Healthy Lunchtime Challenge Recipe Contest

USDA Blog Post:

Posted by Donna Johnson-Bailey, Outreach and Social Media, Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, on March 28, 2014 at 10:00 AM

Young chefs prepare food with First Lady Michelle Obama and Secretary Vilsack.

Who will represent your state at the 3^rd Annual White House Kids’ State Dinner?  It could be your child showing off his or her creativity and culinary talents in front of the First Lady and people from around the country.  First Lady Michelle Obama, the USDA, the U.S. Department of Education, and Epicurious have once again teamed up for the third annual Healthy Lunchtime Challenge recipe contest.

Children ages 8 – 12 years old are invited to submit an original lunch recipe inspired by MyPlate. Young chefs can win the chance to attend the Kids’ “State Dinner” hosted by First Lady Michelle Obama at the White House in Washington, D.C.  The invited guests will include the Lunchtime Challenge winners and their parents from every state!

Kids and their parents know that eating a healthy lunch is critical to making the grade at school, but it takes a little imagination to create something delicious and nutritious.  Ask the kids in your life to share a healthy recipe and inspire others.  Recipes should be:

• Healthy – Veggies and fruits should make up half of your recipe, and be sure to also include low-fat dairy, whole grains, and lean protein
• Delicious – Keep it fresh, simple, and yummy
• Original – We want your own creative dish, not one from a published source
• Affordable – No fancy ingredients needed
• Meaningful – Tell us the story of how you came to make this dish

Young chefs can be role models for their peers, their families, and all Americans.  To learn more about this amazing opportunity and to enter the Healthy Lunchtime Challenge, visit: http://www.recipechallenge.epicurious.com/. Entries must be received by April 5, 2014 for a chance to win!

Spread the word!  You and your child could win a trip to Washington, D.C. and represent your state at the Kids’ State Dinner at the White House.

Celebrate 30 Delicious, Kid-Approved Recipes during National Nutrition Month

USDA Blog Post:

Posted by Jessica Milteer, Writer, FNS, USDA, on March 26, 2014 at 2:00 PM

The Mediterranean Quinoa Salad won second place in the grains category. Photo by Jeanne S., Lauren M., Jeanne G. and Rodney P. from Bellingham Public Schools, Bellingham, MA.

For much of the nation, the long winter has presented a great opportunity to gather in the kitchen and cook up a new dish with the family. In the spirit of National Nutrition Month, USDA has recently released new cookbooks that feature 30 delicious, kid-approved recipes. The offerings represent the top picks from the Recipes for Healthy Kids Competition where teams of students, teachers, community members and chefs competed to create dishes that could be incorporated into school lunch menus.

Inspired by the First Lady’s Let’s Move! initiative, the Competition kicked off on September 7, 2010 at the start of the school year.  The Competition supported historic improvements made to school meals made possible by the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 and the aggressive goals set by the White House for the HealthierUS School Challenge (HUSSC).

Schools must now meet updated standards that include more whole grains, fruits and vegetables, and right-sized portions. All along, we knew that in order to truly inspire kids to make healthier choices, the meals couldn’t just be nutritious – they had to be tasty as well. The resulting recipes meet requirement to increase consumption of whole grains, dark green and red/orange vegetables, and beans/peas (legumes).

The dishes the competing teams came up with were so good, we decided to put them all together and make cookbooks for home, schools and child care centers. With dishes like Mediterranean Quinoa Salad, Crunchy, Hawaiian Chicken Wrap and Fiesta Mexican Lasagna, the teams proved you don’t have to sacrifice taste when making a nutritious and filling meal.

The Recipes for Healthy Kids: Cookbook for Homes provides downloadable recipes for six servings. Or, if you’re interested in feeding a larger crowd, the Recipes for Healthy Kids: Cookbooks for Child Care Centers and Schools provides recipes that yield 25, 50 and even 100 servings!

Cooking together is a great way to teach kids about the importance of nutrition and plays an essential role in securing a healthier next generation!

Secretary's Column: Celebrating America's Farmers Markets

USDA Blog Post:

Posted by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, on August 9, 2013 at 12:30 PM

Over the first week of August, local markets across the country celebrated National Farmers Market Week.

Farmers markets are an important part of America’s diverse agriculture sector, providing unique benefits to communities across our nation. They give Americans a chance to learn about agriculture by meeting some of the people who grow and raise our food. They provide valuable marketing opportunities for small and beginning farmers – many of whom scale up to larger regional markets and other institutions.  And they help expand access to locally-grown foods that are in greater demand than ever before.

We have seen incredible growth in the number of farmers markets over the past few years. Today, according to USDA’s National Farmers Market Directory, more than 8,100 local markets are in operation – up from about 5,000 markets just a few years ago.

Sales of local foods have skyrocketed along with the popularity of farmers markets. In 2005, local food sales totaled about $1 billion across the nation. Last year, according to industry estimates, sales of local foods totaled nearly $7 billion.

At USDA, we believe that strengthening local and regional food systems, including farmers markets, will be a cornerstone of a revitalized rural economy.

Under the Obama Administration, USDA has helped nearly 450 farmers market and other direct-marketing projects in every state, under our Farmers Market Promotion Program. We’ve also supported nearly 300 projects to help farmers develop and sell new, value-added products through our Value-Added Producer Grants program.

We have helped increase the number of markets that accept EBT technology – which allows folks to use nutrition assistance benefits to buy fresh, farmers market produce – by nearly 100 percent in the last two years.

And to be sure American agriculture is ready to meet the growing demand for local products, we’ve helped thousands of small producers to get started and keep growing.

We want to continue these efforts – and to do so, USDA continues to urge Congress to pass a comprehensive Food, Farm and Jobs Bill.  This would expand USDA support for local and regional marketing opportunities, including farmers markets, around the country.

This week we joined folks around the country in celebrating our nation’s thousands of farmers markets. More Americans than ever have a thriving farmers market in their city or town – and by providing support to grow and strengthen these markets, we can create even more opportunity for American agriculture.