If there is one thing that I learned from my very first experience at TEDMED, it’s that there are people who are finally not afraid to change things happening in the health care landscape. It’s become cool to talk about disruption and new concepts in the field that’s traditionally been an impenetrable fortress of sameness. And to be fair, maybe that’s why the conversation is ramping up.

[Photo: Regina Holliday]

For those of you unfamiliar with the TED (stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design) brand, the original conference started a number of years ago to showcase “ideas worth spreading”. With the groundswell of new concepts to transform health care (mobile technology, film, design elements, etc.) emerging in the last few years – it only makes sense that TED applies its brand to health and medicine.

For the first time in Washington DC (held in California in years past), TEDMED truly brought together leaders from health, medicine, science, technology – with a sprinkling of celebrity flare including Gabrielle Reese and Katie Couric, to make for engaging conversation. The sheer firepower of innovators and decision makers at the Kennedy Center gave me hope for some real movement on finding some solutions. There were a few folks that really highlighted concepts I care about.

Things got kicked off for me when Dr. Francis Collins, head of NIH, took the stage discussing the importance of moving faster in the medical science arena to develop better techniques to cure diseases. The fact that a young man (15 year old) living with progeria was able to attend and inspire the audience with his story solidified reality for the audience. This was important for me, especially because storytelling is what we are focused on with FastForward Health and I’m personally interested in people over statistics in the future of public health.

Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and a personal heroine of mine because of her work – also dropped some knowledge on the crowd around issues that reflect on what needs to be recognized in public health. Much of what RWJF is focused on is growing health initiatives where we live, work and play (and as Jane Sarasohn-Kahn would add: where we pray as well!). “Health is essential to the productivity of our country” mentioned Risa. This is where public health really becomes relevant – looking at the far reaching consequences of inaction for our society. In this case, economics.

Finally, John Hoffman of HBO had me thoroughly excited about the upcoming documentary – The Weight of the Nation. A series looking at obesity in America and what can be done about it. Great to see partners such as Kaiser Permanente, the Dell Foundation, NIH and CDC being involved with this project. Getting a glimpse at the series which premieres next month, May 14 and 15th, got my mind going about film, storytelling and public health – once again applications to the FastForward Health project.

After it’s all said and done – TEDMED was a great gathering of minds for networking, idea sharing and inspiration. Over the past few years of being in this space, it’s wonderful to see things heating up for positive impact. Or maybe the potential for impact. Now it’s time to take the conversation home and not lose the energy. What can we do to see actual change over the next 3 months? 6 months?

That’s the true power of TEDMED and other events like it. Come together, then do together.

The following is a guest post from Natasha Paleau on the recent National Health Promotion Summit in Washington DC. Natasha is a first-year graduate student at the University of Maryland School of Public Health. She writes regularly for umwellness.wordpress.com , the blog of the University of Maryland Wellness Initiative, and Student Health 101, an online student health magazine. Natasha’s interests are in health disparities and the contextual factors that affect wellbeing for marginalized populations.

The National Health Promotion Summit took place this past Tuesday and Wednesday in Washington, DC. Participants included government officials, policy makers, educators, students, health promotion advocates, and more.

Tuesday’s opening presentation and keynote address was given by Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius, and focused on the unprecedented focus on prevention efforts in the United States today. Using tobacco control as an example, the secretary highlighted how national efforts and national dialogue are shifting to rethink how we approach health promotion with an increased emphasis on prevention.

The plenary panel of that morning discussed prevention initiatives as they are related to new health care reforms, such as the National Prevention Council, The National Health Service Corps, and the National Public Health Improvement Initiative. The panel mentioned that if the ACA succeeds in expanding health insurance coverage to an estimated 34 million people by 2019, our health care system and safety net will be dramatically altered. As public health professionals, we must be careful about planning interventions and strategies that are flexible to such fast-changing realities.

Drawing on Healthy People 2020, the panel expanded upon Assistant Secretary for Health Howard K. Koh’s assertion that we must have “20/20 vision” for the future of health; indeed, we must be able to view public health issues with “3-D glasses” to address the various levels and determinants of health from a sustainable, combined-thinking, systems approach.

