Please join the Society of St. Andrew (SoSA) in welcoming Elizabeth Pullan as their new Triad Gleaning Coordinator. Elizabeth comes to them with an exceptional background. She is a graduate of Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa and most recently created a curriculum based farmer apprentice program in Spartanburg, SC. Among her many activities and training, Elizabeth has worked on farms in Montana and Virginia where she “double dug beds, slaughtered chickens and herded cattle” – good knowledge to possess as a Gleaning Coordinator!
Elizabeth’s phone number is 609-289-9136 and her e-mail address is gleantriad@endhunger.org.
The SoSA is enjoying working with Elizabeth and know you will, too.

Don't throw it out!
Take five…

1- Call Society of St. Andrew
2- Their volunteers pick it up or harvest it
3- They take it to the food bank, churches, or pantries
4- Hungry people get fresh, nutritious produce thanks to your generosity!
5- Next January, you get a letter with tax deductible information!

WITH YOUR HELP, THEY CAN FEED PEOPLE WHO ARE HUNGRY IN YOUR COMMUNITY!

Please see the document below for contact information.

Where: 505 N. Greene St., Greensboro, NC 27401 (One Block north of Marriott Hotel)

What: Greene Street’s “Green Grocery” DOWNTOWN FARM MARKET is a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) market featuring the best natural foods grown on the most eco-friendly North Carolina farms.
NC Farm Fresh - Open 6 Days a week:
Monday - Friday 10:00am - 6:00pm
Saturday 8:00am - 4:00pm

Farm fresh natural produce direct from the farm! Organic produce, locally grown; Local honey, local cheese, local milk. Free range chicken, grass fed beef (organic), Buffalo meat (NC Bison), free range eggs, turkey, country ham, bacon, sausage, butter, dried fruits, homemade jams, jellies, sourdough bread, French pastries (Laura’s Goodies), chocolate covered peanuts & more. Also non-local Florida citrus, pineapple, avocados and bananas. Wholesale bulk quantities available. They supply local restaurants with local food. Vendor space available in their 503 Local Artisan Market. Jewelry, crafts, gourmet foods.

For more information contact Mike Causey, Downtown Farm Market 336-210-1947 or email him at GreenMarket505@aol.com.

The most recent press release from the Trans Fat Committee from Get Healthy Guilford:

Going Trans Fat-Free is Gaining Popularity at Local Restaurants (Health Information)

Nearly a year has passed since Guilford County Department of Public Health and Get Healthy Guilford began encouraging the use of trans fat-free cooking oils in local restaurants. During that year, 303 Guilford County food facilities have switched from less healthy cooking oils to trans fat-free cooking oils.

“We are pleased that so many restaurants have recognized the health benefits of using trans fat-free oils and have made the decision to join us in setting a higher standard for health in our community,” said Merle Green, Health Director. Participating restaurants are posting a trans fat-free cooking oil decal for their restaurant’s patrons and are being listed on the Health Department’s web site, www.guilfordhealth.org beside the facility’s sanitation grade.

“Posting the decal will help customers decide which establishments voluntarily provide a healthier eating choice,” stated Pam Spence, Health Educator.

“In the last year, the Dogwood Soda Shop has switched to trans fat-free cooking oil. Our customers have been very pleased with this recent change,” stated Carolyn Fain, Dogwood Soda Shop manager. “We decided to make this change after hearing of the health risks from trans fat. We have a variety of foods to choose from on our menu and are pleased to serve foods that are more health conscious and trans fat-free.”

Any food service establishment wishing to participate and/or for more information, please call Pam Spence with the Guilford County Department of Public Health at 641-4102.

Action for Healthy Kids needs your help to urge the Senate to renew and fund the school nutrition programs. In this tough economy, American families are struggling to make ends meet. And as you know, childhood obesity is one of the most pressing health problems facing our nation's youth. Help improve children’s health by asking your Senators to urge Senate leaders to move the child nutrition bill to the Senate floor as soon as possible. On their website, they have a model message to send to your Senators and information to help you find their contact information. Please don’t delay – your email today can help make improvements to school nutrition programs a reality by the beginning of the next school year. Also, click on the 'Tell A Friend' feature at the bottom of this email to forward the message and call to action to your colleagues, friends and family so they can help too.

