As President Clinton and the American commonalty work together to make health care more accessible and more affordable.

As President Clinton and the American commonalty work together to make health care more accessible and more affordable, nutrition education can play an important part in making prevention the order of the day.

As health skilled hands remind us, the food choices we make, equal as very young children, can affect by what mode healthy we are for years to draw near And saving on medical bills is just single potential benefit of being health-smart about what we eat--even greater payoffs are feeling serviceable and having more energy for exercise work, our families and friends and neighbors.

USDA's recent Assistant Secretary the Food and Consumer Services Ellen Haas has drawn out been been interested in proving the nutrition and health status of American consumers

Prior to her confirmation forward May 28, Haas served for more than 10 years as executive director of Public Voice for fare and Health Policy, a consumer collection she founded to promote a safer, healthier, and more affordable subsistence supply.

Her experience also included directing the consumer division of the Community Nurtition Institute and serving as president of the Consumer Federation of American.

"It's a basic right of all Americans to have an adequate, healthy diet," Haas says. "Not solitary are there too many tribe hungry, there are also too many clan whose dietary patterns contribute to chronic diseases similar as heart disease and cancer. Our overall goal is to improve the nutritional status of all Americans."

As Assistant Secretary, Haas have charge ofs the work of the nutriment and Nutrition Service (FNS), the USDA agency responsible for the country's federal fodder assistance programs. This year the combined fiscal estimate for FNS programs totals more than $38 billion. Haas wants USDA and its state and local partners to reach gone out with both food assistance and nutrition eduvcation.

"One of my top priorities," she says, "is improving access to nourishment assistance for all eligible nation who are not participating. We can do this in consequence of outreach work with community organization manner of proceedings It's a travesty that 40 percent of the eligible somewhat old are not served.

"A inferior priority is improving the nutritional quality and nutrition education of all of our programs. undivided of the first projects I was involved with at the grassroots plain was improving the school luncheon program, and that's still a major disturb There is no higher priority than the health of our children.

"Third, I want to reach out government's investment through new partnerships and colaitions. There are limits to what sway can do, but there's no limit forward the leadership government can provide to public and private sector cooperation."

In this issue of sustenance AND NUTRITION, we look at a certain quantity of of the creative ways the public in state eagencies and local communities are reaching gone out to help Americans of all ages--especially children and low-income adults--make more informed and more healthful victuals choices.

Like our last issue, which was called," our goal is to highlight innovative efforts and share ideas among population working with food assistance and nutrition education completely through the country.

The activities we examine at range from teaching small classes of Head Start children in fresh Hampshire to sending nutrition messages end statewide mailings to food stamp families in West Virginia.

While the settings and the approaches vary, the goal is the same: to bring fare and nutrition to life in a way that makes intellects to the intended audience.

For example, in our first article, we apply the mind at a project called PAN (Program of Assistance for Nutrition) in fresh York's Rockland Country and behold how a very small team of nutrition educators is having a big impact.

Last year alone, four women reached 26000 bread stamp families and other low-income nation providing individual counseling and referrals of many. Especially interesting is the way they tailor nutrition education activities and materials to the many clusters they serve in this highly diverse community.

In a certain number of other articles, we look at efforts to help improve the nutritional quality of meals serv to children participating in the child nutrition programs administered nationally according to USDA and operated by exercises child care centers, summer camps, and other sponsors in a less degree than the supervision of state agencies.

We descry how two states--California and Minnesota--are going the extra mile with a certain projects that are helping denominations and child care centers translate into action the advice contained in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

The dietary guidelines, which have generated tremendous interest across the political division were developed jointly by the U Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services and are designed for healthy Americans athwart the age of 2.

Among other things, the dietary guidelines recommend: eating a variety of foods; choosing a diet that is subdued in fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol; eating adequate supply of vegetables, fruits, and grain products; and using sugars, salt, and sodium solitary in moderation.