The concurrent sessions of the day touched on various advances in the field of health promotion. Speed Share sessions, which comprised 75 minutes of rotating presentations and group discussions, featured such topics as health promotion-based applications of the HITECH Act and EHRs, social marketing tools and strategies, using web-based approaches for health interventions, and more.

A panel session on “Preparing the Workforce for New Public Health” focused on innovations for improved training and education of students in various health fields. During this panel, experts discussed basing coursework on Healthy People and other national health targets, to educate students on current realities and future directions in the field of public health. Panelists also discussed some recent trends in improving medical education and training, such as the interdisciplinary program at Nova Southeastern University that combines a Doctor of Osteopathy program with a Master of Public Health Program. Dual graduates are able to ease some of the dichotomies between the different health professions, and address the deficiencies in public health training identified by many students in medical programs.

New and emerging technologies were an important topic throughout the summit. On Tuesday afternoon, before the luncheon keynote address, awards were distributed to the winners of HHS’s Leading Health Indicators Apps Challenge. Three impressive designs were recognized, all of which will be featured at the June 5^th Health Datapalooza in Washington, D.C.

The first place winner, Community Commons, was featured in a second-day panel on “New Innovations in Community Health Assessment.” This website uses geospatial mapping to display various types of public health data. There are over 7,000 data layers in their interactive map room. “Making public data publically accessible,” Community Commons uses an online social networking tool to connect users on the site with each other and with various health initiatives around the country. While it’s still in a testing phase, it’s clear why Community Commons was chosen by HHS as a particularly promising tool for displaying health indicator data, and for future use in community health assessments.

Along with Community Commons, The Community Toolbox and NACCHO’s MAPP program were also featured in the innovative assessment session.

The Surgeon General, Dr. Regina Benjamin, gave the second keynote address on Wednesday morning. In addition to discussing the unprecedented National Prevention Strategy, Dr. Benjamin highlighted the importance of finding joy through health promotion. From zumba to walking events to dance breaks, the Surgeon General showed how she promotes having fun while pursuing optimal health.

Citing a new report on tobacco use, the Surgeon General echoed Secretary Sebelius’ message about the importance of smoking interventions for young people: 99% of first-time smokers are under the age of 25. For every person that dies as a result of smoking, there are 2 new young smokers to replace them- daily. As a result, the Surgeon General’s office has launched a new anti-smoking PSA that is specifically geared towards young people (the Surgeon General herself admitted to the similarities between this PSA and the teen-centric Twilight movies).

A second plenary panel on Wednesday discussed practical applications of the National Prevention Strategy, with a main focus on the co-benefits of a systems approach to creating holistic, integrated, and sustainable communities. The intersection of policy, community development, and public health was a major talking point here, as representatives from Sonoma County Department of Health, the US Department of Defense, and the Kresge Foundation discussed economics, social determinants of health, and various on-the-ground initiatives which were reflective of the National Prevention Strategy already working around the country. A fourth panelist, from Australia’s Gus Nossal Institute, commended the U.S. on the global implications of the US strategy. He mentioned that in addition to universal access to health care, all people are entitled to universal access to prevention.

Finally, Leon Andrews, a senior fellow with the National League of Cities, gave the closing speech late Wednesday morning. He discussed how various cities around the world are considering and re-considering their health initiatives, highlighting the changing culture and dialogue around childhood obesity over the last 10 years. In 1991, obesity was seen largely as an individual issue. Now, in 2012, as peak obesity rates in some states are over 30% of the population, the National League of Cities has designed a policy-centered childhood obesity initiative, in partnership with Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move Towns and Cities initiative to combat the growing epidemic.

As the various speakers and presenters highlighted throughout the summit, the landscape of public health is constantly changing. A central theme to the summit was being able to look forward to the future of health in the United States. There are countless opportunities and challenges ahead, and we would be wise to remain flexible in our approach, keep an eye on emerging innovations, and be willing to constantly evaluate our efforts in promoting health in the U.S.

