Fruits and veggies provide great taste, nutrition and abundant variety. Consuming fruits and veggies can be a factor in maintaining a healthy weight and may help reduce the risk of some types of diseases. Use your Farmers Market Nutrition Program checks to eat more fruits and veggies because more matters for your health!
How Much Matters?
The amount of fruits and veggies you need every day depends on your age, gender and level of physical activity. As a general rule, fill about half your plate with fruits and veggies at meals. And don’t forget to choose fruits and veggies for a tasty, convenient snack!
Check the chart below to see how many daily servings you need. This chart is based on a moderately active lifestyle. A moderately active lifestyle includes physical activity equal to walking 1½ -3 miles per day at 3-4 miles per hour plus the light physical activity related to typical day-to-day life.
Gender/Age
Daily Servings
Women
19-50 years
51 years and older
4½ cups
4 cups
Men
19-30 years
31 years and older
5½ cups
5 cups
Kids
2-3 years
4-8 years
9-13 years
14-18 years
2 cups
3 cups
3½ cups for girls, 4 cups for boys
4½ cups for girls, 5 cups for boys
Learn what 1 cup and ½ cup servings look like. Examples are listed below.
1 cup
1 medium pear
1 large bell pepper
1 medium potato
1 large sweet potato
1 large ear of corn
1 small apple
½ cup
1 medium cantaloupe wedge
4 large strawberries
5 broccoli florets
1 small tomato (?)
Variety Matters, Too!
Explore the variety of textures and colors at the Farmers Market. Did you know that there are over 300 varieties of fruits and veggies? To get the full health benefits from fruits and veggies, eat a rainbow of colors everyday.
Great Taste Matters
Tastes change. Keep trying new fruits and veggies to find new favorites. Serve old favorites in a new and exciting way.
