March is National Nutrition Month, and North Dakotans are being reminded of ways to better manage their health through personalized diet plans emphasizing flexibility without all the pressure.
In a post-pandemic world, people may want to lose unhealthy eating habits they developed during the early stages of COVID-19. Or perhaps the crisis has motivated them to pay more attention to preventing disease and improving their health.
Bailey Holmquist, a registered dietitian based in Fargo, said fewer processed foods should play a role. For example, there are certain proteins to keep in mind.
“I tell my patients, ‘Do what you can, but if we can get good grass-fed meats, pasture-raised eggs, wild-caught fish,'” explained Holmquist. “So that we get the most nutrients from those animals.”
But if such items aren’t in your budget, or you don’t have time to look for them, she suggested buying the easiest protein to find. Canned beans are considered a good complementary choice. And affordable peanut butter is made from healthy ingredients. Holmquest emphasized that it’s not about being perfect with your diet, but instead focusing on consistency.
Holmquest also pointed out that specific guidance on healthy diets doesn’t work for everyone, and it’s important to figure out what your body can handle.
“If someone has kidney disease and they hear ‘protein’, that’s not a good thing for them to hear,” Holmquest noted. “Because protein is very, very hard on the kidneys, when a person has weak kidney functions.”
For fresh fruits and vegetables, she recommends rinsing them before use, which helps remove any pesticides used to grow them. When it comes to meal planning, Holmquest suggested storing plenty of your favorite nutritious “go-to” items in your kitchen, making it easier to whip up something healthy on a busy night.
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Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods during the summer.
Federal officials have approved the Badger State’s plan to participate in a new program that includes many other states. The Gov has said Tony Evers that Wisconsin is the first state to get the green light for the Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer program, and that 36 other states are about to launch this summer. Eligible families will receive pre-loaded debit cards that families can use to purchase groceries.
Shelly Fortner, executive director of the La Crosse Hunger Task Force, praised the move, noting that half of the children in the local school district are already eligible for free and reduced-price lunch during school.
“We have low income families – most of them are working, by the way – but they are not able to put that extra meal on the table for children who are at home during the summer months,” she said.
This new permanent program, authorized by Congress, is similar to the enhanced meal access the federal government provided during the pandemic. Across Wisconsin, there are separate meal sites for these kids when school isn’t in session, but supporters of the new effort say it offers more flexibility, especially for families with limited transportation options.
State officials have indicated that most families already enrolled in the National School Lunch Program will automatically receive summer benefits.
Fortner said that access to a meal helps children in their learning. For the summer, she said, the extra access will keep them active.
“We’ve had a lot of information about disruptive activities like video games and television and all that,” he said, “but our kids are getting outside more now, and they have to have that energy to be able to keep that up.”
She added that this should help build lifelong healthy habits for children and prevent them from starting the next school year feeling sluggish. For each eligible child, the state will provide a one-time summer benefit of $120. The money is expected to be available in late June.
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Colorado is working to boost the state’s agricultural communities by putting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias — and a new online tool could help more school districts participate.
The 2022 voter-approved effort is a key part of the Healthy School Meals for All initiative.
Taylor Frederick – culinary program manager with Nourish Colorado – said over the past few years, school meal operators have identified best practices that other school districts can adopt, including how to work with local farms and ranches.
“How you can find your local producer,” said Frederick, “and even how to put out specific offers for specific local items, and how to work these kinds of things into your menus.”
The new Colorado Local Food Program Guidebook, available online at guidebook.nourishcolorado.org, offers tips and tools for launching and sustaining farm-to-school programs.
This guide also provides ways for parents and community members to engage with their local school district, to encourage them to choose from the volunteer program or to make menu suggestions.
Frederick explained that the guide begins with a short quiz that helps direct users to the right resources.
For example, food producers who want to sell their products to trusted kiddo customers can learn how a school district cafeteria works and how to buy food.
“To better understand the school market channels,” Frederick said, “the bidding process, the price points that school districts are working with, their timing, and a little bit about their menus and products that they’re looking for .”
He said school meal operators can also get tips on how to transition from serving canned and processed foods to preparing meals with fresh ingredients through a series of training videos.
“Some different types of kitchen equipment that may be in the schools, we have training videos on those,” said Frederick. “Some vegetable cooking techniques. Those were the big things that school districts and school meal authorities were really saying they wanted.”
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During National Nutrition Month, groups like Virginia Fresh Match are providing people with fresh, healthy food options.
Since 2009, a coalition of farmers markets and mobile food stores have been helping people on SNAP or EBT access healthier foods. Some groups have found that almost 24% of the benefits are used for healthy foods, with more often spent on sugary snacks, ready-made foods and meat.
Elizabeth Borst, director of advocacy for Virginia Fresh Match, said everyone should have the opportunity to access healthy foods.
“Just making sure that people have access to quality food and that quality food is affordable for them,” explained Borst. “Fresh fruit and vegetables can often be the last thing people choose when they’re on a tight budget, so we want to make sure people have access to them.”
The Consumer Price Index showed that food prices increased significantly between 2022 and 2023, but that prices decreased slightly in 2024.
Food insecurity has long been an issue for Virginians. Hunger Free America’s 2023 Annual Hunger Survey found that nearly 774,000 people in Virginia are food insecure. Borst emphasized her group’s focus on their work “food is medicine” to ensure that no one goes hungry.
Although Virginia Fresh Match has been able to accomplish much during its many years of history, there have been some challenges. Borst noted one long-term challenge is financing sustainability. Like the rest of the world, the pandemic has significantly hindered them, although it has created some interesting changes.
“We just had a lot of redemptions and use of the program,” said Borst. “It didn’t really mitigate that even though there was a 40% reduction in SNAP benefit allocations when the pandemic emergency benefits ended.”
Emergency allowances provided an additional $95 per month to all SNAP recipients, affecting 470,000 families statewide.
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