Posts Tagged “food choices”
by National Fruit & Vegetable Alliance
Hockessin, Del. – A new report card evaluates critical policies and programs impacting our food choices and their contributions to our nation’s health over the past 10 years.
Overall, the positive impact has been minimal despite proven scientific data continuously showing that a diet high in fruits and vegetables helps maintain a healthy weight and reduces the risk of several serious, chronic diseases that are the leading causes of death. In 2005, the National Fruit & Vegetable Alliance (NFVA) – led by the Produce for Better Health Foundation (PBH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) – developed a National Action Plan, providing a new and comprehensive approach for improved public health through increased fruit and vegetable consumption.
10 years later, the Alliance has released a second Report Card to evaluate progress made by schools, restaurants, supermarkets, and federal and state governments in its 2015 National Action Plan (NAP). Similar to the first Report Card released in 2010, the 2015 NAP Report Card utilizing survey data finds that the average American’s fruit and vegetable consumption remains far below recommended levels, with a 5 percent decline during the past five years.
The decline is largely driven by a decrease in 100 percent juice consumption, especially at breakfast, and a decline in the dinner side dish for vegetables. There were differences in consumption by age, with positive increases in fruit consumption among all children and vegetable consumption among teens.
In contrast, consumers over age 45, who typically eat the most fruits and vegetables, are trending downward in their consumption of both over time. Overall, only 4percent of individuals achieve their recommended target for vegetables and only 8 percent achieve their recommended target for fruit in an average day.
The Report Card assigned an ‘A’ grade to schools, given the doubling of fruits and vegetables in school meals as a result of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. An ‘A’ grade was also offered to the Healthy Incentive Pilot program that demonstrated strong positive results at increasing fruit and vegetable consumption among SNAP households, which helped justify the new USDA Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive (FINI) Program to test other methods of incentivizing SNAP participants to purchase fruits and vegetables.
An ‘A’ grade was also offered, once again, to the WIC Fruit and Vegetable Vouchers program, which was introduced in 2009 as part of a special supplemental program for Women, Infants and Children. Restaurants and cafeterias received a ‘B-‘ for providing greater availability and variety in fruit and vegetable choices on menus. Supermarkets and fruit and vegetable suppliers received a ‘C’ grade for some progress over the past five years at making fruits and vegetables more accessible and convenient.
A ‘D’ grade was given on the alignment of agricultural policy and research with nutrition policy. Last, a failing grade was once again assigned to the food marketing category given its continued low level of fruit and vegetable marketing (<1%) relative to all food marketing.
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — Each Christmas Eve, tradition holds that children leave out a plate of milk and cookies for Santa. During the night Santa Claus might visit in excess of 125 million homes. (Estimates vary.) Should he eat merely a single cookie in each visit, at an average of 100 calories per cookie, Bolthouse Farms analysts estimate that Santa may consume as many as 12.5 billion empty calories in a single night. This season, Bolthouse Farms is encouraging Santa Claus to make a smarter food choice.
Children who learn to make smart food choices at an early age tend to thrive. Childhood obesity rates have tripled over the past three decades[1] and research shows that kids are consuming 5-15% more sugar per day than dietary guidelines allow.[2] To combat the sugar craze, experts recommend making smart food choices, like limiting desserts, sweets and sugary cereals and checking nutrition labels to ensure that sugar isn’t a main ingredient.[3] As sugar is undoubtedly the primary ingredient in the 125 million cookies Santa may consume on Christmas Eve, this gives American parents an ideal moment to discuss food choices.
Bolthouse Farms’ Cut and Peeled Baby Carrots will be repackaged this December as the “Official Snack of Santa.” The holiday carrots will be available exclusively at Wal-Mart stores nationwide. At 35 calories per serving and full of Vitamin A and beta carotene, baby carrots give Santa and his reindeer the nutritious edge needed to navigate their global journey. With a satisfying crunch that pairs well with favorite holiday dips and dressings, baby carrots are an ideal snack for “all the good boys and girls,” young and old.
“We are sympathetic to Santa and we love cookies, too. But we’re sure Mrs. Claus would welcome it if Santa cut down on the empty calories,” said Jeff Dunn, chief executive officer, Bolthouse Farms. “Even small food choices, made the right way day after day, can have a positive, lasting impact.”
To complement its holiday campaign, Bolthouse Farms is helping to raise funds for Action Against Hunger, a global humanitarian organization committed to ending hunger and developing sustainable nutritionsolutions. Beginning on November 26 and running for one month, Bolthouse Farms asks consumers to help Santa fight hunger by pledging their support on www.facebook.com/bolthousefarms. For every pledge, Bolthouse Farms will donate $1 to Action Against Hunger, up to $25,000.
“The people at Action Against Hunger are putting every resource at their disposal towards the fight against hunger, and we’re proud to support them,” said Bolthouse Farms’ Jeff Dunn. “For some communities, of course, food choices are not a choice at all – access to food and clean water are limited. For other communities, more options exist, and children can learn at an early age to make choices that keep them healthy and engaged.”
Bolthouse Farms is a health-and-wellness focused company. Headquartered in California’s San Joaquin Valley, Bolthouse has grown to become America’s premier producer of carrots, as well as a category leader in super-premium juices, smoothies, protein shakes, cafe beverages and premium refrigerated dressings.
- Ogden CL, Carroll MD, Kit BK, Flegal KM. Prevalence of obesity and trends in body mass index among US children and adolescents, 1999-2010. JAMA. 2012;307:483-90.
- Dietary Guidelines for Americans, health.gov
- Mayo Clinic, http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/kids-and-sugar/MY02029
About Bolthouse Farms
Bolthouse Farms is a farm located in California’s fertile San Joaquin Valley, known for high-quality consumer brands and innovative products. Bolthouse Farms is a market share leader in growing and distributing carrots. In addition, Bolthouse Farms produces and sells super-premium juices, smoothies, protein shakes and cafe beverages under the Bolthouse Farms brand name. In recent years, Bolthouse Farms diversified its offerings by launching a line of premium refrigerated yogurt dressings and extra virgin olive oil vinaigrettes. The Bolthouse Farms mission is to Inspire the Fresh Revolution™ and change the way people consume healthy foods and beverages. The company was acquired by Campbell Soup Company on Aug. 6, 2012. To learn more about the company’s mission and see the entire line of current products, visit www.bolthouse.com.
About Action Against Hunger
Action Against Hunger is a global humanitarian organization that works to save the lives of acutely malnourished children and ensure that communities have long-term access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene. By providing immediate assistance during times of emergency while integrating our programs into local and national systems for sustainability, we aim to restore health, self-sufficiency, and independence to vulnerable populations around the world.
Source: Bolthouse Farms