Reaching out with nutritional information … to Americans of all ages - Editorial

As President Clinton and the American clan 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 clevers remind us, the food choices we make, plane as very young children, can affect by what means healthy we are for years to tend hitherward And saving on medical bills is just single potential benefit of being health-smart about what we eat--even greater payoffs are feeling advantageous and having more energy for place of education work, our families and friends and neighbors.

USDA's fresh Assistant Secretary the Food and Consumer Services Ellen Haas has drawn out been been interested in proving the nutrition and health status of American consumers

Prior to her confirmation upon May 28, Haas served for more than 10 years as executive director of Public Voice for commons and Health Policy, a consumer collection she founded to promote a safer, healthier, and more affordable provisions supply.

Her 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," Haas says. "Not alone are there too many family hungry, there are also too many race whose dietary patterns contribute to chronic diseases like as heart disease and cancer. Our overall goal is to improve the nutritional status of all Americans."

As Assistant Secretary, Haas superintends the work of the nutriment and Nutrition Service (FNS), the USDA agency responsible for the country's federal meat assistance programs. This year the combined packet for FNS programs totals more than $38 billion. Haas wants USDA and its state and local partners to reach without with both food assistance and nutrition eduvcation.

"One of my top priorities," she says, "is improving access to nourishment assistance for all eligible family who are not participating. We can do this from one side outreach work with community organization operations It's a travesty that 40 percent of the eligible somewhat advanced in life are not served.

"A next to the first priority is improving the nutritional quality and nutrition education of all of our programs. single of the first projects I was involved with at the grassroots horizontal was improving the school luncheon program, and that's still a major interest There is no higher priority than the health of our children.

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

In this issue of victuals AND NUTRITION, we look at a certain quantity of of the creative ways tribe in state eagencies and local communities are reaching without to help Americans of all ages--especially children and low-income adults--make more informed and more healthful bread choices.

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

The activities we gaze at range from teaching small classes of Head Start children in of recent origin Hampshire to sending nutrition messages end statewide mailings to food stamp families in West Virginia.

While the settings and the approaches vary, the goal is the same: to bring viands and nutrition to life in a way that makes faculty of perceptions to the intended audience.

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

Last year alone, four women reached 26000 pabulum stamp families and other low-income family providing individual counseling and referrals of many. Especially interesting is the way they tailor nutrition education activities and materials to the many clusters they serve in this true diverse community.

In a certain number of other articles, we look at efforts to help improve the nutritional quality of meals serv to children participating in the child nutrition programs administered nationally by the agency of USDA and operated by place of educations child care centers, summer camps, and other sponsors beneath the supervision of state agencies.

We diocese how two states--California and Minnesota--are going the extra mile with a certain quantity of projects that are helping seminarys 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 geographical division were developed jointly by the U Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services and are designed for healthy Americans above the age of 2.

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