Just wanted to quickly let you know about some awesome programs that we at Nourish America (www.nourishamerica.org) have been implementing throughout the year. We're in desperate need of funding to keep them going at all our locations across the country, so please consider making a holiday donation!

Nutritious foods, supplements and consistent exercise are effective tools to strengthen children and support their development into happy productive adults.

In 2009, Nourish America’s Strengthen Our Next Generation national initiative has included these programs:

Check out these great short videos about our nutrition programs that a couple of our supporters made for us!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkMSOKwX6LA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XWjdTuxaKU&feature=autofb

Check out this article!

Study shows that pre-schoolers' diets mimics unhealthy adult eating: http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Science-Nutrition/Preschoolers-diets-mimic-unhealthy-adult-eating.

(P.S. Most of us could surely have suggested this to Nestle BEFORE they conducted the study!).

The U.S. Census Bureau has just announced that the poverty rate for 2008 was 13.2%.  This means the number of people in poverty has increased by about 2.5 million, to 39.8 million.  To give you some perspective, 2.5 million is more than the number of people who live in Detroit and San Francisco combined.

To highlight the importance of this data and raise awareness of poverty in the United States, we are coordinating a campaign on Twitter.com to get as many people and organizations as possible to “tweet” about the new national poverty numbers.

Looking for additional resources on poverty and data? Click here or scroll further down.

Want to help us spread the word on Twitter about the release of the poverty data?  Send a tweet that includes the #PDD09 hashtag – it’s that easy!  Make sure you include the #PDD hashtag so your tweet will be displayed in the TweetGrid below.  If it is one of our favorites, we’ll add it to this page permanently.   Can’t think of something to tweet?  Copy and paste any of the sample tweets below:

• 2008 poverty data data has just been released!  Learn more at http://su.pr/2je5FS #PDD09
  
• Want to participate in our campaign to raise awareness about poverty today? Use the #PDD09 hashtag: http://su.pr/2je5FS (Pls RT)
  
• Listen to and read Pam Fessler's excellent piece on the poverty measure from this AM: http://su.pr/5rQPBy #pdd09
  
• The number of Americans in poverty has jumped 2.5 million to 39.8 million.  Learn more and spread the word:  http://su.pr/2je5FS #PDD09
  
• Number of Americans in poverty increased more than pop. of Detroit and San Fran. combined last year (2.5 million) #pdd09

Encourage your members of Congress to re-authorize child nutrition programs by sending them this letter! http://hungeractioncenter.org/hungeractionmonth/comm-email.aspx?utm_campaign=Hunger-Action-Month&utm_source=HAM3&utm_medium=email&utm_content=1#article1

For such a rich country, we still have a lot of issues when it comes to something as basic as food.  Over 13 million kids are at-risk of hunger on a daily basis in our country.

The child in the above picture joined Nourish America's vitamin supplement program because she wasn't getting the nutrition she needed from her daily diet.

We all know how essential nutrition is for children. Let's help them get it!

Check out this page that outlines who makes up the impoverished in our country.

http://www.irp.wisc.edu/faqs/faq3.htm

P.S. The picture is of a couple of the children that our programs serve at Carlsbad Head Start!

This article (http://www.examiner.com/x-13142-Obesity-Examiner~y2009m6d20-School-foods-blamed-for-obesity--your-chance-to-vote-now) clearly holds the opinion that schools are at least partially to blame for the obesity epidemic we're facing in America.  I want to know your thoughts!