Tobacco-settlement funds will subsidize summer meal programs' purchase of Kentucky fruits and vegetables

The state Department of Agriculture is offering a subsidy for summer meal programs in Kentucky to buy fruit and vegetables produced in the state. The program is funded by $185,000 in tobacco-settlement money awarded by the state Agricultural Development Board and administered by the Kentucky Association of Food Banks. 

"The program is the first of its kind in the nation," the department said in a news release about the Kentucky-grown Fruit and Vegetable Incentive Program, which it calls K-VIP.

“When we started the Kentucky Hunger Initiative two years ago, we began a conversation about how to combat the unfortunate reality that one in five Kentucky school children are food-insecure,” Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles said Jan. 8 at the Kentucky Fruit and Vegetable Conference in Lexington. “The K-VIP program gives summer feeding programs an added incentive to provide fresh, locally grown fruit and vegetables for hungry kids in the summer months while expanding market access for Kentucky farmers.”

Warren Beeler, executive director of the Governor’s Office of Agricultural Policy, said the ag-development board “jumped at the chance to expand market access for farmers and feed hungry kids at the same time.” The board spends half the money from the states' 1998 settlement with cigarette manufacturers, with the goal of broadening the state's agricultural base.

Tamara Sandberg, executive director of the food-banks group, said in the release, “The summer meals program helps ensure children receive the nutritious food they need to thrive during the summer months when school is out. K-VIP will help increase the portion of local Kentucky produce served through summer meals.”

Meal programs served 2.8 million Kentucky children last summer. The U.S. Department of Agriculture "reimburses summer site sponsors for meals served at feeding sites, and claims for reimbursement are processed by the Kentucky Department of Education," the release said. "For every lunch served, the summer feeding site sponsor receives reimbursement from USDA of $3.83."

To participate in K-VIP, sponsors must be approved by the Education Department to serve as summer meal site sponsors and submit an enrollment application to the food-banks association at www.kykidseat.org/kvip by April 15. Contact Cathy Gallagher (cathy.gallagher@education.ky.gov) at the Kentucky Department of Education to become an approved summer feeding site sponsor.

Enrolled sponsors will be eligible for reimbursement for up to one-third of their spending on Kentucky-grown produce. "Due to the limited number of funds, there is no guarantee of reimbursement," the release says. "K-VIP payments will be capped at 10 cents times the total number of meals reimbursed by USDA."

Kentucky growers may contact Tina Garland (tina.garland@ky.gov) at the state Agriculture Department to connect with summer feeding site sponsors in their area.

Program to double purchasing power of federal nutrition programs at Kentucky farmers' markets expands; now at 27 locations

Kentuckians receiving government nutritional assistance can double their spending power, up to $10 a day, if they shop at one of 25 local farmers' markets or two Fresh Stops Markets in Lexington that are participating in the “Double Dollars” program for those in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly food stamps), the Women, Infants and Children program or the Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program.

Warren Beeler, center, executive director of the Governor's Office
of Agricultural Policy, presents a proclamation from Gov. Matt Bevin
declaring Aug. 7-13 Farmers’ Market Week in Kentucky. Also pictured
are, from left: Kelly Munson, senior vice president, WellCare Health Plans;
Dr. Connie White, deputy commissioner, state Department for Public Health;
Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles; Carol Baumann, chair of the
Community Farm Alliance board; CFA executive director Martin Richards;
and John Johnson, USDA. (Kentucky Department of Agriculture photo)

The state Agricultural Development Board recently authorized more than $78,000 to support the Community Farm Alliance, which administers the Double Dollars program and funds on-site managers for the state’s farmers markets. WellCare Health Plans of Kentucky donated $6,000 and the state Cabinet for Health and Family Services contributed an additional $5,500.

The program began with six markets in 2014. Surveys of users showed that people using the program felt they were eating a lot more fruits and vegetables and felt more educated about healthy eating. CFA's Martin Richards said it has been popular with both the markets and families using it.

“In many rural Kentucky communities, 25 percent of the population participates in these nutritional programs,” Richards said in a news release. “Double Dollars helps draw these people to the wholesome, fresh food of farmers markets, which is good for them and good for our farmers.”

Kelly Munson, senior vice president of WellCare, said, “We know healthier people not only save money on health care but are better able to obtain or retain employment. This program helps Kentucky families in the most straightforward way possible – by putting healthy food on the table.”

