Have you thought about food lately? I am not talking about what you are planning for lunch. I am talking about food in general -- what's healthiest, where it's grown, how it's produced, how to cook it, and how so many lack affordable access to it.
Chances are the answer is yes, thanks to a remarkable convergence of momentum and awareness in food and nutrition today. That momentum is coming from the top down, with first lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move program, a call to action to combat obesity, and from the grass roots up, as folks more than ever are concerned about what they are eating and how it is produced.
That's why the time is ripe for the second annual Food Day on Oct. 24, a national celebration to "eat real," led by the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
It is a movement that brings together a diverse coalition of people and organizations that care about food and strive for more healthy, affordable and sustainable food systems. Thousands of events will take place throughout all 50 states, from food festivals, film screenings and cooking demonstrations to campus contests, church suppers and hunger drives.
I was so inspired by Food Day that I volunteered to be on its advisory board and will be heading up two cooking demonstrations in public schools in my area. If you think about -- and care about -- food, whether it's lunch or beyond, there are so many ways to celebrate and participate:
Make a simple dinner from scratch, including fresh fruits and vegetables.
Host a potluck meal to celebrate community and home cooking.
Shop at a farmers market and get to know a local farmer.
Initiate a vegetable-tasting in a school or community center.
Attend a Food Day event in your community (www.foodday.org).
Each of these may seem like a small action, but when we do them in unison, on or around Food Day, they become a big statement of the importance we place on good-quality, accessible food in our lives and our communities.
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