The White House garden

There was a special culinary showdown for Iron Chef America where the First Lady gave the chefs their special challenge: each team had to create the ultimate meal for America, using the White House Garden as the 'secret ingredient.' After the Iron Chef battle was held at the White House, the Food Network published the garden plot and this information:

Garden Fun Facts
The garden cost $200 to start just seven months ago and has already generated more than 700 pounds of produce
15 volunteers a week, plus five full-time chefs, care for the 1100-square-foot space
Grows six types of lettuce along with greens and spinach, eight types of tomatoes plus tomatillos, and five types of cucumbers – plus dozens of other varieties of vegetables, herbs and fruits.

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  First of its kind here since Eleanor Roosevelt's time
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  Near this spot is a one-of-a-kind bee-hive that has produced 134 pounds of honey.
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  Fruits and vegetables that Thomas Jefferson grew at Monticello are growing in the White House garden.

HealthierUS School Challenge

The USDA has started a challenge for schools that are trying to offer a healthier environment at school. They are awarding four levels of superior performance based on the promotion of good nutrition and physical activity.
The Food and Nutrition site has information, tools and resources about success stories, grants, fact sheets, FAQs and more.
The online application is available now.

An example from Washington (the other one)

A few hours ago Michelle Obama hosted a White House event to spotlight kids and nutrition. Her speech talked about what to eat and how to eat. She talked about child obesity, the USDA HealthierUS School Challenge - more about that in my next post -, getting exercise and ensuring that kids have healthier and healthier options at school. The Associated Press has some photos of Mrs. Obama participating in the fun and games and they report that she was able to do 142 swivels. Pretty impressive on all counts!

Building 'Tactical Teams'

The USDA has announced the new ‘Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food’ initiative. This article in the Chicago Tribune gives a nice analysis of this new program with lots of useful links. The official USDA press release gives more details and even an official USDA YouTube video on the USDA Youtube Channel.

Lessons from Summer Meal programs

An article in the Spokesman Review details the summer programs for meals for kids and the possible effects of the upcoming Child Nutrition Reauthorization that may be beneficial for feeding the children in our state that need support. Keeping programs viable in the current recession is of high interest to our communities.

How do we spend our lunch money?

An article in The Des Moines Register by Philip Brasher claims that the government says it wants kids to eat more fruit and vegetable but doesn’t back it up with cold, hard cash.

“For every dollar that the U.S. Department of Agriculture spent buying commodities for school lunches last year, 55 cents went to beef, chicken and cheese vs. about 23 cents for fruits and vegetables.”

The single food item that tops the list is mozzarella cheese.

This is a thought provoking article with many interesting facts cited from a wide range of sources. One important item: Congress is due to update the school lunch program this year. That makes now an important time to be informed and make your opinions known.

American Medical Association Passes Resolution Supporting Sustainable Food System

The American Medical Association (AMA) has approved a new policy resolution that recognizes the link between better health and a healthy and ecologically sustainable food system. This resolution supports cooperative work between the AMA and health care and public health organizations in order to educate the public about the importance of being able to “provide food and beverages of naturally high nutritional quality.”
The AMA’s new Sustainable Food policy in based on a report from its Council on Science and Public Health, which notes that locally produced and organic foods “reduce the use of fuel, decrease the need for packaging and resultant waste disposal, preserve farmland . . . [and] the related reduced fuel emissions contribute to cleaner air and in turn, lower the incidence of asthma attacks and other respiratory problems.”

An interesting read

The School Food Revolution: Public Food and the Challenge of Sustainable Development is a new book about the current debates that revolve around the school cafeteria: nutrition, sustainability, social inclusion, economics, etc.
To the authors it it is becoming clear that the school food service can provide many benefits. The book examines many of the fashionable trends in foods and schools and analyzes the results that have actually been produced in diverse communities including programs like the UN’s Home Grown Program.