Food Literacy for Everyday Life
Understand food information. Use it in everyday life.
Learn how to make sense of food labels, ingredients, prices, and product information—so you can use what you learn in the food decisions you already make.
Food Decisions in Everyday Life
There’s more
behind a food
decision
than what’s on the
label.
Food decisions are shaped by the information people encounter, what works for their household, and the options available to them.
Some decisions are carefully considered. Others are familiar, automatic, or simply shaped by what’s possible.
Food Information
Food information
Labels, ingredient lists, serving sizes, package claims, prices, and unit prices can provide information for understanding and comparing products.
Everyday Life
Household & everyday life
Budget, time, household needs, preferences, routines, culture, storage, and preparation can influence what works for a household.
Available Options
Access & shopping environment
Transportation, store location, product availability, marketing, promotions, and the shopping environment can influence the options people encounter.
Food literacy helps people understand and use food information within the realities of their everyday decisions.
Why Food Literacy Matters
Food information is everywhere. Understanding how to use it takes knowledge.
Seeing food information isn't the same as knowing how to use it.
of surveyed U.S. adults had looked at a Nutrition Facts label.
of college graduates couldn't correctly answer all four nutrition-label questions.
Persoskie et al., 2017
2013 national survey
of surveyed U.S. adults couldn't correctly calculate the percentage of daily calories represented by one serving.
Persoskie et al., 2017
2013 national survey
Try Food Literacy
Sometimes the first step is knowing where to look.
Food packages contain different kinds of information. The useful starting point depends on the question you're trying to answer.
Start with the question.
Quick Challenge
You're comparing two similar cereals and want to know which has more added sugar per serving.
Where would you look first?
Choose a source above.
Think about which part of the package directly answers the question being asked.
You just practiced food literacy.
Keep going with interactive activities, learning pathways, and food information tools in the Resource Hub.
Explore the Resource HubStart with the question. Then find the information that helps answer it.
Our Approach
We teach people how to understand, use, and apply food information.
Food information becomes more useful when people know what it means, where to find it, how to compare it, and how it can be used in a decision.
Nutrition Clarity Foundation builds those skills through education grounded in the food information and decisions people encounter in everyday life.
Understand
Understand the information
Learn how to read and interpret Nutrition Facts, ingredient lists, serving information, prices, package claims, and other information found on food products and in the grocery environment.
Practice
Practice using it
Use real examples to read labels, compare products, examine ingredients, work with prices and unit costs, and explore how different pieces of information can be used together.
Apply
Apply it in everyday decisions
Build skills that can be carried into the grocery store, the kitchen, and other everyday situations while recognizing that needs, priorities, preferences, budgets, and available options differ from person to person.
The information changes. The skills go with you.
We provide the knowledge and skills to understand and use food information. What matters in a decision depends on the person making it.
Learn at Your Own Pace
Explore food literacy by topic.
Build your understanding across food labels, ingredients, grocery navigation, product comparison, shopping value, and other food information you may encounter in everyday life.
Learning Area 01
Food Label Literacy
Understand Nutrition Facts, serving information, nutrients, package claims, and other information found on food labels.
Learning Area 02
Ingredient & Food Awareness
Explore ingredient lists, how ingredients are presented, and information that can help you better understand what’s in a food product.
Learning Area 03
Grocery Navigation & Product Comparison
Build skills for navigating grocery information and comparing products using labels, packaging, prices, claims, and other available information.
Learning Area 04
Smart Shopping & Value Literacy
Explore unit pricing, package size, cost per serving, brands, promotions, and other factors that can shape shopping value.
Explore More
Keep learning in the Resource Hub.
Explore interactive activities, videos, food information libraries, educational resources, and more in NCF’s public Resource Hub.
Explore the Resource HubWant to go deeper? Create a free NCF account to access guided learning pathways.
Food Literacy in Everyday Life
Explore food literacy in everyday life.
Explore articles about food information, grocery decisions, product comparisons, shopping value, access, culture, and the realities that can shape everyday food decisions.
Our Work in Nashville
Food literacy education rooted in community.
Nutrition Clarity Foundation is a Nashville-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization providing food literacy education through community learning opportunities and educational resources.
Our work helps people build the knowledge and skills to understand food information and use it within the realities of everyday decisions.
Community Learning
Community Food Literacy Series
Through Nashville Public Library's Be Well Program, Nutrition Clarity Foundation is bringing food literacy education into the community through an ongoing workshop series.
Participants explore topics including Nutrition Facts, serving information, ingredient lists, product comparison, grocery navigation, and shopping value using everyday examples.
Support Nutrition Clarity Foundation
Support food literacy education.
Your support helps Nutrition Clarity Foundation expand access to food literacy education, develop educational resources, and bring learning opportunities to more people and communities.
Support Our Work