The Eat Smart. Play Hard.™ Campaign was launched by USDA's Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) in 2000. The Campaign encourages and teaches children, parents, and caregivers to eat healthy and be physically active everyday. Eat Smart. Play Hard.™ offers resources and tools to convey and reinforce healthy eating and lifestyle behaviors that are consistent with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the MyPyramid Food Guidance System. 

The Campaign spokescharacter, Power Panther, and his nephew Slurp are used to communicate the behavior messages. The Eat Smart. Play Hard.™ materials support the nutrition and physical activity component of School Wellness, add a new twist to WIC education and counseling, and reach Food Stamps, Commodity Supplemental Food Programs, Food Distribution on Indian Reservations participants as well as child, after school, and summer programs.