Unless you’ve got your head in the sand, you’re well aware that the most important month for nutrition professionals is right around the corner. That’s right! National Nutrition Month is less than 4 weeks away!

With the recent release of the 2020 US Dietary Guidelines, this year’s theme is all about “personalizing your plate”. As dietetics professionals, it’s our job to help our clients meet their unique nutritional needs on their terms. Gone are the days of simply handing someone a pre-printed list of suggested foods to eat. What good does that do anyone?

Our national Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND) has lots of great resources to help you bring more awareness to the nutrition profession and the benefits of a nutritious diet on health to consumers. If we want more respect, recognition, pay and attention paid to nutrition, we have to go about it with boots on the ground. This is not only a time to be recognized, but to give back to our profession.

Here’s a list of ways to elevate and celebrate our profession:

1. Get out in the media. Contact your local radio or TV stations and book a segment for National Registered Dietitian Day (March 10th). FYI- it falls on the second Wednesday in March every year.

2. Get social. Social media is on a dietitian’s side. It’s an inexpensive way to market our profession. Challenge yourself to do a Facebook Live, Twitter Takeover, Instagram reel or Tik Tok video. Consider a live cooking demo. If an influencer can do it, so can we.

3. Write a blog post, recipe or article. Reach out to your community paper, workplace or place of worship. Offer to write about a timely nutrition topic or what the profession of dietetics does.

4.Mentor a student or intern. Contact your local university and offer to mentor a student or intern. Students and interns are our future. They look up to us for advice and training. They might be a great help to you, as well. Become a mentor through the Academy here: Preceptors And Mentors (Eatrightpro.org)

5. Volunteer to be a food rescuer.Food rescue has become a huge trend as pantries struggle to feed hungry neighborhoods and reduce food waste. Check out Clancy Cash Harrison’s Food Dignity Project here:Clancy Harrison | The Food Dignity® Project

6. Host a food drive. At your work place. Discuss how prevalent food insecurity is, especially now during this pandemic. If you can’t physically donate items, make a donation to your local food bank.

7. Participate in career day. Remember when the police or fireman showed up at your school for career day? Offer to be a virtual guest in your kids’ high school health class or local elementary school. Choose an underserved population to encourage more diversity in our field.

8. Form a mastermind group for more support and career help. Some online groups have membership fees, but in the age of digital connection, start your own for free. Find a few like-minded professionals to bounce ideas off of, and give and receive support. We are stronger together than divided.

For more resources and ideas to celebrate National Nutrition Month, got to WWW.EATRIGHT.ORG