This news digest on the subject of Childhood Obesity highlights key articles from major journals and news publications. The digest is a free service of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Libraries Help Fill City Nutrition Gaps; Virtual Supermarket Serves Residents of Areas Without Grocery Stores
The Baltimore Sun, Kelly Brewington, 03/18/2010 Residents of two Baltimore neighborhoods that lack supermarkets will soon be able to order their groceries through a free delivery system that operates with the click of a mouse from the library.
Senator Proposes $4.5 Billion for Child Nutrition
The Washington Post, Jane Black, 03/18/2010
For more than a year, advocates of school food reform have been calling for more money to improve school lunch. Today, they're one step closer to getting it, but some say the amount is far less than they had hoped.
A Push for Healthier School Meals
Philadelphia Inquirer, Alfred Lubrano, 03/17/2010
Charlie Baltimore eyed the pizza in the cafeteria of the High School of the Future with simmering contempt. "In a year," the school administrator vowed, "we're going to eliminate pizza."
‘I Understand the Challenges People Face Every Day’ Newsweek, Claudia Kalb, 03/16/2010
Regina Benjamin, America's Surgeon General, discusses the difficulty of tackling childhood obesity—and the highest peak of Mount Kilimanjaro.
PepsiCo Pledges Not to Sell Sugary Beverages in Schools Worldwide
Los Angeles Times (Booster Shots Blog), Rosie Mestel, 03/16/2010
Consumer advocacy groups are very happy with a pledge, announced Tuesday by PepsiCo, that the company will stop selling full-sugar soft drinks to primary and secondary schools around the world by 2012.
Michelle Obama Talks Anti-Obesity to Food Giants Associated Press, Mary Clare Jalonick, 03/16/2010 Michelle Obama has talked to schools and nutrition groups across the country in her effort to reduce childhood obesity. On Tuesday she will face the food companies that make the snacks and junk food that stuff grocery aisles and school vending machines.
Thin Wallets, Thick Waistlines: New USDA Effort Targets Link between Obesity and Food Stamps
Scientific American, Lynne Peeples, 03/15/2010
Could added incentives and other changes to the federal food stamp program trim rampant obesity rates among low-income groups?
School Lunches Linked to Kids' Obesity; Study Shows Kids Who Bring Lunch From Home Are Less Likely to Be Overweight
WebMD Health News, Charlene Laino, 03/15/2010 Attention, parents! More than one in three middle school students who regularly eat school lunches are obese or overweight. They're also more likely to have high LDL "bad" cholesterol levels than kids who bring lunch from home.
Culture of Corpulence
Newsweek, Claudia Kalb, 03/14/2010
American innovations in food, transportation, and technology are threatening to supersize us all. Look around anywhere in America and the reality assaults you: we are simply too big. Nowhere is the evidence for this more striking than the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's color-coded obesity map.
Michelle Obama: Why I’m Fighting Childhood Obesity Newsweek, Michelle Obama, 03/14/2010
For years, we've known about the epidemic of childhood obesity in America. We've heard the statistics—how one third of all kids in this country are either overweight or obese.

Great news!
Bicycling magazine's May issue ranked Greensboro as #40 in the top 50 places to ride in the US.

Cities were chosen based on segregated bike lanes, municipal bike racks, bike & boulevards; having the ear of the local government; supporting a diverse and vibrant cycling culture; and smart, savvy bike shops. Cities of 100,000 or more were considered. Geographical diversity was a goal in order to avoid a list dominated by California.

Ranked # 1 was Minneapolis, followed by Portland and Boulder.
Cary, NC was ranked # 24.
Worst cities were Birmingham, AL; Jacksonville, FL; and Memphis, TN.

PepsiCo plans to remove sugary drinks from schools worldwide, following the success of programs in the U.S. aimed at cutting down on childhood obesity.

PepsiCo Sets Industry Standard By Establishing the First Consistent Global Approach to Selling Beverages in Schools. PepsiCo announced it is voluntarily adopting a new global policy to stop sales of full-sugar soft drinks to primary and secondary schools by 2012. The industry-leading policy establishes for the first time a consistent global approach to the sale of beverages to schools by a major beverage company.

The policy applies in all countries outside the United States, and is generally consistent with the company's existing U.S. policy, which remains unchanged.

PepsiCo Chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi said: "We have long advocated for school settings to be made as conducive as possible to promoting the health of students, and we have programs under way with school authorities in several countries to do that. This includes restoring or expanding physical education and promoting nutrition education. This global policy will serve as an important part of that mission, by expanding our offerings of low-calorie and nutritious beverages."

