Glossary

These terms recur in accounts of school food, gardens, neighborhood programs, community learning and physical activity. Each explanation names its source and links to the fuller topic. A definition identifies a concept or program; it does not establish an outcome or an individual recommendation.

Amino acid

MedlinePlus Genetics describes amino acids as smaller units joined in chains to make proteins. Their sequence is connected with a protein's structure and function. See Body proteins and activity.

Articular cartilage

Wikipedia's hyaline cartilage article describes articular cartilage as the hyaline tissue on bone surfaces inside synovial joints, where it is surrounded by joint fluid. See Tendons, cartilage and joints.

Balance activity

MedlinePlus's older-adult activity page distinguishes balance exercise from aerobic, strength and flexibility exercise. It discusses balance in relation to falls among older adults. See National activity guidance.

Collagen

Wikipedia's collagen article describes collagen as a structural protein in the connective-tissue matrix, including tissues such as tendons and cartilage. The term here concerns a body material. See Connective tissues.

Community eligibility

The USDA's Community Eligibility Provision page describes a meal-service option through which qualifying schools and districts serve breakfast and lunch at no cost to enrolled students without household applications. See School meal models.

Community food security

Wikipedia's community food security article describes food access and availability at community scale, as well as a framework for place-based food systems that considers affordability, social conditions and sustainability. See Food security in cities.

Community gardening

Wikipedia's community gardening article describes land cultivated by a group, either through separate plots or as a shared garden. These arrangements differ in how work and harvest are organized. See City growing settings.

Compost

Wikipedia's compost article describes material made by decomposing organic matter, used as a plant fertilizer and soil amendment. Compost is the product; composting is the process. See Compost and school gardens.

Congregate meals

The Administration for Community Living's Nutrition Services page describes congregate meals as meals served in group settings within its older-adult nutrition program account. The setting distinguishes them from home-delivered meals. See Meal services for older adults.

CSA

The National Agricultural Library's CSA page describes community supported agriculture as a direct-marketing relationship in which growers and consumers share the risks and benefits of food production. See CSA shares and produce bags.

Delayed onset muscle soreness

Wikipedia's delayed soreness article describes muscle pain and stiffness after unaccustomed or strenuous exercise. It says the underlying mechanism is not completely understood. See Muscle responses to activity.

Dietary Guidelines for Americans

The federal Dietary Guidelines website presents editions of federal dietary guidance and background on their history. Here the Guidelines are a reference and teaching-framework subject. See Food education frameworks.

Experiential learning

Wikipedia's experiential learning article describes learning through experience and reflection on doing. It distinguishes hands-on activity from the reflection that may accompany the activity. See Learning through community activity.

Farm to school

The USDA's Farm to School page describes local food and agricultural education in child nutrition programs, supported through grants, research, technical assistance and training. See Gardens and farm to school.

Farmers' market

Wikipedia's farmers' market article describes a physical marketplace where farmers sell food directly to consumers. Markets can take place indoors or outdoors. See Markets and their food programs.

Food desert

Wikipedia's food desert article uses the term for an area with limited food access, while discussing differences in measurement and barriers including affordability, transport and distance. See Food access concepts.

Food insecurity

The USDA Economic Research Service describes food insecurity as a household economic and social condition involving limited or uncertain access to adequate food. It distinguishes this condition from individual hunger. See Household food security.

Food literacy

Wikipedia's food literacy article describes knowledge, skills and behavior concerning people's relationships with food, with definitions that depend on context. It is broader than a single preparation skill. See Food knowledge and learning.

Food safety

Wikipedia's food safety article describes a scientific field concerning food handling, preparation and storage, including biological, chemical and physical contamination. See Kitchen learning and safety.

Food security

The USDA Economic Research Service describes ranges of household food access. Its high food-security category has no reported access problems, while other categories describe concerns or limitations of differing severity. See Definitions of food security.

Food sovereignty

Wikipedia's food sovereignty article describes the idea that people should control their food systems, including production, distribution and consumption. It distinguishes control from the access focus of food security. See Food access and positions about food systems.

Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program

The USDA's program page describes a free fresh-produce snack program for eligible elementary schools, with brief nutrition lessons accompanying snacks. See School snacks and meals.

Garden-based learning

Wikipedia's garden-based learning article describes an instructional approach using a garden as a teaching tool across subjects and learning settings. The garden space and the teaching approach are distinct ideas. See School gardens as learning settings.

Greenhouse

Wikipedia's greenhouse article describes a structure intended to regulate temperature and humidity for growing plants, with transparent covering that lets sunlight enter. See Urban farm growing spaces.

GusNIP

The NIFA's program page describes the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program and its competitive grants. Its nutrition-incentive component funds and evaluates projects involving fruit and vegetable purchases by SNAP participants. See Incentives at markets.

Home economics

Wikipedia's home economics article describes a subject covering family and consumer issues, including nutrition and food preparation alongside finances, housing, development and textiles. See School food education history.

Home-delivered meals

The Administration for Community Living's Nutrition Services page describes meals delivered to older adults' homes within its program account. Delivery is a different service model from meals in a group setting. See Older-adult meal services.

Hyaline cartilage

Wikipedia's hyaline cartilage article describes a firm, translucent cartilage found on many joint surfaces and in other body structures. It contains collagen; articular cartilage names its location on joint surfaces. See Cartilage and joints.

Local food

The USDA Economic Research Service's Local Foods page describes research using differing definitions of local food and examining producers, consumers and market scope. Local food is therefore a term requiring context. See Markets and local food.

