It really is not a secret that Amer­i­cans (and Ohioans) are over­weight. Any trip to the mall, visit to a restau­rant or trip to the movies shows that, in gen­eral, there are ample expand­ing waist­lines around us.

While there are many fac­tors that have taken the blame for this, there have also been many pro­posed solu­tions to America’s weight prob­lem. A year ago, the U.S. Depart­ment of Agri­cul­ture pub­lished a pro­posed rule to update the nutri­tion stan­dards for meals served through the National School Lunch and School Break­fast pro­grams as part of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. The pro­posed changes to school meal stan­dards add more fruits, veg­eta­bles, whole grains, fat-free and low-fat milk to school meals. Schools would also be required to limit the lev­els of sat­u­rated fat, sodium, calo­ries, and trans fats in meals.

Man­dat­ing health­ier foods is a great step, but the Ohio Small Grains Mar­ket­ing Pro­gram (OSGMP) decided to take things one-step fur­ther by work­ing with edu­ca­tion con­sul­tants to change stu­dents’ behav­iors and atti­tudes about their food choices.

“Rather than us writ­ing a cur­ricu­lum and hand­ing it to them hop­ing that they would do some­thing with it, we brought a team of teach­ers together from Mt. Gilead, which was the first school we approached,” said Carol Warken­tien, one of the OSGMP edu­ca­tion con­sul­tants. “We laid out some of the chal­lenges we would be fac­ing if we wanted to bring kids along with this notion.”

The ini­tial meet­ing led to a deci­sion to con­sult the stu­dents them­selves on the best ways to shape their atti­tudes and behav­iors about their foods. Soon, the Mt. Gilead FFA was work­ing to change atti­tudes about food in the school. The FFA stu­dents started by mak­ing a video in the school cafeteria.

“The stu­dents did a video in their own high school lunch­room and asked other stu­dents what they thought about their healthy lunch. Of course there was some hilar­ity in the inter­views, but there is also an aware­ness of some of the gaps in stu­dent knowl­edge of and under­stand­ing about their food,” said Jeanne Gogol­ski, another OSGMP edu­ca­tion con­sul­tant work­ing on the project. “One of the prime ath­letes at the school ate an entire pack of Oreo cook­ies for lunch. Nat­u­rally that pro­duces some con­ver­sa­tion about what it takes to have a healthy lunch.”

As a fol­low up to the video, the Mt, Gilead health class posted some nutri­tion infor­ma­tion in the lunch­room list­ing the calo­ries in some of the lunch food. The school also had a whole grains taste test event where stu­dents rated whole grain snacks and chose their favorites to include on the school menu to help reach the USDA requirements.

The Mt. Gilead FFA stu­dents also used their cafe­te­ria video at some events to gen­er­ate inter­est from other FFA chap­ters in their “Food for Thought Chal­lenge.” For the student-created chal­lenge, the OSGMP gave out $500 schol­ar­ships to nine Ohio FFA chap­ters (includ­ing Mt. Gilead) to help them develop a nutri­tional aware­ness cam­paign about healthy food choices for their fel­low students.

Each par­tic­i­pat­ing chap­ter will make a pre­sen­ta­tion at the Ohio FFA Con­ven­tion next May and the win­ning chap­ter will receive $2,000 from the OSGMP. Par­tic­i­pat­ing FFA chap­ters sub­mit­ted cam­paign entries in Sep­tem­ber and were selected in Octo­ber based on the orig­i­nal­ity of their cam­paign ideas.

The par­tic­i­pat­ing Food for Thought FFA chap­ters have already begun imple­ment­ing their cam­paigns, which include pro­mot­ing the use of stu­dent food logs, orga­niz­ing edu­ca­tional fairs with health-related groups and pro­vid­ing healthy snacks between classes. Along with Mt. Gilead, the par­tic­i­pat­ing FFA Chap­ters are: Ridge­mont, North­west­ern, Clear Fork, Lon­don, Miami East, Ridgedale, North Union, and Twin Val­ley South.

