Variety of fresh vegetables

EAT MORE FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

Report: North Carolinians should eat more fruits and vegetables

Dunn, C. and Creamer, C. 2013. Summary of the CDC’s 2013 State Indicator Report on Fruits and Vegetables and projects across the state that are working to increase North Carolinian’s intake of fresh fruits and vegetables.

North Carolina Resources

• Cooking Local Foods
  • Research shows that individuals and families who eat more foods at home consume a healthier diet. In order for families to eat more foods at home and connect nutrition to healthy, local foods, cooking skills are an essential teaching strategy to help families adopt new healthy behaviors. 
  • Best Practices for Utilizing Local Food in Nutrition Education and Cooking Classes – NC State Extension Publication 
• North Carolina Seasonal Recipes
  • Farmers’ Market Recipe Cards  – These recipes are a part of the Farmers’ Market Tour Guide designed for nutrition educators to integrate a tour of a farmers’ market into Faithful Families, Steps to Health and EFNEP classes. Educators are provided with tips about how to work with farmers’ markets and Extension agents to provide education about local food and farming, how to use federal nutrition assistance benefits at the market, and how to prepare local food.
  • Local Food Recipe Cards – 12 recipe cards in English and Spanish featuring a variety of local foods:
    • Balsamic Roasted Beets: ENGLISH  /  SPANISH
    • Bok Choy Salad: ENGLISH  /  SPANISH
    • Creamy Spinach Leeks: ENGLISH  /  SPANISH
    • Garden Quesadillas: ENGLISH  /  SPANISH
    • Greek Tomato Salad: ENGLISH  /  SPANISH
    • Lemon Basil Squash: ENGLISH  /  SPANISH
    • Lemon Green Beans: ENGLISH  /  SPANISH
    • Minted Watermelon Salad: ENGLISH  /  SPANISH
    • Spinach Strawberry Salad: ENGLISH  /  SPANISH
    • Sweet Peach Salsa: ENGLISH  /  SPANISH
    • Vegetable Pancakes: ENGLISH  /  SPANISH
    • Yogurt and Hummus: ENGLISH  /  SPANISH
• Eat Smart, Move More North Carolina
  “A statewide movement that promotes increased opportunities for healthy eating and physical activity wherever people live, learn, earn, play and pray.”
  • • North Carolina’s Plan to Address Obesity: Healthy Weight and Healthy Communities 2013-2020
      “A seven-year plan offering overarching goals and measurable objectives for anyone working in the area of overweight and obesity prevention.” Evidence based strategies that relate to local foods include:
      • Provide access to affordable healthy food.
      • Implement policies and practices to improve the availability of locally grown foods by expanding farmers markets and farm stands (schools, communities, etc).
      • Implement policies to offer and promote healthier foods and beverages as part of an overall marketing mix, especially to children.
      • Provide mechanisms for purchasing locally grown foods.
  • • Eat Smart NC: Bring Fresh Produce to your Setting Guide
      “A planning and resource tool for anyone who would like to have fruits and vegetables, especially locally grown, available to buy in their worksite, place of worship, neighborhood or at any gathering place.”
• Expanded Food & Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP)
  N.C. Cooperative Extension Service Food & Nutrition Programs and Resources
• State Indicator Report on Fruits and Vegetables 2013
  “Provides information for each state on fruit and vegetable consumption and environmental and policy indicators of support for consumption.”
• Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education Program (SNAP-Ed)
  “The goal of SNAP-Ed is to assist those eligible for food assistance to eat smart and move more.”
• University of North Carolina at Chapel HIll Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention (HPDP)
  • Warren FoodWorks and Produce Pack Project
    Project of HPDP and Warren County Regional Food Center. Establishes new farm-to-fork connections between local growers and low-income consumers in Warren County NC.

Local Food and Health

• Eat Local. Eat Healthy. (links to print version)
  Tri-fold brochure developed by North Carolina Cooperative Extension.
  • Instructions for use:
    • Please print professionally. The brochure design does not print well on home/office printers.
    • To get a price quote, give your printer these Print Specifications:
      • 11 x 8.5 full bleed (this is the size of the paper, bleed means color comes all the way to the edge)
      • Trim, Score and Trifold to 3.66 x 8.5 (this means cut off the edges and fold it to finished size)
      • 4C over 4C (translates to – full color on both sides)
      • 80 l.b Matte or Dull Text (this is the type of paper — this is NOT uncoated, it is a coated paper with a matte finish as opposed to a glossy finish)

National Resources

• Centers for Disease Control & Prevention Resources
  • Guide to Strategies to Increase the Consumption of Fruits and Vegetables, 2011
    Includes information on promoting food policy councils, starting farmers’ markets and community-supported-agriculture, supporting community and home gardens and more.
  • Fruits & Veggies, More Matters
    Partnership health initiative between Produce for Better Health Foundation and the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) “focused on helping Americans increase fruit & vegetable consumption for better health.”

• Food Safety for Consumers
  N.C. Fresh Produce Safety Portal provides information to consumers concerning foodborne illnesses and educational resources.
  • Health and Wellness
  • Educational Resources
  • Foodborne Illness
• Food Safety for Retailers, Small Businesses, and Other
• Food Safety / Home Food Preservation
  North Carolina Cooperative Extension Family and Consumer Sciences resources including food safety for consumers as well as resources on equipment, specific foods, and Extension agent resources.
• Food Safety for Growers
• Food Safety for the Food Industry
• Food Safety for Processors

Primary Contact:  

Zandra Alford
Extension Associate, Foods and Nutrition
NC State University
Department of Agricultural and Human Sciences
zandra_alford@ncsu.edu