Release No. FNS 0001
Contacts: Adriana Zorilla (703) 305-2385
Regan Hopper (703) 305-2293
FNS Launches New Initiative To Help Families Make Healthier
Choices
WASHINGTON, JUNE 7,
2007 – To encourage healthy lifestyles among food stamp participants, USDA’s
Food and Nutrition Service today launched “Loving Your Family, Feeding Their
Future: Nutrition Education through the Food Stamp Program,” an initiative
to help low income families make healthy food choices and increase their
physical activity.
Loving Your
Family, Feeding Their Future is one of the first comprehensive initiatives
based on the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and MyPyramid. Presented in a
way that addresses cultural, literacy, and language barriers faced by many Food
Stamp Program families, Loving Your Family, Feeding Their Future features a
variety of cutting-edge communication techniques to help convey important
nutrition messages.
“Given the
disturbing rise in childhood obesity and related health problems, this new
initiative takes an innovative approach to help busy moms on tight budgets make
healthier meals and snacks for their families,” said Under Secretary Nancy
Johner. “Nutrition education is a critical component of the Food Stamp Program
and low income moms can benefit from this nutrition education package.”
USDA’s 15 nutrition
programs reach one in five Americans each year. The Food Stamp Program is the
largest domestic nutrition program and serves more than 26 million low-income
people each month. Food stamp benefits, intended to supplement a family’s food
budget, can add as much as $518 per month for a family of four with no income.
Nutrition education helps low-income families make healthier food choices within
a limited budget. The Administration’s FY 2007 Farm Bill proposes to invest $100
million over five years in nutrition education grants to develop and test
solutions to combat rising rates of obesity.
Loving Your
Family, Feeding Their Future is geared towards mothers because they play a
key role in choosing and buying food for their families. It also includes a
handbook, discussion materials and an online training module to assist nutrition
educators in their work with food stamp participants and eligible individuals.
Nutrition educators
are encouraged to download the materials or order extra copies of selected items
at: http://foodstamp.nal.usda.gov.
#
Last modified:
03/27/2008
|