Last week I was honored to receive an invite to be a guest at The White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition & Health on Wednesday September 28th. I was honored for so many reasons, as a dad, chef, no kid hungry advocate and child nutrition advocate I knew this would be the day to start to change the way the country looks at food in a new way. And man was I right! The President of the United States, national leaders, change-makers, visionaries, hunger champions, moms, dads, students, teachers, chefs and so many others all gathered to listen, react, network and accept the charge to make the world a better place.
Food is fuel, providing us all with what we need to be the best we can every day. Free meals for all school children is something I firmly believe will make the biggest difference, couple that with nutrition education and we now have the ability to engage a captive audience of nearly 50 million kids and their families! This is huge, almost 1/6 of the US population is school children, includes their families and we are now talking about a good portion of the population to educate, feed, learn from about Hunger, Nutrition & Health.
But wait, there more! Not only is this about free meals for all, but reducing dietary related diseases, combating food insecurity, helping people access healthy foods, encouraging and helping participation in physical activities, creating a national prescription program to cover healthy foods and increase funding for seniors.
Here is the National Strategy:
Pillar 1—Improve Food Access and Affordability:
End hunger by making it easier for everyone—including individuals in urban, suburban, rural, and Tribal communities, and territories—to access and afford food.
Pillar 2—Integrate Nutrition and Health:
Prioritize the role of nutrition and food security in overall health—including disease prevention and management—and ensure that our health care system addresses the nutrition needs of all people.
Pillar 3—Empower All Consumers to Make and Have Access to Healthy Choices:
Foster environments that enable all people to easily make informed, healthy choices, increase access to healthy food, encourage healthy workplace and school policies, and invest in public education campaigns that are culturally appropriate and resonate with specific communities.
Pillar 4—Support Physical Activity for All:
Make it easier for people to be more physically active—in part by ensuring that everyone has access to safe places to be active—increase awareness of the benefits of physical activity, and conduct research on and measure physical activity.
Pillar 5—Enhance Nutrition and Food Security Research:
Improve nutrition metrics, data collection, and research to inform nutrition and food security policy, particularly on issues of equity, access, and disparities.
As I sit here today at the TTI Success Insights Converge Conference in Phoenix we are discussing how to build deeper and more collaborative relationships with everyone. Our company, Cipriano Training & Development, has the ability to invest in the creation of resources, support and share expertise to help deliver transformative experiences to the food community. Let’s build better, stronger teams so as we start challenging and changing the world we are equipped and set up for success.
When I was a working Chef I started my day with my mise en place so I was prepared. We all need to have a plan of action and together we can help teams be stronger and more successful.
Let’s appreciate the greatness of everyone; respect for others by listening to, admiring, and acknowledging each other’s opinions, their feelings, their time, and their personal space, Respect is something that’s earned - you have to give it to get it. (*Credit: TTI Success Insights).
Let’s change the world the right way!
*TTI Success Insights is an award winning, industry-leading assessment provider based in Scottsdale, AZ that is dedicated to sparking transformative experiences through assessment solutions and research.
