It’s Maine Food Day – 10 Little Ways to Make a Big Impact
Happy Food Day! Maine’s governor has officially pronounced October 24, 2011 Maine Food Day, a day devoted to celebrating and fortifying the connection between food and the health and well-being of everyone in the state.
Among the goals of this auspicious day are reducing obesity so members of the state can up their health and prevent disease. Goals also extend to supporting fair conditions for farms operating around the state. Celebrations taking place in Maine include cooking meals exclusively with Maine ingredients, planting gardens, putting on school plays that highlight healthy eating, and taking the Real Food Challenge, an organized effort to put more real food on plates in college campuses.
The food fête isn’t just happening in Maine. Food Day is being celebrated in communities all around the country. Floridians will feature local food cooking demos, Nebraska is sponsoring healthy breakfast giveaway for kids, and Boston is marking the day with a crowd-sourced potluck dinner. At foodday.com, you can get inspired by the many food salutes happening in every state and join the festivities wherever you hang your hat.
The Goals of Food Day
What are the goals of Food Day? In short, to transform the American diet. Here are the tenets:
- Reduce diet-related disease by promoting safe, healthy foods
- Support sustainable farms & limit subsidies to big agribusiness
- Expand access to food and alleviate hunger
- Protect the environment & animals by reforming factory farms
- Promote health by curbing junk-food marketing to kids
- Support fair conditions for food and farm workers
Looking for a way to celebrate? Even small changes can make a big impact on our local food environment! Choose just one of these ten ideas and you’ll be doing your part toward building a better, healthier, more sustainable food future.
- Make a meal from only local ingredients.
- Include a locally-sourced food at every meal you eat during the day.
- Cook recipes from the Free Food Day booklet.
- Switch from whole to 1% or 2% milk.
- Pack your kids’ lunch with fruits & veggies
- Make a call to get involved in supporting sustainable farms, subscribe to a newsletter, or read about local food policy initiatives.
- Donate or volunteer at a local food bank.
- Have a fruit-and-veggie only day: have berries for dessert and pass on meat and eggs for lunch and dinner.
- Have dinner at a local restaurant that’s featuring a Food Day menu.
- Spread the word: tweet, blog, and tell your friends about today!
Join the Celebration! Find a Food Day activity where you are. Or, find out more at foodday.org or mainerural.org.