Double Dollars are available at the following markets: Bardstown Road Farmers Market, Louisville; Berea Farmers Market Cooperative, South Point Farmers Market, Louisville; Bounty of the Barrens Farmers Market, Glasgow; Boyle County Farmers Market; Community Farmers Market, Bowling Green; Cumberland County Farmers Market, Farmers Market on the Square, Columbia; Franklin County Farmers Market; Gateway Farmers Market (SoKY Marketplace), Bowling Green; Gray Street Farmers Market, Louisville; Jackson County Farmers Market; Knox County Farmers Market; Magoffin County Farmers Market; Metcalfe County Farmers Market; Owen County Farm and Craft Market; Perry County Farmers Market; Phoenix Hill-NuLu Farmers Market, Louisville; Winchester-Clark County Farmers Market; Whitesburg-Letcher County Farmers Market; Downtown Richmond Farmers Market; and five Lexington Farmers Market locations.

For more information about Kentucky’s farmers markets, visit the Kentucky Department of Agriculture at kyagr.com/marketing/farmers-market.html. For more information about the Double Dollar Program visit the Community Farm Alliance at cfaky.org/what-we-do/fmsp/. 

Advocates of school nutrition standards use high-school chefs' competition to show that food can still taste good

The higher school-food standards required by the Child Nutrition Act expire this year, and Republicans are continuing their efforts to roll back some of them. Democrats and advocates of the standards used a student cooking event on Capitol Hill to generate support for the standards, apparently to counter arguments of some school nutrition directors that some of the healthier options are more difficult to prepare and serve.

In the final competition, the top nine high-school teams served their winning dishes to lawmakers. The dishes had to follow their cafeterias' budgets and the national standards: To win, students had to include products rich in whole grains, low in sodium and a half-cup of fruits and vegetables, Whitney Forman-Cook reports for Agri-Pulse, a Washington newsletter. She doesn't list any of the dishes, but they're listed with the winners on the "Cooking Up Change" website of the Healthy Schools Campaign.

Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., hosted the event. She said that she and Senate Agriculture Committee Chariman Pat Roberts, R-Kan., who has vowed to roll back some of the standards, have been discussing the issue, and she would like to pass a bipartisan bill by Sept. 30, when the current law's authority ends. One standard Stabenow doesn't want to compromise on is the requirement for a half-cup of fruit and vegetables; Michigan is a big fruit and vegetable state.

Stabenow said the Department of Agriculture "is very willing to work with schools where there are issues" in meeting nutrition requirements. (Read more)

Pilot salad bar will determine whether other Jefferson Co. schools follow suit in bid to increase students' veggie and fruit intake

The Jefferson County Public School system is pilot-testing a salad bar at Atherton High School to entice students to eat more vegetables and fruits, a goal of the new federal nutrition standards, Allison Ross reports for The Courier-Journal.

Photo from TheProduceMom.com

"We're always looking for new ideas to increase participation or attract students to come through the serving line," Terina Edington, assistant director for nutrition services, told Ross.

Many of Kentucky's children are falling far short of the daily recommended four and a half cups or more of fruits and vegetables, a shortcoming that one study says will contribute to early heart disease. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2013 State Indicator Report on Fruits and Vegetables found that only 50 percent of Kentucky adolescents reported eating fruit and 43 percent reported eating vegetables with a median intake of one time per day for both.

Salad bars were once common in Jefferson County schools, but concerns about portion control and contamination concerns caused them to "slowly disappear," Edington told Ross. Many schools across the country continue to "remain leery" of adding salad bars because of such health concerns, Ross writes.

This trial will help the district determine whether it will put salad bars in other schools. Cafeteria modifications for the salad bar at Atherton cost $400, Ross reports.

A push for schools to add more salad bars has been led by First Lady Michelle Obama's "Let's Move" initiative, which co-sponsors a "Salad Bars 2 Schools" program that has donated more than 4,000 salad bars to schools, Ross reports. "A 2014 evaluation of that program found that 57 percent of participating schools saw an increase in student participation in school lunch, and 78 percent reported buying more fruits and vegetables."

