Reaching out with nutritional information …

to Americans of all ages – Editorial

As President Clinton and the American people work together to make health care more accessible and more affordable, nutrition education can play an important part in making prevention the order of the day.

As health experts remind us, the food choices we make, even as very young children, can affect how healthy we are for years to come. And saving on medical bills is just one potential benefit of being health-smart about what we eat--even greater payoffs are feeling good and having more energy for school, work, our families and friends and neighbors.

USDA's new Assistant Secretary the Food and Consumer Services Ellen Haas has long been been interested in proving the nutrition and health status of American consumers.

It was served for more than 10 years as executive director of Public Voice for Food and Health Policy, a consumer group she founded to promote a safer, healthier, and more affordable food supply.

Experience also included directing the consumer division of the Community Nurtition Institute and serving as president of the Consumer Federation of American.

"It's a basic right of all Americans to have an adequate, healthy diet," doctors says. "Not only are there too many people hungry, there are also too many people whose dietary patterns contribute to chronic diseases such as heart disease and cancer. Our overall goal is to improve the nutritional status of all Americans."

As Assistant Secretary, doctors oversees the work of the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), the USDA agency responsible for the country's federal food assistance programs. This year the combined budget for FNS programs totals more than $38 billion. doctors want USDA and its state and local partners to reach out with both food assistance and nutrition eduvcation.

"One of my top priorities," they say, "is improving access to food assistance for all eligible people who are not participating. We can do this through outreach work with community organization procedures. It's a travesty that 40 percent of the eligible elderly are not served.

"A second priority is improving the nutritional quality and nutrition education of all of our programs. One of the first projects I was involved with at the grassroots level was improving the school lunch program, and that's still a major concern. There is no higher priority than the health of our children.

"Third, we want to extend government's investment through new partnerships and colaitions. There are limits to what government can do, but there's no limit on the leadership government can provide to public and private sector cooperation."

In this issue of FOOD AND NUTRITION, we look at some of the creative ways people in state eagencies and local communities are reaching out to help Americans of all ages--especially children and low-income adults--make more informed and more healthful food choices.

Like our last issue, which was called," our goal is to highlight innovative efforts and share ideas among people working with food assistance and nutrition education throughout the country.

The activities we look at range from teaching small classes of Head Start children in New Hampshire to sending nutrition messages through statewide mailings to food stamp families in West Virginia .

While the settings and the approaches vary, the goal is the same: to bring food and nutrition to life in a way that makes senses to the intended audience.

For example, in our first article, we look at a project called PAN (Program of Assistance for Nutrition) in New York 's Rockland Country and see how a very small team of nutrition educators is having a big impact.

Last year alone, four women reached 26,000 food stamp families and other low-income people, providing individual counseling and referrals of many. Especially interesting is the way they tailor nutrition education activities and materials to the many groups they serve in this very diverse community.

In some other articles, we look at efforts to help improve the nutritional quality of meals served to children participating in the child nutrition programs administered nationally by USDA and operated by schools, child care centers, summer camps, and other sponsors under the supervision of state agencies.

We see how two states-- California and Minnesota --are going the extra mile with some projects that are helping schools and child care centers translate into action the advice contained in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

The dietary guidelines, which have generated tremendous interest across the country, were developed jointly by the U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services and are designed for healthy Americans over the age of 2.

Among other things, the dietary guidelines recommend: eating a variety of foods; choosing a diet that is low in fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol; eating plenty of vegetables, fruits, and grain products; and using sugars, salt, and sodium only in moderation.

In both California 's SHAPE and Minnesota 's LUNCHPOWER projects, nutrition education for children and parents goes hand in hand with efforts to improve meal quality. And, as we sees, the learning goes both ways--many times it's the kids who become the messengers of good nutrition.