Current Food and Nutrition Initiative
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Awareness Education - FIFNC Overview
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Fruits & Veggies—More Matters®
On March 28, 2007, Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles H. Bronson hosted a kick off event to unveil a new health initiative designed to get Floridians to eat more fruits and vegetables. The event was held at the Capitol Plaza, was free and open to the public. Lt. Governor Kottkamp, Commissioner Bronson and Secretary of Health Viamonte Ros touted the nationally-sponsored “Fruits and Veggies - More Matters” campaign and told those in attendance that eating Florida produce is one of the easiest ways to improve one’s health.
“The message is very simple – most people benefit from eating a variety of fruits and vegetables,” Bronson said. “And we’re truly blessed in Florida as we grow more than 280 commercial crops that feed Floridians, consumers throughout the country and citizens around the world.”
National Sponsors of the Fruits & Veggies—More Matters Campaign include Produce for Better Health Foundation (PBH) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The program is housed in the Florida Department of Health’s Bureau of Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.
The “Fruits & Veggies—More Matters” message is the next generation of PBH’s 15-year-old “5 A Day for Better Health” program - a campaign encouraging consumers to eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables each day.
For more information on the “Fruits & Veggies—More Matters” campaign, consumers are encouraged to visit the campaign’s interactive website - www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org. The site offers recipes, serving ideas, shopping advice and includes activities for getting children involved.
Photos from launch event
Fruits & Veggies—More Matters® Resource Manual
This resource manual was developed by the Florida Interagency Food and Nutrition Committee (FIFNC) as one component of its 2007 nutrition education campaign, which promotes the increased consumption of fruits and vegetables. This manual complements and promotes the Fruits & Veggies—More Matters® public health initiative developed by the Produce for Better Health Foundation and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Go to the following site to download the Resource Manual (which is posted in three PDF sections): http://www.doh.state.fl.us/family/wic/Documents/fruits_and_veggies--more_matters/index.html. The manual has a variety of valuable lesson plans with handouts and activity sheets, as well as consumer handouts developed by CDC. Please refer to the Table of Contents on page 1 for a complete listing of the useful and practical resources that are contained in the Resource Manual.
A variety of other related materials are also posted (below the Resource Manual) including a presentation called “Eat Your Colors.” This presentation, developed for use with the Older Adult Lesson Plan in the Resource Manual, can also be used in education settings with the general public when discussing the benefits of eating a variety of fruits and vegetables.
Previous Food and Nutrition Initiatives
Mooove to Low Fat Dairy (2006)
This resource manual was created by FIFNC members as one component of a statewide nutrition education campaign, “Mooove to Low Fat Dairy”, launched in 2006. This campaign encourages Floridians—2 years of age and older— to make the “mooove” and choose low fat (1%) or fat-free (skim) milk and other low fat dairy products, instead of dairy products that are made with whole milk or reduced fat (2%) milk, in an effort to help reduce the incidence of obesity and other chronic diseases in Florida.
Be Wise About Your Portion Size (2005)
The “Be Wise About Your Portion Size” campaign is designed to assist educators in helping their audiences make healthier food choices that promote healthy body weights and reduce health risks.
Since 1986, obesity rates among Florida adults have increased by 63%. Data from the 2003 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) show that, based on self-reported height and weight, 14% of high school students are at risk for overweight, and 12.4% are overweight. Among youth, overweight has been linked to the development of high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes (a disease once associated with older adults).
A healthier lifestyle can help decrease the risk for many of the diseases associated with poor nutrition and physical inactivity. The “Be Wise About Your Portion Size” campaign kit and resource materials can help individuals take the first step toward healthy eating, including learning to select portions that meet their nutritional needs without providing excess calories.
“Be Wise About Your Portion Size” was developed by members of the Florida Interagency Food and Nutrition Committee (FIFNC), whose mission is to coordinate resources and efforts to provide effective nutrition, food security, and food safety programs and services to the public. The FIFNC member agencies providing this nutrition education initiative include: Florida Department of Health; Florida Department of Children and Families, Florida Department of Education; Florida Department of Elder Affairs; University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) Extension; U.S. Food and Drug Administration-Florida District Office, and Suwannee River Area Health Education Center. These institutions are equal opportunity providers.
For more information about the “Be Wise About Your Portion Size” campaign, visit the Florida Department of Health website: http://www.doh.state.fl.us/Family/obesity/index.html.
Snack Smart, Move More (2004)
This campaign, launched in 2004, encourages Florida’s citizens to choose healthy snacks and to participate in regular physical activity, in an effort to help reduce the incidence of overweight and obesity. The campaign’s message was promoted with agency-developed materials that were distributed to a wide variety of agencies and organizations, including WIC clinics, health departments, child care centers, juvenile homes, residential child care institutions, adult care centers, and Extension offices.
The Snack Smart, Move More resource manual was chosen by the Florida Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) Network as the curriculum to be used for Project IMPACT. Project IMPACT is a summer program that trains interdisciplinary teams of health professionals and medical and public health students to deliver the Project’s mission statewide to Florida’s citizens in rural and medically underserved areas.
5 A Day the Florida Way! and Fresh-2-U! (2003)
Launched in 2003, these two campaigns promote to all Floridians the importance of eating five or more servings of vegetables and fruits every day. All FIFNC agencies promoted the 5-A-Day message; in addition, some of the agencies partnered to adopt different slogans and approaches in their promotion efforts. The Department of Health’s theme was: 5 A Day the Florida Way! The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and the Department of Education partnered to promote the theme: Fresh-2-U!
Visit the web site for 5 A Day the Florida Way! at: http://www.doh.state.fl.us/family/5aday/flway/default.html.
Visit the website for the Fresh-2-U campaign at: http://www.fresh-from-florida.org.
A children’s book and music CD were developed with the Give Me 5 A Day theme. The following website contains these items (under the “Nutrition Information” column): http://www.doh.state.fl.us/family/wic/Documents/Five_A_Day/Give_me_5_a_day.html .
Mooove to Low Fat or Fat Free Milk (2002)
The goal of this campaign, launched in March 2002, is to encourage healthy adults and children two years and older to choose to drink lowfat (1%) or fat free milk, instead of whole or reduced fat milk. The campaign's message was promoted by means of agency-developed materials that were distributed to a wide variety of audiences at numerous community sites, including schools, WIC clinics, health departments, child care centers, adult care centers, senior centers, health fairs, Extension offices, and grocery stores.
The Mooove campaign was highlighted in the June 2004 report: "Innovative WIC Practices: Profiles of 20 Programs," prepared by Mathematica Policy Research! Inc., under a cooperative assistance agreement with USDA's Economic Research Service.
The following website contains complete information and materials related to the Mooove campaign: www.doh.state.fl.us/family/mooove/milk.html
EATT 1998 and EATT 2000 Symposiums
Other past projects that have been successfully produced and sponsored by FIFNC include two “EATT” (Everyone At The Table) Symposiums, which focused on hunger and food insecurity in Florida’s communities, as well as nutrition issues. These two symposiums, conducted in June 1998 and June 2000, were attended by staff from food and nutrition organizations throughout Florida’s local communities, whose programs assist individuals at risk for inadequate nutrition, food insecurity, or hunger. These symposiums identified and promoted local partnerships, and provided “tools” that were used by the attendees to develop customized action plans for addressing hunger and nutrition issues in their own communities.