When: August 7 – 9, 2012 | Where: Atlanta, Georgia

CDC | National Public Health Information Coalition | SAMHSA

Abstract Deadline: March 27th

This year I’ve had the fortunate opportunity to again join the planning committee for one of the top events around health communications and marketing (the other being the recently launched DHCX). After opening up earlier this month, we’re inviting abstracts for both oral and poster presentations in addition to panel sessions focusing on the areas of health communication, social marketing, media, partnerships, public health policy communication, and other topic areas that relate to the multi-disciplinary nature of this conference.  A wide diversity of submissions are encouraged, addressing specific issues and approaches that range from- research and evaluation, and theory/model development to practice/program-based foci.

Abstracts will be reviewed and considered for oral, poster, or panel presentations. Click here to submit abstract.

The National Conference on Health Communication, Marketing, and Media brings together individuals representing academia, public health researchers and practitioners from federal and state government and the private sector, and provides a forum for collegial dialogue within and across these disciplines. The conference is an excellent opportunity to meet with colleagues and shape the future of health communication, marketing, and media practice.

Submit and look forward to seeing you in Atlanta!

So this week is when everyone in the digital/interactive world descends upon Austin, TX for an overwhelmingly intense display of what’s being done/what’s next in the space.

New to the world of South by Southwest? Check out the main website for more information on the general scope of the event – here is the area for the Interactive portion, which I will be attending along with the Film parts. Since beginning the FastForward Health Film Festival, film has definitely become part of my passions/interests.

This will be my third time attending the conference after first moderating a panel looking at Twitter during the H1N1 outbreak, then the first year of being on the SXSW Advisory Board for the new Health track. This year I’ll be attending as a panelist, a board member and an enthusiast for all things innovative.

Health/Wellness is Back @ SXSW!

This is the second year that health will be an official area of focus during the SXSW Interactive events. It’s so great to see the growth of health-focused content that was presented during the panel submission process and of course what will be on tap this year.

We had almost 100 submissions this year for the Health/Medicine topic area, which was absolutely fantastic to see. If you are interested in submitting an idea to speak about for SXSW 2013, by all means I encourage you to do so. One of the things I’m looking forward to is seeing those panels/talks that really encourage a new way of thinking for health that can be implemented in our society. It’s all about reality now.

For those of you on Twitter, we’ve gotten together a list of 2012 SXSW Health people for you to follow. Big thanks to Aman Bhandari (good friend, health innovation leading man and co-founder of FastForward Health)!

The Beacon Lounge: Home to Nonprofit/Social Change

Ever since I first attended SXSW, the Beacon Lounge became my home away from my hotel room. It can definitely get draining with all the walking around, absorbing new information, networking, etc at the event that it really is important to have a place to recharge (and yes, electronically too). This truly is a meeting ground for sharing ideas and connecting to people of impact – I love it!

The Beacon Lounge is the magnificent creation of the folks over at Beaconfire. They put together a great space for folks across various sectors (focused on the nonprofit and social change folks, from my experience) complete with music, food/drink and speakers. I will most definitely be headed back to the Lounge with a Conscience this year to re-connect with friends and collect my thoughts from what has been going on throughout the weekend. In particular, I’m looking forward to hanging out with the folks at LIVESTORNG and Legacy (the Truth campaign folks, anti-smoking) for their happy hour. I’m personally on a mission to bring more of these organizations out to join the conversation on innovation and the future of health. For more information on the Lounge and what they are bringing this year, check out their latest blog post.

Reverse Innovation:  Global Health Ideas for Domestic Health

And now to plug the panel that I will be a part of – you know I had to do it. On Sunday @ 5pm CST, I will be on a panel with 2 esteemed colleagues of mine: Jaspal Sandhu of the Gobee Group and Molly Kinder of USAID’s Development Innovation Ventures. Basically we’ll be talking about how we can borrow innovations from the global health landscape. Mobiles, low-cost tech, crowdsourced/co-created solutions with communities. Many of these can be applied health issues needing attention in the States. Follow me on Twitter this week as I’ll be promoting the panel session and giving more updates!

