The Virginia PTA Power Plates Program is designed to encourage students to
practice healthy eating habits by creating their own recipes.

Please see our Healthy & Safety Overview in Leader Support for information about the healthy & safety programs offered by the National PTA and visit our Family Fitness Event Page for ideas that you use to implement a community health program or host a Family Fitness Night.

2018-2019 Deadline is January 18!  
We will recognize District Winners "Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds, Healthy Community Conversation in February.

FIVE MEAL CATEGORIES:

• ​Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
• Dessert
• Snack

FIVE GRADE DIVISIONS:

• Primary: Preschool – Grade 2 
• Intermediate: Grades 3-5 
• Middle School: Grades 6-8 
• High School: Grades 9-12 
• Special Chef: All grades

ENTRY GUIDELINES:

• Title for the original recipe. 
• Chef Statement.  What inspired the healthy recipe. Is it gluten-free, nut-free or lactose-free? What other healthy foods might be served with this recipe? (One sentence to 100 words). 
• Ingredient List.  This should be in standard U. S. measurement volume and weight. Ingredients should be commonly available at retail stores. Use generic names, not brand names.
• Step-by-Step Preparation Instructions. Include cooking times, pan sizes, temperatures, and number of servings.
• Photograph. Formatted as .jpg, .png or non-animated .gif and smaller than 2MB. It should be a photograph of the food only. No person should appear in the photograph. 

Please type your entry on the Official Student Entry Form.  

Please ensure the recipe is 'healthy' according to the
USDA MyPlate Nutrition Guidance (www.ChooseMyPlate.gov)  

How to Enter

Submit the Recipe, Photo and Entry Form to Virginia PTA by email. Each entry should be emailed separately with the Students Name, Food Category and Division in the subject line of the e-mail.

Entries should be e-mailed to PowerPlates@vapta.org by 11:59 p.m. on Friday March 9, 2018.  If you have a package of entries from an entire class, please contact HuntDD@VAPTA.org.

Judging

Judging will be based on the following criteria:

• 50% healthy nutritional value of the recipe
• 25% perceived taste
• 15% creativity and originality
• ​10% student statement 

Awards

• Entries are judged by judges appointed by the Virginia PTA Health and Safety Committee.
• Awards will be announced by mail, email and/or telephone by April 13, 2018. 
• First Place winners are invited to the Virginia PTA Student Awards Ceremony in Richmond in April/May
• 2016-2017 School Year Winners
• 2017-2018 Power Plates Winners​

Helpful Dates

PowerPlates can be part of a full celebration of healthy eating at your school - any time of year - however, here are a few dates that you might consider when kicking off the contest.​

• October: National Farm to School Month #FarmtoSchool & #F2SMonth​
• October 9-13: National School Lunch Week #NSLW17
• October 11: National Take Your Parent to Lunch Day
• November: Healthy Lifestyles month
• March 5-9: National School Breakfast Week #NSMW18
• April 23-27: Every Kid Healthy Week
• May 4: School Lunch Hero Day (Ted Talk & Book Series)
• May 7-11: School Nutrition Employee Week

Helpful Resources

• INFORMATIONAL FLYER: Flyer you can distribute
• ​PTA Leader Resources for Promoting Health & Safety
• Family Fitness Activities, Events & Tools for PTAs
• USDA MyPlate Nutrition Guidance (www.ChooseMyPlate.gov)
• National School Lunch Week Toolkit (Media Tips, Taking pictures of food, Getting Your Legislators involved etc)
• Take Your Parent to Lunch Day Toolkit (Components of School Lunch, Questions to Ask)