"Food Day is October 24 and will continue to be in the years tocome. Food Day seeks to bring together Americans from all walks oflife, parents, teachers, and students; health professionals, communityorganizers, and local officials; chefs, school lunch providers, and eaters ofall stripes to push for healthy, affordable food produced in a sustainable,humane way. We will work with people around the country to create thousands ofevents in homes, schools, churches, farmers markets, city halls, and statecapitals."
Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Representative Rosa DeLauro(D-CT) are the Honorary Co-Chairs for Food Day 2011, and the day is sponsoredby the Center for Science in the Public Interest, the nonprofit watchdog groupthat has led successful fights for food labeling, better nutrition, and saferfood since 1971. Like CSPI, Food Day will be people-powered and does not acceptfunding from government or corporations—though restaurants, supermarkets, andothers are certainly encouraged to observe Food Day in their own ways.
Become a Food Label Detective An Educated Consumer has the Tools to Make Wise Decisions
1. Reduce diet-related disease by promoting safe, healthy foods. 2. Support sustainable farms and limit subsidies to big agribusiness. 3. Expand access to food and alleviate hunger. 4. Protect the environment and animals by reforming factory farms. 5. Promote health by curbing junk-food marketing to kids. 6. Support fair conditions for food and farm workers.
A special thank you to Marcela Lucena, Erik Bustillo, and the Florida International University, Student Dietetic Association for helping spread the word about Food Day.
World Food Day was established by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in November 1979. FAO celebrates World Food Day each year on October 16th, the day on which the Organization was founded in 1945.
“FOOD PRICES – FROM CRISIS TO STABILITY” has been chosen as the 2011 World Food Day theme to shed some light on this trend and what can be done to mitigate its impact on the most vulnerable.
WORLD FOOD DAY 2011
On World Food Day 2011, let us look seriously at what causes swings in food prices, and do what needs to be done to reduce their impact on the weakest members of global society.
The objectives of World Food Day are to:
*Encourage attention to agricultural food production and to stimulate national, bilateral, multilateral and non-governmental efforts to this end;
*Encourage economic and technical cooperation among developing countries;
*Encourage the participation of rural people, particularly women and the least privileged categories, in decisions and activities influencing their living conditions;
*Heighten public awareness of the problem of hunger in the world;
*Promote the transfer of technologies to the developing world; and
*Strengthen international and national solidarity in the struggle against hunger, malnutrition and poverty and draw attention to achievements in food and agricultural development.
Global Handwashing Day 2011 will involve millions of people in over 100 countries around the world. Global Handwashing Day (GHD) was created to: • Foster and support a global culture of handwashing with soap. • Shine a spotlight on the state of handwashing in every country. • Raise awareness about the benefits of handwashing with soap.
Why Handwashing with Soap? Handwashing with soap is the most effective and inexpensive way to prevent diarrheal and acute respiratory infections, which take the lives of millions of children in developing countries every year. Together, they are responsible for the majority of all child deaths. Yet, despite its lifesaving potential, handwashing with soap is seldom practiced and difficult to promote.
Turning handwashing with soap before eating and after using the toilet into a habit could save more lives than any single vaccine or medical intervention, cutting deaths from diarrhea by almost half and deaths from acute respiratory infections by one-quarter. A vast change in handwashing behavior is critical to meeting the Millennium Development Goal of reducing deaths among children under the age of five by two-thirds by 2015.
Global Handwashing Day focuses on children because they suffer the most from diarrheal and respiratory diseases and deaths, but research shows that children can also be powerful agents for changing behaviors like handwashing with soap in their communities.
Whenshould you wash your hands? ·Before,during, and after preparing food ·Beforeeating food ·Beforeand after caring for someone who is sick ·Beforeand after treating a cut or wound ·Afterusing the toilet ·Afterchanging diapers or cleaning up a child who has used the toilet ·Afterblowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing ·Aftertouching an animal or animal waste ·Aftertouching garbage
For more information on handwashing with soap, including research, tools, and news visit www.globalhandwashing.org.
The Global Handwashing Day's theme video with instructions for children on how to wash their hands properly.
4. The Scrub Club. A fun, interactiveand educational Web site that teaches children the proper way to wash theirhands. The site contains interactive games, educational music, downloadableactivities for kids, educational materials for teachers and program informationfor parents.