The school's Facebook page said that the salad bar would have diced ham, turkey breast, fajita chicken strips, cucumbers, baby spinach, radishes and four types of dressings, with the lettuce and meat portions pre-measured, while the other ingredients will be self-serve.

Atherton High parent Lynn Greene told Ross that she is "thrilled my child has a healthy option," saying she hopes other schools will also get salad bars.

Study: American children's diets will cause early heart disease; Kentucky kids seem to be on the same track

Kentucky Health News

A study shows that American kids are eating themselves toward early heart disease.

The study, published in the journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, looked at a nationally representative group of children and found that "American kids eat too much sugar and salt, they don't eat enough fruits and vegetables, and far too many are overweight," , Maggie Fox reports for NBC News. And of the 8,900 children aged 2 to 11 surveyed, "most were not meeting the goal on three out of four measures of healthy living."

"Our findings indicate that, in general, children start with pretty good blood pressure," Dr. Donald Lloyd-Jones of the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, who oversaw the study, told Fox. "But if they have a horrible diet, it will drive a worsening body mass index and cholesterol levels."

The research found that fewer than 1 percent of the children in the study had four or five of the main components of a healthy diet; only 3 percent of boys and 2 percent of girls ate enough whole grains daily; more than half of the children drank too much sugar-sweetened beverages; and fewer than 10 percent ate the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables. The study also found that 30 percent of the children surveyed were overweight or obese, Fox reports.

This poor diet could "put many on the road to heart disease," Fox writes.

And Kentucky's children, who rank eighth in the nation for child obesity, are likely walking down this road to poor health.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2013 State Indicator Report on Fruits and Vegetables found that only 50 percent of Kentucky adolescents reported eating fruit and 43 percent reported eating vegetables with a median intake of one time per day for both.

As for sugar-sweetened beverages, the 2013 Kentucky High School Youth Risk Behavior Survey found that in the seven days prior to the the survey: 33 percent of high school students drank a sugared soda one or more times a day; 25 percent drank a sugared soda two or more times per day; and 15 percent drank a sugared soda three or more times per day.

"It seems that children in the United States are losing their ideal cardiovascular health status," the researchers wrote, Fox reports. The study found about "40 percent of the kids already had poor to worrying cholesterol levels."

The main components of a healthy diet, according to the study, are: eating four and a half cups or more of fruits and vegetables each day; three servings of whole grains a day; two servings of fish a week; minimal amounts of sugar; and below 1,500 milligrams of sodium a day.

NBC has previously reported that many studies have found that children who have risk factors for heart disease show signs of clogged arteries that are typically found in middle-aged adults.

But another study found that that eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables, low in saturated fats and low on fatty meat "dramatically cuts the risk of heart disease and stroke," Fox writes.

Study: Banning sugary drinks from SNAP would reduce obesity and Type 2 diabetes; subsidy would boost fruit consumption

A measure preventing people from purchasing sugar-sweetened beverages through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food stamps, would significantly reduce obesity and Type 2 diabetes in adults under 65, and adding a subsidy for fruits and vegetables would more than double the number of SNAP participants who meet federal vegetable and fruit consumption guidelines, says a new study published in Health Affairs.

Research has shown that people on food stamps suffer diabetes, heart disease and obesity at higher rates than people who are in the same tax bracket but not on food stamps, Diane Jeanty reports for PBS Newshour. In 2013, these findings prompted 18 mayors from major U.S. cities to write to Congress with a push to ban the use of food stamps to purchase sugar sweetened beverages.

The American Beverage Association pushed back, saying "sugared beverages were being targeted and were not the only causes for obesity," Jeanty writes.

A research team led by Dr. Sanjay Basu, an assistant professor of medicine at the Stanford University School of Medicine, conducted the study to determine how banning sugared beverages could affect the SNAP population’s level of risk for these diseases, Jeanty reports. They used a survey by the federal Centers for Disease Control, which assesses the nutritional status of adults and children, and combined it with current information on SNAP.

The study had two models, one that banned sugary beverages—excluding 100 percent fruit juice—and another that offered an incentive for SNAP participants to receive a 30 cent credit for each dollar spent on fruit and vegetable purchases. The study factored in metabolism rates and demographics such as race, age, gender and income to test the effects of the proposed measures, Jeanty reports.

