FoodCorps’ Post

"For more than 50 years, WIC food packages have served as the cornerstone of good health for millions of women, infants, and young children. We applaud USDA for adhering to an independent, science-based review process that led to these stronger standards." - Georgia Machell, interim president and CEO of the National WIC Association The USDA, a WKKF grantee, has just announced significant updates to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) food packages. This marks a pivotal moment in the program's esteemed 50-year history, reinforcing WIC's enduring commitment to promoting positive maternal and child health outcomes nationwide through independent, science-based research. The updates are designed to align the food packages with current nutrition science and ensure equitable access to nutritious foods during crucial life stages. They include increasing the Cash Value Benefit for fruits and vegetables, expanding access to culturally-appropriate foods and providing more flexibility and choices for participants. These updates are crucial, especially amid rising food insecurity and high food costs. They empower WIC participants to access healthier foods, with a special focus on fruits and vegetables. Read more: https://wkkf.co/bgfd

Today, USDA's Food and Nutrition Service published the final rule to revise the agency’s Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) food packages. This long-awaited final rule includes changes to allow for more choice and flexibility for WIC participants, aligned with recommendations from the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. What’s New? → Updates include increased access to fruit and vegetables, more food choices and flexibility to accommodate personal and cultural preferences, added sugar limits in milk, yogurt, and breakfast cereal, and expanded whole-grain options. What’s Next? → USDA is hosting a briefing on the final rule on April 18, 2024. Learn more about the final updates to the WIC food packages below ⬇ #WIC #foodpolicy #nutirion

(Part 2 of 2) As Foodsmart's Vice President of Growth, I have the pleasure and the mandate to construct the future programs that actualize nutrition care as a true link of the healthcare chain. I now bear witness that the greatest innovations in facilitating nutrition, population health, and social determinants of health care are led by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and from #ManagedCare Organizations. I have the great honor of partnering with some of the greatest minds in healthcare, all united in seeking to finally do more than TALK about "FOOD IS MEDICINE!," And as I have watched government programs gain new flexibilities to fund food as medicine for our most needy, I couldn't help but feel a growing ache in my stomach. I didn't understand it at first, but it somehow felt familiar. An old, familiar pain. It was my hunger pangs from fifteen years old from subsisting off frozen food in a pan. In a desperate effort to find solutions to the paradox of food insecurity and obesity/chronic disease, I can't help but be disturbed by the quickly-growing tidal wave of support for an incredibly reductive solution to an incredibly nuanced, HUMAN condition: let's just feed them frozen meals. Food is a human right. Food is a human EXPERIENCE. Food is a love language; for some, food is a drug (me). Food is not as simple as low-sodium slop in a pan on your doorstep, for nor are the people who receive that food nearly so simple. Our challenges around nutrition, food access, and affordability are complex, and they are inherently HUMAN PROBLEMS. For these problems I can only posit that the solution, too, must be a human one. A human conversation. A human-to-human navigation of the possible. Then, once we pair this with the incredible power of technology, do we have a real shot at FOOD IS MEDICINE. Please join me in celebrating Foodsmart's recent incredible fundraise with the support of TPG and The Rise Fund, which will provide us indispensable support to continue growing both our human, and technological, advancements which have brought us this far. I am so proud to represent a company that is truly mission-driven, and I am humbled to share this story with you- more humbled that you read all this way. Our work is only beginning. Ready to rise with us?

Rep. Robert C. Scott (VA-03), Ranking Member, Education & The Workforce Committee: “”The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program is vital for the healthy development of infants, children, and pregnant and postpartum women. The final rule, released by the Department of Agriculture today, will help improve WIC participants access to healthy food by better aligning the food available to participants with the latest science-backed dietary guidelines. The final rule also ensures that supplemental foods can be tailored to accommodate cultural food preferences and special dietary needs.”

Dear Network, 💡Empowering Families Through Nutrition and Parenting ✨ On Tuesday (19th November 2024), I had the incredible opportunity to speak on Family Media about a topic close to my heart: #Nutrition and #Parenting in the Kenyan Context. As a clinical nutritionist and food scientist, I believe that the foundation of a child's health, growth, and future success starts with the choices we make at the table. During the show, we explored key questions such as: 👉What is nutrition, and why is it vital for a #child's #growth and #development? 👉How can parents navigate the nutritional needs of infants, toddlers, and school-aged children? 👉Practical strategies for addressing picky eating, promoting hydration, and managing food allergies We also discussed how balanced diets (as recommended by #WHO #food #groups) can transform children's lives by fostering proper growth, cognitive development, and strong immunity. I shared actionable tips like sneaking vegetables into meals creatively, limiting processed foods, and encouraging mindful eating habits. This experience reminded me that good nutrition is not just science; it is an act of love and intentionality. It’s about equipping families with knowledge to raise healthy, resilient children who can thrive physically, mentally, and socially. A huge thank you to Family Media Ltd for creating this platform to inspire and educate parents across Kenya. Together, we can continue to nurture healthier, happier families! Grateful for salem media and Jane Mwangi for the networking opportunity, Wesley Casmir Jeniffer Munge and @Sally Limo for hosting us. 🤔 What strategies have you used to encourage healthy eating habits in your family? Let’s keep the conversation going in the comments below. Just incase you missed out, below is the YouTube link for this particular episode👇👇 https://lnkd.in/d7NEuSr4 #Nutritionandparenting #Familyhealth #Kenyanfamilies #Clinicalnutrition #Foodscience #Familymedia