For more information read the press release.

A Princeton University research team has demonstrated that all sweeteners are not equal when it comes to weight gain: Rats with access to high-fructose corn syrup gained significantly more weight than those with access to table sugar, even when their overall caloric intake was the same.

In addition to causing significant weight gain in lab animals, long-term consumption of high-fructose corn syrup also led to abnormal increases in body fat, especially in the abdomen, and a rise in circulating blood fats called triglycerides. The researchers say the work sheds light on the factors contributing to obesity trends in the United States.

"Some people have claimed that high-fructose corn syrup is no different than other sweeteners when it comes to weight gain and obesity, but our results make it clear that this just isn't true, at least under the conditions of our tests," said psychology professor Bart Hoebel, who specializes in the neuroscience of appetite, weight and sugar addiction. "When rats are drinking high-fructose corn syrup at levels well below those in soda pop, they're becoming obese -- every single one, across the board. Even when rats are fed a high-fat diet, you don't see this; they don't all gain extra weight."

For more information click here.

The following resources have been provided courtesy of Cindy Silver MS, RD, LDN - Corporate Nutritionist at Lowes Foods - following her wonderful Lowes store tour for GDDA members on January 12th. They are available free to all the community.

1. Online Weekly Meal Solutions:
Please look on our homepage of www.lowesfoods.com and you will see '5 Weekly Meal Solutions' at the right side of the screen. Cindy creates these easy-to-fix, nutritious, affordable meals each week for her customers. They focus on natural (unprocessed) ingredients that are on sale for the week.
Next, look at the middle of the homepage, scroll down a little, and you will see a clever video where a chef prepares one of the weekly meal solutions. It can be very helpful and is, at the least, entertaining kitchen fun.

2. Online Nutritious Recipes:
Please look at www.lowesfoods.com and then click on the Meal Planning tab. There you will find an archive of easy-to-fix recipes, many of which are from her desk. Be sure to look for the little heart symbol which indicates heart healthy and created by Cindy. (Note: this portion of their website is in revision so it looks a bit disorganized now. By sometime later this month, it will be 'repaired'.)

3. Online Nutrition Education and Resources:
Please look at www.lowesfoods.com/nutrition and you will find a variety of education, tips, recipes, and wellness inspiration. Cindy writes this content quarterly for her customers. The new winter quarter content is just now available.

For questions, please contact Cindy Silver at 336-775-3097 or at cindy.silver@lowesfoods.com.

Hello GDDA Members,
Some of you probably already participated in this but we would like to make you all aware of a new way to post RD job openings at no charge.

First join linkedin.com, then search for Dietitian Jobs Network under groups, then ask to be invited to join the group. You will be accepted quickly.

Then you can post whatever jobs you'd like, as often as you'd like, under the jobs tab. There is no charge to join linkedin.com or to post jobs under this group.

Do keep in mind that the jobs expire at 14 days but you are free to re-post as often as you'd like. Be sure to include contact information in the body of the ad as those responding will contact you directly. I hope you find this to be a useful tool.

Provided by: Emily Reeve, Triad Area Gleaning Coordinator, Society of St. Andrew

North Carolina gleaning pounds topped 5.1 million in 2009 and here in the Triad, we gleaned steadily from March (lettuce under the cold frames) to December (turnips and greens). In our 12 county region we held 123 gleaning events and gathered over 95,000 pounds of fresh produce for those in need! We got dirty, laughed, and shared wonderful times of fellowship in the fields. Each gleaning was a blessing and a real time to see God's abundance in our lives.
As the New Year begins, I have decided to step down as Triad Gleaning Coordinator to spend more time with my family in the summer and focus on volunteer work. I will definitely see you in the fields since I love to glean and love the mission of Society of St. Andrew.

If anyone is interested in this 15 hour a week job, please send your resume to Marilyn Marks at sosawnc@endhunger.org.

GDDA Board members and the Get Healthy Guilford leadership were invited to a FRESH showing at Nancy Kondracki's house in December.  If you are interested in assisting with this effort please let one of us know.

Dietitians and others are getting together for "showings" across the country. FRESH is more than a movie, it's a gateway to action. The aim is to help grow FRESH food, ideas, and become active participant in an exciting, vibrant, and fast-growing movement.

