Welcome  to  Public  health  moment from  the  University  of  Minnesota. The  new  dietary  food  plate  is a  good  model  to  use  when packing  a  lunch  for  your  children. As  we  enter  the  back  to  school  season, University  of  Minnesota  Nutrition  Expert  Jamie  Stang offers  advice  to  parents  on what  to  include  in  the  lunch  box. The  new  my  plate  actually  is  a  good  idea. You  can  use  my  plate  on  a  plate or  you  can  think  of  your  lunch  box  as  a  plate. So  typically,  we  want  to  see at  least  half  of  the  plate  being  fruit  and  vegetable. So  if  you  think  of  the  lunch  box filling  half  of  your  lunch  box with  it's  carrot  sticks  or  banana  grapes, easy  things  that  you  can  put  in  the  lunch  box. The  other  half  of  the  plate  should  be the  protein  in  the  carbohydrate. That  could  be  anything  from your  tuna  or  your  peanut  butter  and  jelly  sandwich. That  could  be  crackers  and  cheese. It  could  be  hummus  and  pita  chips. But  thinking  about  splitting the  lunch  box  or  the  plate  half  and  half, half  fruits  and  vegetables  and  half  the  rest  of the  meal  is  a  pretty  easy  guideline for  most  parents  to  follow. Staying  adds  that  school  lunches are  actually  a  well  rounded, nutritious  option,  but  really, lunches  have  come  a  long  way. Starting  with  some  recent  legislation, we're  now  seeing  that  half  or  more  of the  grain  products  must  be  whole  grain. We  also  see  that  they're  required  to have  fruit  and  vegetable  with  meals. And  there's  a  lot  more  focus  on  variety  and providing  specific  fruits  and vegetables  that  provide  missing  nutrients.