Day 75: National Nutrition Month

As we look forward to spring after an unusually cold and snowy winter across much of the country, we start thinking about the fresh fruits and vegetables that come with the warmer months. When there’s a good variety of healthy produce available, it makes it easier and more fun to put together nutrient-rich meals.

National Nutrition Month® is a nutrition education and information campaign created annually in March by the American Dietetic Association. The campaign focuses attention on the importance of making informed food choices and developing sound eating and physical activity habits .

It is appropriate and fitting that March is National Nutrition Month, since it is in between winter and spring. Winter holiday gatherings have past and have left many of us with cherished memories and frequently unwanted weight gain!

Healthy eating and routine exercise are needed all year round; but many of us need a friendly reminder to get ourselves back on track. Be kind to your body and reacquaint yourself with healthy eating habits and fitness. Replace your unhealthy habits with smart health choices for a healthier body.

This year's theme is, "Eat Right with Color", reminding consumers to eat a variety of foods everyday. Each food group in the Food Guide Pyramid represents a color bringing different nutrients to the table. When planning your daily meals remember to get foods from each color of the pyramid.

Well-nourished and active children and teens grow, develop, and learn better.

Share Our Strength is a national nonprofit that is ending childhood hunger in America.

Their goal is to end childhood hunger in America. Working with others, they believe they can do this by 2015. It’s not enough to make sure America’s children have enough to eat; we must make sure they are getting the nutrition they need to live healthy, active lives. That is why Share Our Strength’s highest priority is to make sure that every child in America gets the nutritious food he or she needs to learn, grow and thrive. They are doing this by improving the access that families all across the country have to healthy, affordable food and by working at the state and city level. This is their No Kid Hungry strategy, and it has four key components that, together, provide children with the nutritious food they need where they live, learn and play:

·     Creating public-private partnerships at the state and city level to map out comprehensive, measurable plans to end child hunger in those areas.

·     Building public awareness about the problem of childhood hunger and solutions to end it.

·     Investing in communities with grants to organizations whose work improves access to nutritious foods or that educate families about such programs.

·     Educating children and families about nutritious, affordable eating.

Donation: $5

To support Share Our Strength, please visit:  http://www.strength.org/about/