10 Quality Nutrition and Health Project Ideas for High School Students

Happy National Nutrition Awareness Month, friends! Well, very shortly (March). 

It’s always a fantastic time to have your students work on a meaningful and impactful health project, but National Nutrition Awareness Month is a great excuse to take that plunge.

​Coming up with a good nutrition or health project idea can feel daunting because you want it to matter. You don't want your students slapping together a poster board, presenting that board to the class, and tossing it in the trash. 

You want the experience to mean something to the community, to make an impact, and to sincerely raise awareness about nutrition this National Nutrition Awareness Month. Right? Or is that just me?

Project-based learning is a FANTASTIC way to do that.

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As an experiential educator, I desire all learning experiences to be personally meaningful, relevant, and impactful because I’ve seen the benefits of designing learning experiences that way.

I want to help you design and plan a nutrition and health project for your students that is memorable and important, one that your students will remind you of ten years from now when they bump into you at the grocery store. 

This blog post is how I can help you with that through a project-based learning approach! 

Below you will find five nutrition and health project based learning ideas for National Nutrition Awareness Month written in the form of a driving question.

Use these PBL driving questions as inspiration for planning an incredible and unforgettable learning experience this March!

10 Nutrition and Health Project Based Learning Ideas

For every idea, I will include a driving question and a description. The driving question really does a nice job of summarizing the experience, so I will use the description section to clarify and add details.

1. Community Restaurant-Inspired Cookbook

Driving Question: 

How can our class collaborate with whole food or health food restaurants in our community to compile a diverse collection of nutritious recipes for a cookbook that advocates for holistic nutrition? 

Description:

I love this idea for a variety of reasons, but my favorite part is how it takes advantage of the unique resources that the community has to offer.

The collaboration is mutually beneficial. While students learn about nutrition and build skills such as communication, networking, writing, photography, cooking, and more, community restaurants are able to share and promote their incredible food.

If my students were doing this PBL, I would ask them to market and sell the completed cookbook to both promote awareness of nutrition and generate funds to sponsor community cooking classes for children. 

Having a cookbook sale where students make dishes from the cookbook and offer samples would add an extra level of reach and impact!

Take a Peek at the resource

2. Nutritious Meal Plans for Teens

Driving Question: 

How can our class, in collaboration with local nutritionists and chefs, develop a series of nutritious and affordable meal plans tailored to the dietary needs of high school students, aiming to improve overall health and academic performance within our school community?

Description:

One of the biggest struggles I face on any given day is coming up with meals to serve my family that I feel good about.

What I wouldn’t give for someone to hand over a meal plan for the week that is nutritious and delicious for EVERYONE in my family. 

Sometimes what holds me back from serving my family nutritious meals is the confusion around what is nutritious and the lack of time. 

If I knew that my students put their hearts and souls into creating a nutritious meal plan based on in-depth research and the knowledge and input of community experts, I would take it in a heartbeat, simply to save me time and frustration.

That is the foundation of this particular PBL idea with an emphasis on teen health rather than families. This PBL authentically tackles a real problem associated with nutrition, which is the lack of information and time.

3. Outdoor Garden Classroom

Driving Question: 

How can our class, in partnership with community garden initiatives, establish and maintain a school garden that serves as an outdoor classroom for hands-on learning about nutrition, sustainable agriculture, and healthy eating habits to enrich the educational experience of students and promote environmental stewardship?

Description:

This particular PBL would be a large undertaking. If possible, turn this into a school-, department, or grade-wide effort. 

I would recommend splitting classes up into crews. For example, one crew would write grants, another would research sustainable gardening practices, another would be responsible for community outreach, all would participate in building, and so on. 

If you are a one-person show, you can still do this! Just be realistic with your time, energy, and available materials.

4. Nutrition Week Speaker/Workshop Series

Driving Question: 

How can our class organize a series of interactive cooking workshops and nutrition seminars led by guest chefs, dietitians, and other community experts, providing practical skills and knowledge to empower community members to make informed choices about their diet and lifestyle?

Description: 

In summary, students would identify a variety of community speakers related to health and nutrition such as farmers, chefs, nutritionists, doctors, policymakers, and more. 

Students would take charge of coordinating the event, arranging speaker schedules, promoting it to the community, and managing all aspects of hosting. The primary aim is to offer diverse educational perspectives on nutrition through engaging with various experts.