Lastly, here are some additional resources/recaps from last year and this coming event:

• CTO of HHS, Todd Park’s presentation on Open Data & Health Innovation (2011)
• SXSW Health Accelerator for 2012
• Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Joins SXSW Health Accelerator (2012)
• The Hope Phones @ SXSW project I did last year
• SXSW Health: What’s Coming and What’s Missing (for 2012)
• Dr.V’s recap of SXSW 2011

Remember back in October when Chris Hall introduced the SXSW Health Accelerator program for next year’s conference? I’m really looking forward to seeing what start-ups get to showcase their stuff.

I’m even more excited about the increase in health focused innovations occurring at the biggest conference that I’ve ever attended. Last year was the debut of the health track and I can only assume that this year will be even bigger. Recently, I saw via Twitter that Stephen Downs, CTO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation will be sitting on the Accelerator’s judge panel. Involved in plenty of initiatives around technology/innovation in health, this was a great move by SXSW.

Game on, 2012!

What do you get when you combine experts/thought leaders in the innovative spaces of health communications, a generous helping of research/public health practitioners and a sunny Florida? Why, you get the Digital Health Communications Extravaganza of course!

Put together by my friend and colleague Jay Bernhardt (who I’ve interviewed before at a conference he put together with the CDC), the event promises to give plenty of insight into the next generation of health communications with case studies, research and deep dives into the issues communicators for public health should know. Supported by some great institutions, this should be a solid event to attend on a regular basis.

Facebook: http://dhcx.fbjoin.me 

Twitter: http://twitter.com/dhcxconf

Check out some more specific details after the jump!

Featured Speakers Announced:

•          Sekou Andrews, Storyteller/Poet
•          Rohit Bhargava,  Global Strategy & Marketing, Ogilvy
•          Amelia Burke, Digital Media, Westat
•          Jonathan Cho, Office of Communication and Education, National Cancer Institute
•          Kathy Crosby,  Center for Tobacco Products, US Food and Drug Administration
•          Cliff Dasco,  General Internal Medicine, The Methodist Hospital, University of Houston
•          Matthew Dasco,  Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Medical Branch
•          Lenora Johnson, Office of Communication and Education, National Cancer Institute
•          Gary Kreps,  Department of Communication,  George Mason University
•          Craig Lefebvre, socialShift; RTI International; University of South Florida
•          Dana Lewis, Swedish Health Services
•          Mark Luckie, 10,000 words; The Washington Post
•          Scott Shamp,  New Media Institute Grady College, University of Georgia
•          Vic Strecher, University of Michigan; HealthMedia, a Johnson & Johnson company
•          Larry Swiader, National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy

When & Where:

February 15-17, 2012 at the Peabody Orlando Hotel in Orlando, Florida

How DHCX is Different:

•          DHCX is for advanced users of information and communication technologies, or those who want to become advanced users;
•          All presentations will be held in general, plenary sessions with ample time for Q&A and networking;
•          Presentation topics will address multiple digital platforms (including, but not limited to, mobile) and sectors (health promotion, public health, healthcare, telehealth, communication, and information technology);
•          DHCX is run by a nonprofit, academic institution; Registration and hotel rates are affordably priced;
•          The Peabody Orlando (http://www.peabodyorlando.com) is one of only two Forbes Four-star and AAA Four Diamond hotels in the Orlando area and a short distance to Disney World, Sea World, and Universal Studios.

Who Should Attend?

•          Professionals, scientists, researchers, practitioners, students, developers, entrepreneurs, and visionaries from government agencies, academic institutions, nonprofit organizations, and for-profit companies;
•          In other words: innovators, connectors and investors who are searching for solutions to big problems in domestic and global public health and healthcare.

What You Will Experience:

•          Two days of collaborative discovery and dialogue with internationally renowned speakers, presenters, and  colleagues on the digital communications edge in public health and healthcare solutions;
•          Intense learning, inspiration and new collaborators to move your projects to the next level of impact;
•          Interactive group collaborations and crowd-sourced problem solving for better health;
•          Lively and fun entertainment; i.e., not your typical conference.

