Fruits & Veggies-More Matters Event

Healthy Active Hood River County and Providence Hood River Hospital to Host an event at Rosauers on March 21, 2007 from 2:30pm to 5:00pm as Part of Local Effort to Spread the Word that Fruits & Veggies-More Matters

WHAT:
To encourage all Americans to eat more fruits and veggies, Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital and Healthy Active Hood River County will host an activity and tasting table at Rosauers on Wednesday, March 21st from 2:30 to 5:00pm. The event will include recipes and samples to taste, activities for young children and information on how to incorporate more fruit and vegetables into your daily diet.

As part of Healthy Active Hood River County's goal of making the healthy choice the easy choice, we fully support the Fruits & Veggies-More Matters™ campaign. This campaign is a new national public health initiative created to encourage Americans to eat more fruits and veggies-fresh, frozen, canned, dried and 100% juice. The development of Fruits & Veggies-More Matters is led by Produce for Better Health Foundation (PBH) and is in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and several other national partners. The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) and other organizations committed to achieving increased daily consumption of fruits and vegetables are partnering with PBH to make the consumer launch in March 2007 a success.

WHO:
Maureen Sprague, MS, RD, CDE, Providence Hood River Nutrition Services; John McCarthy, Providence Hood River Dietary Services Manager; Kelly Chambers, MS, RD, CDE, Providence Hood River Nutrition Services and Healthy Active Hood River County Committee Member

WHEN:
Wednesday, March 21, 2007 2:30pm-5:00pm

WHERE:
Rosauers Produce Section

WHY:
While research indicates that more than 50 percent of adult consumers know they need to eat five or more servings of fruits and vegetables per day, more than 90 percent of all Americans do not eat the recommended amount. To meet the new dietary guidelines introduced in 2005, most consumers will have to more than double the amount they currently consume.

The Fruits & Veggies-More Matters health initiative is designed to help close this "consumption gap," making increased consumption attainable and easy for people to understand.

Fruits &Veggies-More Matters replaces the current 5 A Day program, and will leverage the heritage and success of that program to further inspire and support consumers to eat more, showcasing the unrivaled combination of great taste, nutrition, choice and product variety of fruits and veggies. It also will build upon the body of science that indicates that increased daily consumption of fruits and vegetables may help prevent many chronic diseases.

CONTACT:
Barbara Young, 541-387-6342; Kelly Chambers, 541-387-6379