Reading, Writing and Arugula!

RELEASE: Sept. 14, 2007 – Volume XXXIX, No. 37

New Jersey is fat. The cold, hard fact is that too many New Jerseyans, especially children, are overweight. In reaction, the state Department of Agriculture, with Governor Corzine's support, is leading an effort to get fresh, healthy food to schoolchildren.

According to the non-profit Trust for America’s Health, 22 percent of adult New Jerseyans are obese. The Garden State ranked 40th in the nation, making us trimmer than Mississippi (31.4 percent adult obesity rate) but not nearly as lean as Colorado (18 percent). The situation is even worse with New Jersey’s children. Our nationwide ranking moves up to 26th for overweight youth ages 10-17, and we have the highest overweight rate in the nation, 17.5 percent, for low-income children ages 2-5.

If those numbers seem too abstract – or not relevant – consider this: In 2003, New Jersey spent an estimated $271 per person on medical costs related to obesity. One New Jersey health researcher predicts that unless current trends are reversed, the younger generation could become the first in America to live sicker and die younger than their parents.

Nutrition education is becoming a part of the core curriculum in New Jersey schools. Beginning this fall, all public schools in New Jersey must reduce the fat and sugar content of foods offered to kids in cafeterias and vending machines. More fresh fruits, vegetables and healthier snacks are replacing junk food, and better nutrition is being emphasized in classrooms.

As a result, beverage companies are offering more juices, waters and reduced-fat milk products. Snack makers are demonstrating adaptability with products that conform to the new standards.

These are good steps, and thanks to NJDA Secretary Charlie Kuperus, the program should be a boon for New Jersey’s farmers as well, as first preference is given to local sources of healthier products. "We want to shorten the distance between farmers and schools,” Kuperus explains.

This is exactly the kind of trend our national farm policy should support. The 2007 Farm Bill before Congress this fall should increase funding for fresh fruits and vegetables for schoolchildren, rather than boosting cotton, soy, corn, wheat and rice subsidies for big agri-businesses!

Whether or not the federal Farm Bill reforms come through, efforts to fight childhood obesity will continue to flourish at the grassroots. For example, Mikey Azzara of the Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA) of New Jersey is getting kids involved not only in eating healthy food but in growing it - at an educational vegetable, fruit, flower, and herb garden on the grounds of the Lawrenceville Elementary School in Mercer County.

Some initiatives already aim at extending good nutrition beyond the schools. In Paterson, the Passaic County United Way partnered with a local preschool to stablish the innovative ‘Nutrition Matters’ program, which includes nutrition counseling, healthy cooking demonstrations and fitness classes for low-income families. Good nutrition at school is reinforced with healthy meals and snacks at home to develop healthy habits in preschoolers.

You can learn more about the state’s initiative by clicking on the ‘Model School Nutrition Policy’ link at www.state.nj.us/agriculture. You can check out NOFA’s garden project by clicking on the ‘Youth/Education’ link at www.nofanj.org. And I hope you’ll contact me at info@njconservation.org, or visit NJCF’s website at www.njconservation.org, for more information about conserving New Jersey’s precious farmland, open spaces and natural resources.

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