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Issues: Consumption and Nutrition

PMA believes that everyone should strive to add more fruits and vegetables to their daily diets. PMA supports science-based nutrition advice and calls on the U.S. government to institute programs that promote increased consumption of fresh produce in schools and other government feeding programs. PMA also supports nutrition labeling of fruits and vegetables and provides its members with resources to do so.

PMA believes that taste, convenience, and nutrition (along with consumer education) are the cornerstones of increasing fruit and vegetable consumption and fighting obesity. To that end, PMA offers the following resources:

Links for Consumers, Kids, Educators

• New! Scholastic "Crunch the Numbers" Program - Learn more about this PMA and Scholastic in-classroom and take-home curriculum that combines mathematics and produce. Or, go to the Scholastic Web site to see the actual program.

• Chart of PMA Members with Consumer Resources – This resource helps consumers and educators learn more about fresh produce via product information, recipes, kids’ content, and educational materials.

• MyPyramid Web site

• MyPyramid for Kids

• MyPyramid Tracker

• MiPirámide: Pasos Hacia Una Mejor Salud Web site

• Nutrition.gov Web site

• Produce for Better Health Foundation: Fruits & Vegetables - More Matters

PMA Member Consumption & Nutrition Briefings & Resources

• New! FDA Downloadable Nutrition Posters for Retail Produce Departments

• PMA Analysis of 2005 Youth Risk Behavior Survey – PMA has analyzed the 2005 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, compiled by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and found that U.S. students in grades 9–12 are consuming less than the recommended five servings of fruits and vegetables a day.

• Keystone Forum on Away-From-Home Foods: Opportunities for Preventing Weight Gain and Obesity – This keystone report features how produce may be used to improve the nutritional quality of foods prepared away from home.

• Promoting Fruits and Vegetables in Schools: Wellness Policy Opportunities – This document provides ideas on how to promote fruits and vegetables throughout the school and is based on the fruit and vegetable policies included in the National Alliance for Nutrition and Activity (NANA) Model Wellness Policies.

• School Fruit & Vegetable Procurement Study

• USDA Report to U.S. Congress: Evaluation of the USDA Fruit and Vegetable Pilot Program

• PMA Trans Fat Labeling Requirement Overview – This resource provides an overview of the trans fat nutrition labeling requirements.

• PMA Issue Alerts