Many Americans have lost touch with where their food comes from.
A few generations ago, the local farmer provided your milk and eggs, and the backyard garden was as common as watching baseball. Thanks to the increased use of preservatives and genetically modified foods, we are able to ship food from thousands of miles away and store it for much longer periods of time than the food that comes straight from the garden. These conveniences have lead to consumption of foods from areas where they are cheaper to produce as well as the consumption of more processed foods. While this does well for the wallet, it compromises the quality of foods we consume and leads to detachment from just how food is naturally grown and produced.
As the increase in health problems such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes become more prevalent, people can’t help but draw the correlation between these problems and unhealthy eating. Fortunately, there are many initiatives sprouting up that are doing their part to stop this epidemic.
At the very top, Michelle Obama is leading the charge with a public awareness campaign to battle childhood obesity. Her efforts range from discussing legislation that is in progress, such as the Child Nutrition Act, to planting her very own organic vegetable garden right on the White House lawn.
.
“I have set a goal to solve the problem of childhood obesity within a generation so that children born today will reach adulthood at a healthy weight.”
Through example and influence, Michelle Obama is campaigning to make a change from the administration level. The allocation of budgets and implementation of guidelines helps to provide resources and create standards, but the top down approach still needs the support of the people.
Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution takes the direct approach by going into schools to present healthy alternatives to school lunch menus that are lacking proper nutrition.
While his mission is valiant, and he certainly has the knowledge and experience to lead this charge, his British charm gets lost with the crowds of West Virginian teachers and students that he interacts with. In the end, he makes small strides to improve school meals, but you can’t help but feel that these changes may be short-lived if he cannot drum up the necessary local support to continue the program.
Local support is what gives an initiative like this true longevity, which is the perfect segue into the Texans Bring It! campaign, an initiative sponsored by the Texas Department of Agriculture. The mission of this campaign is to promote the 3E’s of Healthy Living – Education, Exercise and Eating Right (“Bring It!”) and to recognize individual value, talent, responsibility and collaboration toward a healthier Texas. Everything from the message to the approach is completely catered to the target audience, the elementary and middle school age children who are in need of exposure to healthier lifestyle alternatives.
Through the use of a character series, featuring such greats as DJ Appleonean and Caulipower, the team at Antler has helped to get the campaign’s message across in a way that is fun, engaging and most importantly, localized. The approach taken with this initiative has sustainability because it utilizes local resources, such as influencers within the target markets who can help spread the message. This campaign also has the most appeal to their audience because it is organized by a native body, not a Federally mandated program.
The common thread between each of these initiatives is that they are all attempting to reach children at the school level, a logical choice. School is where children are away from their parents control, the place where they eat approximately 180 meals a year, and most importantly, school is supposed to be where children learn about all subjects. Math, English and Science all have a curriculum, it’s time that learning is brought into the cafeteria as well by practicing healthy and responsible eating.
What other innovative programs have you seen that address these issues?
Tags: Child Nutrition Act, Food Revolution, healthy lifestyle, Jamie Oliver, Michelle Obama, Texas Department of Agricutlure