Take a Peek at the Resource

​5. Culinary Arts Showcase

Driving Question: 

How can our class host a culinary arts showcase where we prepare and present nutritious dishes that are judged on taste, presentation, and nutritional value by community experts, to nurture and promote a culture of healthy eating?

Description:

We have, as a school, hosted a variety of culinary arts showcases for the community. We have hosted a cook-off fundraiser, a multicultural food festival, a pie-baking contest, and more all with the expertise and input of community experts. 

We have never focused done a showcase that focuses specifically on nutritious foods, but the concept is the same. This PBL experience, whether nutrition-themed or otherwise, loops in relevant community members and makes an impact, in this case, promoting a culture of healthy eating in a fun and social way.

6. Educational Video or Podcast Series

Driving Question: 

How can I work with local media and health specialists to produce a podcast that focuses on meal planning, label reading, and balanced nutrition, engaging and informing a wide audience about the importance of making healthy food choices for overall well-being?

Description: 

This driving question focuses on the idea of a podcast, but the concept can extend to various other media platforms, including a YouTube channel, a blog, a weekly segment for the school's news broadcast, and more.
​
I suggested a podcast because of its user-friendly nature and wide accessibility. Not everyone engages with blogs, and viewership of the school's weekly newscast may be limited. Podcasts can reach a broader audience compared to other media formats.

But with that said, great project-based learning designs have incorporated student input, needs, interests, and more. If your students are more into YouTube than podcasts, by all means, get them rolling with a YouTube station. Gauge the interests of your students and gather their input before making any big decisions.

7. Nutritional Transparency

Driving Question:

How can our class advocate for nutritional transparency by collaborating with policymakers to draft comprehensive legislation addressing food labeling and marketing practices? 

Description:

The goal is to produce a bill that ensures consumers are accurately informed about the nutritional content and marketing tactics of food products, ultimately promoting healthier dietary choices and empowering individuals to make informed decisions about their nutrition.

Students would begin by identifying their legislators. Then they draft letters requesting meetings, prepare talking points for these meetings, and collaborate during the scheduled meetings to develop legislation, specifically focusing on measures to safeguard consumers from mislabeling.

Students can advocate for legislation on a variety of topics or related to any community need. Nutritional transparency as that issue is just one example. 

8. Interactive Online Game

Driving Question: 

How can our class, as advocates for childhood nutrition, collaborate with game developers to design and develop an interactive and social online game aimed at educating children about healthy eating habits? 

Description: 

The objective of this PBL is to launch a game to a wide audience of young players, to promote awareness of nutrition, and to foster positive dietary behaviors, ultimately impacting their long-term health and well-being.

Students can also use super user-friendly game creators right online such as Scratch, GameMaker Studio 2, Construct 3, Roblox Studio, and more. But I highly recommend that students expand those options by connecting and collaborating with game developers who have access to special software that your students may not.

9. Food Festival​

Driving Question:

How can our class collaborate with local vendors, health experts, and community leaders to organize a food festival focused on promoting awareness, education, and enjoyment of nutritious eating habits? 

Description:

The ultimate goal is to create a memorable event that attracts a diverse audience from the community, providing them with valuable knowledge and resources to make informed dietary choices to foster a culture of health and wellness for all attendees.

Students can split up into small groups to divide and conquer the event. Feature cooking demonstrations, interactive activities and games, arts and crafts, music, and more, all aimed at getting the community excited about nutrition.

take a peek at the resource

10. Food Photography Exhibition 

Driving Question: 

How can I organize a food photography exhibition for the school and neighborhood community as a means of raising awareness about nutrition?

Description: 

Students can participate themselves and invite community members to participate in developing food photos to put on display at an exhibition event. 

They would all be encouraged to capture visually appealing images of healthy meals, vibrant fruits and vegetables, and nutritious snacks. 

The food photography exhibition could be hosted at the school, but I encourage you and your students to connect with a local gallery to showcase your work.

These are a few of many nutrition and health project based learning ideas for National Nutrition Awareness Month coming up in March! 

The idea is to take these ideas as inspiration. Build on the exact driving questions, or modify them together with your students to design and execute a health project based learning experience that makes sense for you. 

Good luck! Before heading out, head down to the comments and let us know which of the PBL ideas in this post grabbed your attention. Let’s chat!

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