Posts tagged public health nutrition
THE PANDEMIC CHILD HUNGER PREVENTION ACT: MAKING THE CASE FOR UNIVERSAL SCHOOL MEALS
THE PANDEMIC CHILD HUNGER PREVENTION ACT: MAKING THE CASE FOR UNIVERSAL SCHOOL MEALS

No child should have to worry about where their next meal will come from or whether their family will be able to afford to put food on the table, but unfortunately, that is the reality for millions of Americans. According to the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) latest data, 13 million U.S. children are food insecure. In April, 35% of households with children under 18 responded to a survey stating, “the food we bought just didn’t last, and we didn’t have enough money to get more.” This is an increase of nearly 20 percentage points from 2018 data, showing just how detrimental the COVID-19 pandemic has been for families due to record high unemployment rates. For those children, uncertain access to food, especially healthy, nutritious food, has serious consequences for health, learning, and development.

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Food Policy, Nutrition, Public HealthStephanie Hodgeshealth benefits of school meals, child nutrition hunger relief, universal school meals, nutrition legislation, nutrition policy, food policy, the nourished principles, child hunger prevention, child hunger, school nutrition, health policy, no kid hungry, universal meals, school nutrition programs, public health nutrition, public health, public health legislation, public health covid-19 legislation, lunch shaming, school lunch stigma, nutrition regulations, school meals, national school lunch program, school breakfast program, summer meals program, free and reduced-priced school meals, healthy schools, grab and go school meals, pandemic child hunger prevention act, hunger prevention, hunger prevention legislationComment
Dietary Guidelines for Americans: Key Takeaways from the Draft Advisory Report Meeting
Dietary Guidelines for Americans: Key Takeaways from the Draft Advisory Report Meeting

As the work begins to wind down for the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) which was tasked with developing the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs), it is easy to see that many have worked tirelessly over the last couple of years to get to this point. With each curve ball that was thrown their way, the team has continued to persevere forward so that they can bring the latest and most reliable nutrition research to the stage for the new DGAs. The long-awaited final Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee Public Meeting was held via webcast on June 17. In this blog, I will walk you through what to expect next from the DGAC, the agencies responsible for creating the final guidelines, and key takeaways from the final meeting.

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Food Policy, Public Health, NutritionStephanie HodgesDietary Guidelines 2020-2025, DIETARY GUIDELINES FOR AMERICANS, dietary guidelines advisory committee, Dietary Guidelines, dietary patterns, toddler nutritional needs, toddler diet, nutrients of public health concern, nutrition policy, food policy, food guidelines, healthy eating guidelines, healthy eating recommendations, public health nutrition, public health, healthy food for breastfeeding, what to eat when breastfeeding, food before one is just for fun, every bite counts, birth to 24 months nutrition guidelines, birth to 24 months nutrition recommendations, eating during pregnancy and lactation, limit added sugars, limit alcohol consumption, beverages and added sugars subcommittee, birth to 24 months subcommittee, complementary foods and beverages Comments
Wondering about WIC During the COVID-19 Crisis
Wondering about WIC During the COVID-19 Crisis

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, commonly referred to as “WIC”, is a federal nutrition program administered by the United States Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service (USDA FNS). Programs like WIC are essential in ensuring families experiencing food insecurity have additional resources and access to nutritious foods each month. Given the current COVID-19 pandemic, many people are now unemployed or furloughed which makes it challenging for some families to keep food on the table. Throughout the pandemic, employees of the WIC program continue to work to ensure these families have access to healthy foods.

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Public Health, Nutrition, Food PolicyStephanie HodgesWIC during covid-19, WIC approved, WIC approved foods, WIC EBT benefits, WIC breastfeeding support, WIC nutrition counseling, breastfeeding support, physical presence waiver, food substitution waiver, remote benefit issuance waiver, women, women infants and children program, USDA WIC program, USDA policy, USDA nutrition regulations, public health nutrition, WIC food list, WIC nutrition, WIC guidelines, WIC services, lactation consultant, WIC income eligibility, family first coronavirus response act, WIC certificationComment
Dietary Guidelines for Americans: Key Takeaways from the Fourth Meeting
Dietary Guidelines for Americans: Key Takeaways from the Fourth Meeting

The fourth meeting of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans Advisory Committee (DGAC) was held in Houston, Texas on January 23rd and 24th, 2020. The idea was to get out of the Washington D.C. area and offer those living outside the “beltway” an opportunity to be more involved in the Dietary Guidelines process.

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Public Health, NutritionStephanie HodgesDIETARY GUIDELINES FOR AMERICANS, Dietary Guidelines, USDA nutrition regulations, dietary patterns, dietary guidelines advisory committee, food policy, nutrition policy, Dietary Guidelines 2020-2025, nutrition regulations, nutrition guidelines, public health nutrition, healthy eating guidelines, healthy eating recommendations Comments