Sponsored by the University of Florida Center for Digital Health and Wellness

 DHCX Partners:

•           US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Center for Tobacco Products
•           National Cancer Institute (NCI) Office of Communication and Education

 Exabyte Sponsor:

•           Sapient

 Terabyte Sponsors:

•           Brigham Young University (BYU) Department of Health Science
•           IQ Solutions
•           Ogilvy Public Relations

 Gigabyte Sponsors:

•           Abt Associates
•           CommunicateHealth
•           Danya 
•           RTI International
•           Westat

The following is a guest post from the PreventObesity.net team, who last week’s  Partnership for a Healthier America’s (PHA) inaugural “Building a Healthier Future” summit, held at the Omni Shoreham Hotel here in Washington. The two-day event was jam-packed with newsworthy announcements and fun gossip, which we break down below.

Moving Ahead

In a keynote address wrapping up the conference, First Lady Michelle Obama announced that the next initiatives for her “Let’s Move!” campaign will focus on encouraging physical activity among young people, who she said suffer from a “crisis of inactivity.”

Young people today are the most sedentary in our nation’s history, Obama said. This generation spends an average of 7.5 hours each day in front of a screen such as a television or computer, and only a quarter of them play outside each day, compared to three quarters of kids a generation ago.

“It wasn’t always like this,” Obama said, reflecting on her own childhood. “We would walk to school every day. And then when we got to school, we’d run around and play before the bell rang. You got to school early to run around.”

But these days, “the only walking our kids do is out the front door to a car,” Obama said.

Obama didn’t reveal any specific details for the upcoming initiative, but she did note that she plans to work with mayors, schools, sports leagues, celebrities and business to find new ways to encourage activity among young people.

And Obama encouraged the advocates in the audience to do their part to get kids moving. The First Lady even screened a video featuring clips of her being active, from doing jumping jacks and dancing the Dougie to jumping rope and playing football.

“I’m pretty much willing to make a complete fool of myself to get our kids moving,” she said. “But there’s a method to my madness.”

Bipartisanship Agreement

There’s not much working-across-the-aisle happening in Washington these days, but a Republican and a Democrat came together during the conference to raise awareness about the importance of addressing the obesity epidemic.

Former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) and Cory Booker, Democratic Mayor of Newark, N.J., came together to praise food industry titans such as Wal-Mart and Walgreens for doing their part to reverse obesity by opening locations in underserved areas and selling more fresh and affordable products.

The duo made several joint television appearances, co-authored an opinion piece for Politico and kicked off the conference with keynote addresses on Tuesday morning. Both argued that America’s response to the childhood obesity epidemic will shape its future, for good or bad.

Booker compared childhood obesity to past challenges such as the abolition of slavery or defeating Nazi Germany, telling the audience that “the greatest threat to our democracy in America, is the health and education of our children.”

“We drink deeply from wells of freedom and liberty and justice that we did not dig,” Booker said.

“Our children challenge us every day when they stand up in our schools and say those five words: With Liberty and Justice for All,” he later added. “We who sit here now, we are those Americans who must stand up now, and not let our inability to do everything undermine our ability to do something.”

Booker challenged the conference attendees—including private businesses—to work together to make change. When a reporter asked Booker whether the industry’s promises will actually do anything – and suggested addressing government subsidies for certain foods might create more effective change — the mayor responded that the pledges are something that will help people now, rather than just continue to divide people.

“Today, back in my city, I’ve got a working mom who doesn’t have access to a supermarket,” Booker said, adding that grocers opening locations in underserved areas will help that woman. “I see these guys come up with real solutions… I’m telling you right now, we’re doing something, and we’re getting something done.”

Frist —  who also is a heart surgeon — noted that PHA and others will hold the industry accountable. “American consumers are not stupid,” and know the difference between real change and public relations stunts, Frist added.

“Making the healthy choice the easy choice can make the bottom line healthy, too,” Frist said. “I’m not about to argue that the private sector’s motivation are purely altruistic. But frankly, it doesn’t matter.”

Hey, Isn’t That?

The PHA summit was strictly an A-list affair, what with headliners such as First Lady Michelle Obama, Newark Mayor Cory Booker, “Top Chef” head judge Tom Colicchio and former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist.

But it was the appearance of a tabloid-favorite star that had heads turning.

NBA player Kris Humphries, best known for being the soon-to-be ex-husband of reality starlet Kim Kardashian, attended the summit on behalf of his namesake foundation. Humphries came to D.C. to be a part of the childhood obesity movement – his group aims to get kids physically active – but his appearance nonetheless drove gossip among many attendees, especially the 20-something set.