5. Healthy Schools, Healthy People, It’s a SNAP!(School Network forAbsenteeism Prevention) program is a joint initiative of the CDC and AmericanCleaning Institute. This program seeks to improve hand hygiene habits to helpprevent the spread of infectious disease and reduce related absenteeism. Thisgrassroots, education-based effort can help improve health by making handcleaning an integral part of the school day. Without proper handcleaning, a single infection can quickly spread among students, teachers,family and friends.
"In the long view, no nation is healthier than its children, or more prosperous than its farmers." - President Harry Truman, on signing the 1946 National School Lunch Act.
Through the Years
The National School Lunch Program was created in 1946 when President Truman signed the National School Lunch Act into law. The National School Lunch Program is a federal nutrition assistance program. Through the years, the program has expanded to include the School Breakfast Program, Snack Program, Child and Adult Care Feeding Program and the Summer Food Service Program. In 1962, Congress designated the week beginning on the second Sunday in October each year as "National School Lunch Week."
The video below looks at the school lunch program from the late 1930’s to the present day and includes President Obama signing the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act. One can see from the photographs some of the changes in the foods provided. There is an increase in whole grains, fruits, vegetables, lean protein and lowfat dairy. (Part of the video has clips from a film produced by the USDA in the mid-60s.)
2011 Theme:“School Lunch – Let’s Grow Healthy” Recognized as the authority on school nutrition, the SNA has been advancing the availability, quality and acceptance of school nutrition programs as an integral part of education since 1946. The School Nutrition Association is a national, nonprofit professional organization. Mission.To advance good nutrition for all children.
National Farm to School Month Farm to School is broadly defined as any program that connects schools (K-12) and local farms with the goal of serving healthy meals in school cafeterias, improving student nutrition, providing agriculture, health, nutrition education, and supporting local and regional farmers. Farm to School programs exist in all 50 states, but since Farm to School is a grassroots movement, programs are as diverse as the communities they serve.
The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) is a federally assisted meal program operating in public and nonprofit private schools and residential child care institutions. It provides nutritionally balanced, low-cost or free lunches to children each school day. The program was established under the National School Lunch Act, signed by President Harry Truman in 1946.
Kids Eat Rightyour source for scientifically-based health and nutrition information you can trust to help your child grow healthy. As a parent or caretaker you need reliable resources and you can find them here, backed by the expertise of nutrition professionals.
Choose MyPlate. The website features practical information and tips to help Americans build healthier diets.
Let’s Moveis about putting children on the path to a healthy future during their earliest months and years. Giving parents helpful information and fostering environments that support healthy choices. Providing healthier foods in our schools. Ensuring that every family has access to healthy, affordable food. And, helping children become more physically active.
Elmo Doesn't Fear Obama's School Lunch
Elmo joins White House Chef Sam Kass in White House kitchen to talk about the importance of healthy and delicious school meals following President Obama's signing of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act.
Action for Healthy Kids, we believe there are ways to reduce and prevent childhood obesity and undernourishment. Learn how Action for Healthy Kids is working with schools, families and communities to help our kids learn to be healthier and be ready to learn.
Fuel Up to Play 60 is an in-school program that encourages the availability and consumption of nutrient-rich foods, along with at least 60 minutes of daily physical activity.
The Chefs Move to Schools program, run through the U.S. Department of Agriculture, will help chefs partner with interested schools in their communities so together they can create healthy meals that meet the schools’ dietary guidelines and budgets, while teaching young people about nutrition and making balanced and healthy choices.
Healthy, Hunger-Free KidsAct of 2010(HHFKA). Improving child nutrition is the focal point of the Healthy, Hunger-Free KidsAct of 2010(HHFKA). The legislation authorizes funding and sets policy forUSDA's core child nutrition programs. The Healthy, Hunger-Free KidsAct allows USDA, for the first time in over 30 years, opportunity to makereal reforms to the school lunch and breakfast programs by improving thecritical nutrition and hunger safety net for millions of children.
Final Rule (pdf): Cooperation in USDA Studies and Evaluations, and Full Use of Federal Funds in Nutrition Assistance Programs Nondiscretionary Provisions of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, Public Law 111-296 (6/29/11)
Priceless: School Lunch
"Priceless" launched the One Tray campaign depicting the cafeteria tray as the conduit for a reformed school food system that supports healthy children, local farms, and smart schools. The video was created by three IATP Food and Society Fellows, Shalini Kantayya, Nicole Betancourt, and Debra Eschmeyer to raise awareness for the Child Nutrition Act.
Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture stated “National School Lunch Week reminds us how important it is that our children be healthy and active, that they not go hungry, and that they have access to nutritious meals."
