) unveiled earlier last month: its new food icon, MyPlate.
The National Council of La Raza (NCLR) welcomes the new USDA food plate, and we applaud USDA for updating this easy-to-use tool that will help all Americans, including Latinos, make healthier food choices. This colorful plate is divided into quarters: two are dedicated to fruits and vegetables, while one is for protein and the other is for grains. Alongside the plate is a smaller circle for dairy. The plate also comes with certain guidelines about eating smaller portions, switching to low-fat or fat-free milk, and drinking water instead of sugary beverages, among others.
Furthermore, the accompanying website has all of the necessary resources to help consumers and professionals adapt MyPlate to their needs. None of the information, however, is in Spanish yet. It will probably be another six months before we see a Spanish version. Since Latinos face many barriers to making healthy food choices, we are eager to see the new food plate available for our community. In the meantime, NCLR will begin incorporating our version of the translated plate into our nutrition program materials that target Latino families.
We look forward to continuing our work with USDA to tailor its outreach efforts to achieve cultural competence and improved health outcomes for Latinos nationwide. Adiós mi pirámide, hola un plato muy rico y más saludable.