They found that with a simulated ban, a person would reduce his or her calorie intake by 24 per day. They also found that obesity rates decreased 2.4 percent and type 2 Diabetes rates dropped 1.7 percent—or 240,000 people—Jeanty reports. The simulated subsidy, did not, however, have a significant impact on overall diabetes and obesity.

The study also found that by adding a simulated subsidy on fruits and vegetables, SNAP participants increased their consumption from 1/4 cup to 3 cups per day. However, increasing the amount of fruits and vegetables consumed is not enough to influence the reduction of diabetes and obesity on a national scale, according to Basu. “There would also have to be further reforms to also reduce the consumption of sugary beverages,” Basu told Jeanty.

The Illinois Public Health Institute, addressing a proposed ban in Illinois, found that SNAP participants would still purchase sugared beverages with their own money, even if they were banned, Jeanty reports. But Basu says that his study accounted for this consideration. Basu said it is time to perform a controlled study instead of a simulation model, Jeanty writes.

Health foundation chief objects to bill that would allow school districts to get waivers from recent nutrition standards

The president of Kentucky's public-interest health foundation is objecting to legislation recently approved by the U.S. House Appropriations Committee to allow waivers from the school nutrition enacted by the Department of Agriculture in 2010.

Susan G. Zepeda, Ph.D.

Susan G. Zepeda of the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky says in a statement sent to Kentucky news media that the foundation's polls show that Kentuckians "want healthier foods in the schools," but fewer than one in four Kentucky adults "described the meals at their children's school or daycare as 'very nutritious'."

Zepeda notes that the Data Resource Center for Child and Adolescent Health showed that 35.7 percent of Kentucky children were either overweight or obese in 2011-12, that children living in poverty are more likely to be obese, and that polls show Kentucky adults think childhood obesity is a serious issue, and 78 percent of them approved of the new USDA meal standards, Zepeda notes.

The legislation would allow school districts that have lost money on meals for six months to ask for a waiver from the standards. Zepeda said "the major voice" for the bill was the School Nutrition Association, "a trade group of school food officials backed by such food companies as Coca-Cola, Domino’s Pizza and PepsiCo," but "19 of the association’s former presidents have called on Congress to reject the waiver. We add our voice to this call."

Poll: Only 23% of Kentuckians say they eat recommended daily portions of fruits and vegetables; cost and location may be factors

Only 23 percent of Kentuckians eat the recommended daily portions of fruits and vegetables, and cost and accessibility of food may be factors, according to a recent statewide poll.

Fruit and vegetable consumption can decrease a person's chance of developing chronic diseases like cancer and high blood pressure. Kentuckians fall short of the recommended portions; 26 percent eat the recommended amount of fruit, 12 percent eat the recommended amount of vegetables, and 39 percent don't meet either recommendation, according to the latest Kentucky Health Issues Poll, taken Oct. 25 through Nov. 26.

The recommended dietary suggestion for adults is to make half their plate fruits and vegetables at every meal.  This guideline assures that  adults would get at least two servings of fruit and three servings of vegetables per day, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture guidelines.

Some Kentuckians seem to know they don't eat well; only 39 percent of those surveyed said they have an excellent or very good diet. In general, those who claimed to have better diets also had better health, which comes as no surprise. However, 38 percent of adults who claimed excellent or very good health did not meet the dietary recommendation for fruit or vegetable consumption.

Income appears to be an influencing factor, because just 30 percent of Kentuckians whose incomes are below 138 percent of the federal poverty level (the limit for Medicaid) said they have an excellent or very good diet, while 47 percent with incomes above 200 percent of the FPL said they did. Although 81 percent of those surveyed said they had easy access to healthy foods, of those in non-Appalachian counties 10 percent said they did not; the latter number was higher in Appalachian counties, where 20 percent said they did not.

Cost is also a concern. Half of the respondents said fruit and vegetable prices in their areas are fair to poor, and only 19 percent reported excellent or very good prices.

The Kentucky Health Issues Poll is funded by the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky and Interact for Health, formerly the Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati. It surveyed 1,551 randomly selected Kentucky adults,

November is National Diabetes Month; here are some tips to stay healthy and keep the disease from stealing your vision

November is National Diabetes Month, and if you're one of more than 370,000 Kentuckians with the disease, in addition to watching your diet and keeping track of your blood sugar, it’s also important to have regular eye exams.