Humphries, who was accompanied by his mother, kindly chatted up conference goers and posed for photos. But he appeared to take the summit seriously, as he quietly sat alongside the 800-or-so other attendees during the speeches and sat in on breakout sessions (and for what it’s worth, he was not trailed by any cameras)

Dishing Out Success

If one little boy had his way, “Top Chef” judge Tom Colicchio probably would have been sent to pack his knives on Tuesday night.

Colicchio competed in the “Great American Family Dinner Challenge,” which pitted two teams of chefs against each other to see who could craft the tastiest multi-course meal for a family of four for less than $10. (For you foodies, Maria Hines and Holly Smith competed against Colicchio and Ming Tsai.)

White House Assistant Chef Sam Kass emceed the contest, and real-life families helped judge. But one 6-year-old boy apparently didn’t like several of the dishes (including Colicchio’s offerings) as he promptly spit out the food upon tasting it.

Colicchio and Tsai still won the contest, however.

Conference attendees also dined on delicious, nutritious and affordable food during the dinner. Chefs Floyd Cardoz, Michel Nischan, Koren Grieveson and Anne Quatrano each prepared family style meals that cost $4.50 per person.

All of the recipes can be found on the PHA website.

Making Commitments

Several big-name companies and organizations announced they are partnering with PHA to take substantive steps designed to help reduce childhood obesity. Their commitments are listed below.

• Hyatt Hotels: Will make its children’s and other menus healthier by adding healthy options, offering a fruit or vegetable as the default side for kids and reducing sodium content, among other changes.
• Kaiser Permanente: Support breastfeeding with new guidelines at all of its 29 hospitals that offer maternal and child health services.
• The Fresh Grocer: The Philadelphia-based company will build five new grocery stores in areas where people lack access to healthy and affordable foods.
• YMCA of the USA: The nationwide group, which serves about 700,000 kids each day, will establish standards for nutrition and physical activity for its out-of-school programs, and set limits on screen time.
• New Horizon Academy: The childcare company will set physical activity and nutritional standards at its 67 locations across the country.
• The Links, Incorporated: The women’s volunteer service organization, dedicated to ensuring the cultural and economic survival of African Americans, will work with its chapters to launch childhood obesity intervention programs.

————————————————–

Elizabeth Brotherton-Bunch is senior writer and editor for PreventObesity.net, a website dedicated to building a network of leaders and supporters who care about reversing the childhood obesity epidemic. Sign up to become a PreventObesity Leader and receive future newsletters.

Last Thursday evening I was honored to be a guest participant of the #hchlitss Twitter chat. The hashtag stands for Health Communications, Health Literacy and Social Sciences and was created by Kathleen Hoffman and RV Rikard (who both live here in North Carolina!).

In being invited to the event, I thought about some relevant topics to highlight in the hour – I landed on sustainability in public health initiatives, digital health literacy and being smart in health communications with specific communities (i.e. communities of color). The conversation quickly ramped up a few minutes into the Twitter chat with great people jumping in with thoughts, including Myrna Morales and Kate Ellington, two of the realest people I know around the health literacy discussion and cultural competency.

I had a great time, got fired up and met some new people. You can find the full transcript of the Twitter chat on the #hchlitss blog.

Today celebrates the first annual national Food Day. I caught up with Lilia Smelkova, Campaign Manager with Food Day,  to get the full scoop…

What is Food Day?

Food Day is a national grassroots campaign for healthy, affordable food produced in humane, sustainable and just way.  Food Day is modeled after Earth Day, and will take place anually on October 24 with people across the country celebrating by organizing or attending events, big and small–on college campuses, at schools, in public parks, at farmers markets. Major themes include health, sustainable agriculture, cutting subsidies to agribusiness, and eradicating food deserts. Food Day aims to educate the general public, influence local and state food policies, and give a platform for diverse to dialogue and work together. But more important, Food Day aims to inspire Americans to change their diets for the better and start cooking for families again.

