Integrating Gender and Nutrition within Agricultural Extension Services Activity Sheet

The activity sheet, "What Goes on the Plate?", aims to increase nutritional awareness among extension program facilitators and participants. The activity is designed to be shared and can be adapted for various audiences. The activity begins with an introduction highlighting the importance of nutritional awareness in addressing inequalities in individual health and well-being. The objectives of the activity are to identify the components of a healthy diet, examine the effects of nutritional inequalities, and demonstrate the challenges of providing a healthy diet with limited resources. The activity involves a series of steps, including reviewing the title, objectives, and introduction, and then dividing participants into small groups to draw a plate illustrating a nutritionally balanced lunch for a typical rural household. The groups are then asked to share their drawings and assess them based on the "correct" components of a nutritionally balanced diet. The activity also includes a scenario where participants are given a hypothetical budget to purchase food for a rural household, and they must decide what to buy to provide three nutritious meals for the day. This exercise aims to demonstrate the challenges of providing a healthy diet with limited resources. The activity concludes with a discussion on how to implement the activity in the field, including potential changes that may need to be made to adapt it to different audiences. The facilitator's guide provides a framework for implementing the activity and includes key messages on nutrition, such as the importance of eating a well-balanced diet, consuming moderate amounts of oils and fats, and limiting salt intake. The activity is based on the Bangladeshi Food Pyramid, which provides guidelines for a healthy diet. The pyramid emphasizes the importance of consuming a variety of foods at each meal, limiting salt intake, and practicing exclusive breastfeeding for six months. The activity also references other resources, including the Food Based Dietary Guidelines for Bangladesh and the Introductory Workshop on Integrating Gender and Nutrition with Agricultural Extension Services. Overall, the "What Goes on the Plate?" activity is a valuable tool for promoting nutritional awareness and addressing inequalities in individual health and well-being. By increasing the knowledge and skills of extension program facilitators and participants, the activity can contribute to improved nutrition outcomes for rural households.