FRESH is a grassroots effort for a grassroots movement. It's been tremendously exciting to see the movie catch on and spread like wild fire, being used all over the country as a platform to raise awareness and connecting people to the solutions available in their community.

If you would like to read up on FRESH, click here.

In September and October Leslie Armeniox, Coalition Director of Get Healthy Guilford, responded to concerns about healthy food being more expensive by challenging herself to eat 30 days on a food stamp budget AND make it nutritious. She learned a lot about what is required to make this happen and about potential barriers for folks who do not have the knowledge about nutrition, cooking skills or equipment, and a car for traveling to stores and markets. She also lost 5 lbs without being hungry, weighing, or even thinking about dieting. She posted this on her BLOG at the Get Healthy Guilford website.
On Monday November 9th she began another 30 days and is inviting and challenging the community to join her. Food plans, recipes, and a daily blog will be posted at www.GetHealthyGuilford.org.
Please take this challenge and invite others to join you. It's a great way to gain understanding of the barriers some people face every day when they try to eat smart. And you might lose 5 lbs in the process.

Do you have a friend who's recently gone "Freegan" or seen a blog headline about dumpster diving and wondered what all the hype is about? Both of these terms describe a type of lifestyle where individuals rummage, scour and explore for food, clothing and other useful articles that other people have discarded as trash.

If the idea of ransacking dumpsters and trashcans isn't your idea of a pleasant way to spend your Saturday afternoon, there are alternatives that still allow you to embark on your own adventure to find food in unconventional places.

Urban foraging is an emerging trend that teaches people how to find edibles in parks, yards and city squares.

In the spring and summer months the foliage is out and parks and lawns turn many shaded of green. What many people don't realize, however, is that many leaves, weeds, flowers and other plants can be collected and eaten for free. In addition, some city parks and yards are home to fruit tree that bear unharvested edibles year after year.

Instead of lamenting the high price of fresh local food, while edibles go to waste all over the city, urban foragers mobilize to eat off of the fat of the land.

Resources for learning how to be a successful urban forager are popping up all over the internet, like Urban Edibles, a community database of wild food sources in Portland, Oregon. Workshops that provide a hands-on urban foraging experience have sprung up as well, like those led by Leda Meredith, an urban homesteader who lives in New York City.

Of course, you can't go picking tomatoes and dandelions just anywhere you find them, and urban foragers must follow a considerate code of ethics any time they venture out.

Among Urban Edibles' ethical guidelines:
1. Don't take more than you need. "A tree full of ripe black cherries can be really exciting but how many will you use before they go bad?"
2. Ask permission before you pick. "We do not condone unsanctioned harvesting practices or trespassing."
3. Pick in a balanced and selective manner. "The last thing we want is to damage the sources from which we harvest!"
4. Watch out for pesticides and other contaminants. "Paint chips, pesticides, motor oil spills and even car wash runoff can affect the quality of the sources you pick from."

Copied from this site.

In case you missed the groundbreaking in September, check out the details on the Edible Schoolyard at the Greensboro Children's Museum.

The Greensboro Children's Museum is proud to be one of the first affiliates of the Edible Schoolyard - and the first children's museum affiliate. The Museum is working with Alice Waters, owner of Chez Panisse restaurant in Berkeley, California, and a national advocate for farmers' markets and bringing organic, local food to the general public to turn this dream into a reality. The program promises to teach and enlighten thousands of children and their families to a "Seed to Table" experience through gardening and teaching kitchens. Fundraising efforts are now underway. The Children's Museum's goal is to become the premier informal family learning center in the region, providing experiences and resources that promote wellness and healthy living. Don't miss your chance to get involved!

The Food and Nutrition Information Center (FNIC) has launched the Interactive DRI for Healthcare Professionals, a new online tool that calculates an individual's daily nutrient recommendations based on the Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs).
Then Interactive DRI for Healthcare Professionals is available on FNIC's website.
This tool is intended to be used by healthcare professionals - Registered Dietitians (RDs), doctors, nurse practitioners, and others who may have an interest in using these values for dietary planning purposes.

The Interactive DRI for Healthcare Professionals puts individual nutrient recommendations at the fingertips of those professionals who can help consumers interpret and use these DRI values to guide healthy dietary behaviors.

This tool is the result of a collaboration between the US Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Library/FNIC and the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.

Visitors to the FNIC homepage will also be able to access this tool from the Dietary Guidance button on the left navigation bar. On this landing page, the topic titled "Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI)" will then offer a link to this tool.