The purpose of this newsletter is to provide quick contacts to KNN partner agencies and to other resources that might be helpful to our partners. You should be able to read this newsletter in less than 5 minutes – that’s our goal!

Welcome to the November 2006 issue of KNN’s email newsletter. Please visit our web site at www.kansasnutritionnetwork.org We are always interested in how our partners are “partnering” to improve nutrition and physical activity education throughout Kansas.
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Upcoming Meetings:

January 12, 2007 Topeka Location to be announced. The topic will be on Commodity Foods.

March 9, 2007 Barbara LaClair will give an update on the Kansas Food Security Task Force.

May 8-9, 2007 KNN will meet in partnership with the KACAP Conference on Poverty in Topeka.

KNN celebrated our 10th Anniversary at a meeting on October 20, 2006. KNN received an initial grant in September 2006 and held its first partners meeting in March 2007. At our 10th Anniversary meeting, we were honored to receive a certificate from USDA recognizing our 10 years of helping to develop and support partnerships in Kansas to improve the health of low income Kansans.

--Ron Willis, Keynote Speaker-- USDA Presentation----Stewart Trost KSU

Check out more pictures on the KNN Website!

Whether eating out or buying carryout, Americans are consuming more and more of their calories from full-service and fast food restaurant fare. The share of daily caloric intake from food purchased and/or eaten away from home increased from 18 percent to 32 percent between the late 1970s and the middle 1990s, and the away-from-home market grew to account for about half of total food expenditures in 2004, up from 34 percent in 1974. Analysis of a survey of U.S. consumers indicates that respondents want convenience and an enjoyable dining experience, but the desire for health also plays a role, as does diet-health knowledge. http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/eib19

According to a national survey of away-from-home eating habits and nutritional preferences conducted by ARAMARK, a growing number of American adults expect restaurants to offer healthy menu items, yet they are increasingly dissatisfied with the healthy options currently available in most restaurants.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/061023/20061023005150.html?.v=1

Researchers at Loyola University and the University of Illinois found a link between salad bar use and classroom nutrition education in their evaluation of a salad bar project at two Chicago Public Schools, Namaste Charter School and Oscar de Priest Elementary. “While the salad bar makes fruits and vegetable more available for the students, our study suggests that an educational component is critical for influencing student behaviors and eating habits. An elementary student may not try a new food on his own, but exposure plus education can affect real change.”http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/061010/cgtu027.html?.v=63 Also see http://www.namasteshares.org/ (the curriculum and classroom materials, along with links to the resources used by Namaste Charter School)