After months of organizing by countless people, there will be more than 2,000 events from coast to coast in 50 states on and around October 24.  Local governments are seizing the opportunity to announce new food policy initiatives. The National Archives will be hosting a Food Day Open House, and there will be an “Eat In” in Times Square in New York, with guests Morgan Spurlock, Marion Nestle, and 50 other food leaders and community activists. You can learn more about Food Day priorities and look for events around the country here: www.foodday.org.

What is the significance of October 24th?

We wanted to select a date that would give some time for schools and campuses to organize activities, not too close to Earth Day, to give a possibility for organizers to participate and leave time to plan, and also be close to the World Food Day, one of our partners, celebrating with actions on world hunger issues and addressing domestic food access.

Dozens of school districts and hundreds of campuses are celebrating countrywide. Portland Public Schools will serve a special meal of locally-raised, grass-fed beef and unlimited fruits and vegetables  for kids from 30,000 families. Every school in Denver will have a special Food Day menu. Schools in Boston, Boulder County, Los Angeles, and Detroit will celebrate as well. The Real Food Challenge has involved more than 200 college campuses in dinning hall events, teach-ins, conferences, picnics and more.

How did the Food Day folks settle on the 6 Food Day principles?

Food Day’s goal is nothing less than to transform the American diet—to inspire a broad movement involving people from every walk of life. In other words, we want America to eat real. The 6 Food Day principles were selected to give a broad umbrella, a platform for groups working on all aspects of food system to collaborate together, public health advocates, environmental activists and farm workers justice movement. We have based the selection on a survey made earlier this year when we asked thousands of respondents, including our advisory board members, what were the priorities that wanted to see addressed by Food Day.

Food Day’s 6 principles are:

What can our readers do today to participate in Food Day?

First of all, attend a Food Day event. If you haven’t found a Food Day event near you, visit FoodDay.org to search by our map or by typing in your zip code. (Be patient as events take time to load in the map—a lot of people are visiting right now!). Besides events in public places, Food Day events will take place at homes.  For inspiration, we are offering a free Food Day recipe booklet featuring recipes from Mario Batali, Rick Bayless, Emeril Lagasse, Nina Simonds, and other renown chefs.

If you want to create your own Food Day event at home with family or friends, there is still time. We have a great dinner party kit collection of totally delicious recipes from celebrity chefs to get you started. If you want to raise money for a local food-related charity, you can enter a contest led by Epicurious.com—winning entries will get their donations matched up to $1,000! We even have tips for Halloween, and Food Day pumpkin carving stencils. We encourage everyone to sign the Food Day petition asking Congress for better food policies.

And of course you can keep up with Food Day by liking it on Facebook, following CSPI on Twitter, or by using the #FoodDay hashtag.

What can we expect from Food Day in the coming years?

Food Day will be October 24—this year and in years to come. Food Day aims to become for the Food Movement what Earth Day has been for the Environmental Movement, bringing food education into school curriculum, helping to improve diets, and giving the much needed support to sustainable agriculture.  Food Day will inspire hundreds of thousands if not millions of Americans to change their diets for the better, and to push for improved food policies. Although with Food Day, actively making change – even for one day – can have a tremendous impact, we also see efforts on improving policies. Rhode Island and Montgomery County, Maryland are announcing the formation of the food policy councils on Food Day. In California, dozens of nonprofit organizations have come together to promote a petition campaign to generate support for a smarter Farm Bill.

–

Bridgette Collado (aka, @bcollado)

Lilia Smelkova worked for Slow Food International in Italy for 10 years and initiated the Slow Food network in Eastern and Central Europe and Canada. She supervised international communications and directed the launch of an international education program that birthed the first European network of sustainable school cafeterias. She also worked on the core team that planned the first Terra Madre, a meeting of food communities from 150 countries. Lilia holds a BA from Minsk Linguistics University in Belarus (she is fluent in Italian, Russian, English, French, and Spanish), a Master’s in languages from Turin University in Italy, and a certificate in environmental management from UC Berkeley, where she co-authored a nutrition education study. She recently guided an expedition of Italian scientists along the Silk Road to research food preferences and genetics. She believes that food is among the best ways to experience the world, especially Uzbek pilaf, Pamir mountain mulberries, and Transylvanian jams.