A comprehensive dilated eye exam can catch
diabetic eye disease early, before symptoms appear

Diabetic eye disease is the leading cause of vision loss among working-age Americans, says a release from the National Institutes of Health.  Diabetic retinopathy is the most common form of this disease, affects=ing more than 7 million Americans, a number that is expected to reach 11 million by the year 2030.

Since diabetic retinopathy has no symptoms until it reaches an advanced stage, it is important to get regular dilated eye exams so it can be detected early, says the release. Fortunately with early detection and timely treatment, the risk of severe vision loss from the diabetic retinopathy can be reduced by 95 percent.

If you have diabetes, controlling the disease will reduce your risk of developing diabetic eye disease. It’s now a good time to remember these health tips too:

• Get a comprehensive dilated eye exam at least once a year. 
• Tell your doctor if you're feeling down or if your eyesight changes.
• Control your blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol levels.  
• Take your medicine even when you feel Ok.
• Be active for 30 to 60 minutes on most days of the week.
  
• Eat healthy foods like:
• fruits, vegetables, fish, lean meats and poultry, dried peas or beans, lentils, and low-fat or skim milk and cheese
• whole grain foods such as whole wheat bread and crackers, oatmeal, brown rice, and cereals
• food prepared with little added fat, oil, salt, or sugar
• smaller servings of meat, fish, and poultry
• larger servings of fruits and vegetables. 

Click here to learn more about diabetic eye disease from the National Eye Institute. Click here to learn more about preventing and managing diabetes from the National Diabetes Education Program or here for additional tips on staying healthy with diabetes.

Some parents complain about healthier school lunches, but USDA says it's on course to improve public health

A few school districts in other states are opting out of a federal-funded school lunch program that was touted by first lady Michelle Obama to provide healthier options to students, and some parents in Harlan County are complaining about the new menus. But the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which runs the National School Lunch Program, says the naysayers are in a small minority and the healthier fare will become more popular and improve public health.

That is backed up in a study forUSDA's Economic Research Service of 2005, showing that "Students in schools that offered greater quantities of fruits and vegetables consumed more of these foods by most measures." During the 2012-13 school year the lunch program increased servings of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and fat-free or low-fat milk, while setting standards for calorie content and reducing intakes of sodium and trans fat. Students are allowed to eat as much fruit and vegetables as they want. The full report can be read here. (USDA graphic)

Districts from Kentucky to Illinois to New York have complained that students aren't interested in the healthier foods, leading students to buy fewer school meals, which costs the school districts who rely on federal reimbursements. But the number of districts opting out could be minimal. The School Nutrition Association "found that 1 percent of 521 district nutrition directors surveyed over the summer planned to drop out of the program in the 2013-14 school year and about 3 percent were considering the move," Carolyn Thompson reports for The Associated Press. There were 31 million students in the program in 2011.

So many students and parents have complained in Harlan County that the school board held a special meeting to address the issues, Mark Bell reports for the Harlan Daily Enterprise. "Complaints ranged from not being fed enough to food received not being good enough. While fruits and vegetables are offered freely and students can take their fill of those, meats and carbohydrates will continue to be served in limited portions only, so students complain of not getting enough food."

In Spencer County, there were no complaints about the food, just a price increase of 10 cents for lunches, to $2.30 ($2.45 at the high school) that school officials attributed to the 2010 federal law. District Director of Operations and Transportation Brett Beaverson wrote in a school-board agenda item, "The logic behind the mandated increase is to eventually equal the difference between the reimbursement rate ($2.86) and the full-pay lunch price." Malloy Bilger reports for the Magnet, "Beaverson said failing to pass the increase would make it appear that the federal government was subsidizing full-pay lunches." (Read more)

Overall, schools are getting healthier, according to a report released Monday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Since 2006, "the percentage of districts that required schools to prohibit offering junk food in vending machines increased from 29.8 percent to 43.4 percent . . . and the percentage of districts with food procurement contracts that addressed nutritional standards for foods that can be purchased separately from the school breakfast or lunch increased from 55.1 percent to 73.5 percent." states the CDC. "Between 2000 and 2012, the percentage of districts that made information available to families on the nutrition and caloric content of foods available to students increased from 35.3 percent to 52.7 percent." (Read more)