US agriculture secretary, Mike Johanns, has announced plans to spend $9 million on 225 schools in eight states and three Indian Tribal Organisations to encourage increased consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables. The money will mean that schools participating in the programme will be able to purchase locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables.
Johanns said: “Promoting good nutrition and exercise for our nation’s children is a top priority. This programme enables schools to provide students with locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables, which are important for good nutrition.
“MyPyramid underscores the importance of these foods by recommending an increase in their consumption.”
The cash will be distributed, from October 1, through the US department of agriculture’s food and nutrition service, to elementary, middle and high schools in Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Washington as well as schools at Zuni Pueblo of New Mexico, the Inter-tribal Council of Arizona and the Oglala Sioux Tribe of the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.
The 2002 Farm Bill provided $6m for the Fruit and Vegetable Pilot Programme during the 2002-2003 school year.
This scheme saw 25 elementary and secondary schools in Indiana, Michigan, Iowa and Ohio and seven schools in the Zuni Pueblo of New Mexico participating. An evaluation of the pilot showed the programme was popular with students and administrators. It improved students’ eating habits and raised student preference for, and awareness of, a variety of fruits and vegetables.
The 2004 Child Nutrition and Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Reauthorisation Act made the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Programme permanent.
In 2002, President Bush launched the Healthier US initiative which directed all federal departments to work together when developing plans aimed at helping Americans live longer, better and healthier lives.
The four keys to this initiative included being physically active every day, eating a nutritious diet, getting preventive screenings and making healthy choices.
USDA’s food and nutrition service administers the Food Stamp Programme, Child Nutrition Programmes, which include the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programmes and Special Supplemental Nutrition Programme for Women, Infants, and Children. These programmes serve low-income, nutritionally at-risk individuals and families.
For more information on the USDA food and nutrition service and its programmes, go to www.fns.usda.gov/fns
SPEAKER LIST CONFIRMED
The Produce Marketing Association (PMA) Fresh Summit International Convention and Exposition, “The Heart and Soul of the Industry” is expected to attract over 17,000 attendees, from 70 countries and 800 exhibitors, from November 4-8 at the Georgia World Congress Centre in Atlanta, Georgia, US.
Programme highlights include:
• Michael Treacy, author, consultant, and MIT professor, will talk about “Building Sustainable Market Leadership” at the Sunday breakfast general session.
• Martha Rogers, PhD, Peppers & Rogers Group and adjunct professor, Duke University, will present “Real Impact: Maximising Your ‘Return on Customer’ (ROC) to Take Customer Relationships to the Next Level.”
• Phil Lempert, supermarket and consumer trends analyst offers his unique perspective in his presentation “How Well Do You Understand Your Customers, and Theirs?”
• Scott Adams, the creator of the wildly popular business comic, Dilbert, will engage attendees with “From Cubicles to Comics: A Journey of Success.”
According to PMA president Bryan Silbermann: “We may be an industry steeped in tradition but we also have our attention focused on the future. PMA’s Fresh Summit reflects the heart and soul of our membership through a diverse program that offers buyers and sellers value they can connect to and take home from Atlanta.”
Silbermann will deliver his “State of the Industry 2005” address on Saturday, November 5 at the lunch general session, offering the latest on consumer and industry trends.
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