Muscle fiber

Wikipedia's skeletal muscle article describes muscle fibers as elongated muscle cells arranged in bundles within skeletal muscle. Contractile structures within the fibers participate in contraction. See Skeletal muscle structure.

Muscle hypertrophy

Wikipedia's muscle hypertrophy article describes increased skeletal muscle size through enlargement of its component cells. It discusses adaptations associated with training while acknowledging incomplete understanding of the precise mechanisms. See Muscle adaptation.

MyPlate

Wikipedia's MyPlate article describes a USDA food-guide graphic depicting a plate and glass with food-group divisions, used in nutrition education. Here it is discussed as a teaching framework. See Food-guide teaching frameworks.

National School Lunch Program

The USDA's lunch program page describes a federally assisted meal program in public and nonprofit private schools and residential child care institutions, providing low-cost or free lunches during the school day. See School lunch and breakfast.

Nutrition education

Wikipedia's nutrition education article describes learning experiences and educational strategies with environmental support, delivered in different settings and at individual, community and policy levels. See Nutrition education in schools.

Older Americans Act nutrition services

The Administration for Community Living describes an authorized program that includes congregate and home-delivered meals, social connection and access to other supports. See Nutrition programs for older adults.

Osteoarthritis

The NIAMS's osteoarthritis page describes degenerative joint disease involving tissue breakdown over time. Its account explains that experiences differ and that several joint tissues can be involved. See Joints and activity research.

Peer education

Wikipedia's peer education article describes sharing information, values and behavior among people with similar social backgrounds or experiences. It also discusses preparation in relevant information and communication skills. See Youth leadership and learning.

Positive youth development

youth.gov describes an approach that recognizes young people's strengths and supports leadership through opportunities, positive relationships and supportive environments. See Youth work and leadership.

Produce safety

The FDA's produce safety page describes handling fresh fruits and vegetables during storage and preparation. It explains that contamination can occur during growing or after harvest. See Produce handling in cooking classes.

Protein

MedlinePlus Genetics describes proteins as long amino acid chains involved in cell work and in the structure, function and regulation of tissues and organs. See Proteins as body materials.

Raised bed

Wikipedia's raised-bed gardening article describes a growing area with soil elevated above ground level, usually enclosed by a structure. Construction materials and bed forms can vary. See School garden growing spaces.

Sarcopenia

Wikipedia's sarcopenia article describes a loss of skeletal muscle mass, quality and strength associated with aging or immobility. It is a specific body-science term, rather than a general description of every older person. See Muscle and age.

School Breakfast Program

The USDA's breakfast program page describes reimbursement to states for nonprofit school and residential childcare breakfast programs, with federal, state and local administrative roles. See Breakfast within the school day.

School garden

Wikipedia's school garden article describes a designated school space where students learn to grow plants and produce. The physical space is distinct from the lessons organized around it. See School gardens and learning.

School wellness policy

The USDA's wellness policy page describes a written district document covering goals, food standards, public involvement, leadership and evaluation related to the school environment. See School policies and meals.

Service-learning

Wikipedia's service-learning article describes community service connected to classroom objectives and societal needs, with reflection on action. The academic connection distinguishes the approach from volunteering alone. See University courses and neighborhood schools.

Skeletal muscle

Wikipedia's skeletal muscle article describes muscle tissue with fibers and internal contractile structures, commonly attached to bone by tendons. Its contraction is part of body movement. See Muscles and their attachments.

Smart Snacks

The USDA's Smart Snacks page describes nutrition standards for foods sold to students during the school day in school stores, vending machines and other venues. See School produce sales.

SNAP

The USDA's SNAP page describes the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program as food benefits that add to grocery budgets for households with low incomes. See Food benefits and access.

SNAP-Ed

The USDA's SNAP Nutrition page describes nutrition education delivered with state and local organizations, including classes and work concerning community policies, systems and environments. See SNAP nutrition education.

Social entrepreneurship

Wikipedia's social entrepreneurship article describes entrepreneurial approaches to developing and implementing solutions to social, cultural or environmental issues. Its aims differ from judging activity only by financial returns. See School produce ventures.

Sprain

MedlinePlus's sprains and strains page describes a sprain as a ligament stretched or torn. A ligament connects bones at a joint, distinguishing this term from a muscle or tendon strain. See Joint and tissue terms.

Strain

MedlinePlus's sprains and strains page describes a strain as a stretched or torn muscle or tendon. Tendons connect muscle to bone; the term concerns a different tissue from a ligament sprain. See Muscles, tendons and injuries.

Summer meals

The USDA's Summer Food Service Program page describes free meals and snacks for young people at neighborhood locations in eligible areas during summer, when school is out. See Meals beyond the school term.

Tendon

Wikipedia's tendon article describes fibrous connective tissue that links muscle to bone and transmits contraction forces. It distinguishes tendons from ligaments connecting bone to bone. See Tendons and joints.

Urban agriculture

Wikipedia's urban agriculture article describes cultivating, processing and distributing food in cities. It distinguishes this from agriculture at the urban edge. See Growing food on city land.

Volunteering

Wikipedia's volunteering article describes freely chosen contributions of time and labor, often for community service. Volunteering may bring specialized skills but does not by itself define an academic learning process. See College volunteer roles.

WIC

Wikipedia's WIC article describes the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children as a federal assistance program for pregnant and breastfeeding women and young children with low incomes. See Federal food assistance.

Young worker

The OSHA's young workers page describes young people's rights on the job and employers' responsibility for safe workplaces. The employment relationship is separate from a food activity's educational purpose. See Youth employment and safety.

The questions page connects common questions with longer explanations. The annotated reading list describes the sources by topic.