Have you heard about The Childhood Diabetes Reduction Act of 2024? Introduced by Senators Sanders and Booker, the goal of the act, if passed into law is as follows: "The act establishes a first-of-its-kind federal ban on junk food advertising targeted to children in the United States, requires the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to implement strong health and nutrient warning labeling, directs the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to investigate the dangers posed by ultra-processed foods, and develops a national education campaign for children and caregivers through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)." Said differently, the Childhood Diabetes Reduction Act of 2024 proposes slapping warning labels onto soda, 'Drinking beverages with added sugar can contribute to obesity, type-2 diabetes, and tooth decay. Not recommended for children.’ The bill also aims to place similar warnings on artificial sweetened beverages ('contains non-sugar sweeteners, not recommended for children') and even on ultra-processed packaged food. The goal the Congressman say is to reduce the incidence of diabetes in the United States. Can someone tell them that one measure to accomplish their goal is to bring back physical education (gym class) to schools, elementary through high school. People who eat much and do not move often are ripe for developing #diabesity. Teaching children and others good habits (such as including daily exercise in your life) and how to eat would go a lot further in the war against diabetes then adding cumbersome warning labels to a can of soda or a bag of candy. Do you see this potential law also influencing dietary supplement labeling? After all, supplements are #FDA regulated as a subset of foods. Do you think warning labels will actually help curb obesity and diabetes in the US? Or, could it be that with many things, the person wants what they want, label warning be ignored or damned. Are Senators Sanders and Booker wasting tax payer money and time with this proposed law? Besides costing companies money to retool product and packaging, is a Warning System via food labeling the best means to curb the increase in obesity and diabetes in America? What say you? Is diabetes the same as tobacco? Senators Booker & Sanders seem to think so. Is this a wasteful or misguided effort by Congress as a means to reduce diabetes in the US? Let's discuss! I am happy to see that the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics did not sign on as one of the supporting members for this proposed legislation. It is not logical or useful. Seems no major dietetic, diabetic or medical society supports this bill. #politics #rulemaking #diabetes #foodlabels #labelreading #warninglabels #foods #beverages #dietarysupplements #sugar #policy #obesity #education #healthcomms #scicomms Hank Schultz Maggie Jaqua Cassandra Smith NutraIngredients Rodman Media

"I like this juice because the ingredient list doesn't look like it's going to go off the box". I recently was speaking with an 80 year old independent living resident and this is what he said to me. He showed me his juice box which was fresh juice and a little bit of sugar. This guy was still walking around, waking up early everyday, and eating well. Only issue he had was slight eye problems 😎 It's easy to see the differences and in what people put in their body and other decisions they make in their life on how it will eventually contribute to their older years. At the same time, this doesn't mean that we are invincible. We can feel like we are doing everything right and still not age well or get sick. But we can do everything within our power to reverse and prevent as much as we can. (with the help of amazing nutrition and other healthcare professionals). G-d will just take care of the rest.🙏 ----------------------------------------------------------------- Hi I'm Kim President Nutrition Remedy RDs | Staffing Services My team and I 💜 providing the best nutrition care for your communities. ⏩ expert nutrition professionals (Registered Dietitians, Executive Chefs, Certified Dietary Managers/Food Service Directors, Registered Dietetic Technicians) ⏩ all 50 states ⏩ personalized services for your specific facility #healthcare #education #university #longtermcare #seniorliving #hospitals #nutrition #staffing

USDA ANNOUNCES NUTRITION STANDARDS FOR FEDERALLY-FUNDED SCHOOL MEALS THAT WILL LIMIT ADDED SUGARS AND SALT LEVELS FOR THE FIRST TIME Today, U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced major steps to promote the health of America’s children through federally-funded school meals that will contain lower levels of sugar and salt. On April 24, 2024, USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) published the final rule titled, Child Nutrition Programs: Meal Patterns Consistent With the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which is the next step in continuing the science-based improvement of school meals and other USDA child nutrition programs (CNPs). The changes are based on a comprehensive review of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025, input from agricultural industry members, school administrators and the public on the CNP meal patterns, and lessons learned from prior rulemakings. These programs are especially important today, as data show nearly one in five children across America live in households without consistent access to adequate food. Peer-reviewed scientific studies have linked school meals and healthy diets to academic success. For example, data show that on average, students who eat school breakfast achieve on average 17.5% higher scores on standardized math tests and attend 1.5 more days of school per year. Studies also have demonstrated that school meal programs play an important role in supporting obesity prevention, overall student health and academic achievement by improving children’s diets and combatting hunger Staying abreast of the sugar rule is important to both the industry and school children. Low-fat flavored milk is the most-consumed beverage for students regardless of grade, according to the association. It is also important to note that USDA’s new rules do not change the types of milk cafeterias may serve. Schools may offer skim or 1%, flavored or plain milk; however, as an additional hedge against child obesity, unflavored milk must be offered at every meal service. With the finalization of these guidelines, NOW is the time for food industry members who participate in this multi-billion dollar space to plan how best to achieve operational compliance.  You can learn more about the new USDA guidelines for federally-funded school meals from my full article on the subject, which is accessible at: https://lnkd.in/e5ytHXus #schoolmeals #USDAnutritionguidelines #schoollunchprogram; #schoolbreakfastprogram; #childobesity;