USDA Website Offers Nutrition Guidance

Do you want an on-line assessment of the quality of your diet? Would you like to download recipes and tips for healthy, thrifty meals? Then check out the United States Department of Agriculture's Center for Nutrition and Policy Promotion website at www.usda.gov/cnpp.

The Center is the focal point within the USDA where scientific research is linked with the nutritional needs of the American public. It serves as a touchstone where the public is assured that the nutrition guidance they receive is based on sound research and analysis. Its website includes electronic versions of many of the Center's publications:

• Nutrition Insights is a series of fact sheets on various topics related to nutrition, ranging from the diet quality of different ethnic groups in America to nutrition for children, pregnant women, and the elderly.
• Booklets for consumers include Dietary Guidelines for Americans, Food Guide Pyramid, and Food Guide Pyramid for Young Children.
• Publications for educators include Using the Food Guide Pyramid: A Resource for Nutrition Educators and Preparing Nutritious Meals at Minimal Cost, for use in helping low-income families plan healthy meals.
• Family Economics and Nutrition Review is a peer-reviewed quarterly journal.
• Reports for professionals include The Nutrient Content of the U.S. Food Supply, Nutritional Status of WIC Participants Study, and The Thrifty Food Plan 1999, on which food stamp allotments are based.
• Other publications on the website include The USDA Healthy Eating Index technical bulletin, Expenditures on Children by Families annual reports, and symposium proceedings.

The Center for Nutrition and Policy Promotion website links to other USDA websites that address food and nutrition.