happy + healthy
increasing access to healthy foods
Farm to School
VOICES of Alabama’s Children
Working to Increase Healthy
Food Access in Alabama
Why Support Farm to School
Practices?
To fight the battle against rising
obesity levels and support the
local food economy, many
communities are exploring the
Farm to School concept.
Did you know that over 1.8 million
Alabamians, including half a million
children, live in poor areas with no
grocery store close by? In these often lowincome areas, fresh and healthy food can
be difficult to access.
Not only does Farm to School encourage fresh, nutritious food choices, but it
also educates students about gardening
practices and supports local farmers
and ranchers. In addition to improving
the nutritional quality of the food that
is served to students and supporting the
local food economy.
What is Farm to School?
It’s a connection between citizens and
locally grown food to increase access
to fresh, minimally processed food that
supports local food growers instead of
mass-produced processed foods and big
agri-business. School lunches are made
with locally grown foods, and students
may even have the opportunity to have
hands-on experience with the school garden that supplies the school cafeteria.
The result of having decreased access to
fresh foods are higher rates of diabetes,
obesity, and other serious health
concerns. In fact, our state has the
third-highest obesity rate for children,
and obesity rates have doubled in
Alabama’s children over the last 30 years.
These are some of the issues that VOICES
of Alabama’s Children are hoping to
address with the Healthy Food Financing
Initiative. Read more at alavoices.org.
Interested in helping out?
Check out www.farmtoschool.org.
IM AG E CO UR TE
SY OF EATS OU TH
.OR G
RIGHT NOW
NEARLY HALF A MILLION
CHILDREN IN ALABAMA
LIVE IN COMMUNITIES
WITH LIMITED ACCESS
TO FRESH,
HEALTHY FOODS.
Children without access to healthy food
are more likely to develop chronic
diseases, such as high blood pressure
and Type 2 Diabetes.
VOICES for Alabama’s Children
P.O. Box 4576 • Montgomery, AL 36103-4576
334-213-2410 • www.alavoices.org
Help us bring healthy food closer to
home for every child in Alabama and
make our state a healthier place to live.
For more information, visit alavoices.org.
www.potentialmagazine.com
Spring 2016 |
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