“The schools’ progress will be mon­i­tored through­out the year as they launch a pro­gram in the school. The win­ner that can best show that they changed atti­tudes and behav­iors in their dis­trict will win the award,” Warken­tien said. “We think inter­est will be even higher next year. It is kind of fun and it has got­ten kids work­ing within their own dis­tricts and they are reach­ing out to younger kids in the dis­trict as well. Kids can be very inno­v­a­tive and cre­ative and they are going to come up with a lot of ideas that can be shared around the state.”

The nutri­tional pos­si­bil­i­ties are lim­ited only by the expand­ing imag­i­na­tions of FFA stu­dents around the state — and imag­i­na­tions are much more ben­e­fi­cial to expand than waistlines.

This col­umn is brought to you by Ohio agri­cul­ture. Matt Reese writes for Ohio’s Coun­try Jour­nal and resides in Bal­ti­more, Ohio. Con­tact him at mkcreese@yahoo.com. For more, visit fresh­count ryair.blogspot.com.

Students create nutrition challenge

Tests, homework, sports, grades, friends, peer pressure, jobs — today’s students have pretty full plates that unfortunately do not often include consideration of the food that is on them.

With deteriorating health in many segments of U.S. society, efforts are being made to bring nutrition closer to the forefront for students. A year ago, the U.S. Department of Agriculture published a proposed rule to update the nutrition standards for meals served through the National School Lunch and School Breakfast programs as part of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. The proposed changes to school meal standards add more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat milk to school meals. Schools would also be required to limit the levels of saturated fat, sodium, calories, and trans fats in meals.

The Ohio Small Grains Marketing Program (OSGMP) decided to take the government’s school food mandates one step further by working with education consultants to change student behaviors and attitudes about their food choices.

“Rather than us writing a curriculum and handing it to them hoping that they would do something with it, we brought a team of teachers together from Mt. Gilead, which was the first school we approached,” said Carol Warkentien, one of the OSGMP education consultants. “We laid out some of the challenges we would be facing if we wanted to bring kids along with this notion.”

The initial meeting led to a decision to consult the students themselves on the best ways to shape their attitudes and behaviors about their foods. Soon, the Mt. Gilead FFA was working to change attitudes about food in the school. The FFA students started by making a video in the school cafeteria.

“The students did a video in their own high school lunchroom and asked other students what they thought about their healthy lunch. Of course there was some hilarity in the interviews, but there is also an awareness of some of the gaps in student knowledge of and understanding about their food,” said Jeanne Gogolski, another OSGMP education consultant working on the project. “One of the prime athletes at the school ate an entire pack of Oreo cookies for lunch. Naturally that produces some conversation about what it takes to have a healthy lunch.”

As a follow up to the video, the Mt. Gilead health class posted some nutrition information in the lunchroom listing the calories in some of the lunch food. The school also had a whole grains taste test event where students rated whole grain snacks and chose their favorites to include on the school menu to help reach the USDA requirements.

The Mt. Gilead FFA students also used their cafeteria video at some events to generate interest from other FFA chapters in their “Food for Thought Challenge.” For the student-created challenge, the OSGMP gave out $500 scholarships to nine Ohio FFA chapters (including Mt. Gilead) to help them develop a nutritional awareness campaign about healthy food choices for their fellow students.

“It is also making a connection with kids about where their food comes from,” Gogolski said. “In Ohio, I think a lot of students don’t realize that we grow wheat and other crops for their food right here.”

Each participating chapter will make a presentation at the Ohio FFA Convention next May and the winning chapter will receive $2,000 from the OSGMP.

Circleville Farmer Named to Ohio Small Grains Marketing Program Officer Board

DELAWARE, Ohio – The Ohio Small Grains Marketing Program (OSGMP) announces John Hoffman as a new officer of its 2012 executive board, which collectively represents and promotes the industry success of Buckeye State wheat and other small grains and works on behalf of the state’s small-grains growers.

“John is a great advocate for the success of our wheat industry,” said OSGMP Interim Executive Director Tadd Nicholson. “He has a long track record of being active in the industry to help develop and expand markets to financially safeguard Ohio’s grain producers and sustain Ohio wheat production.”

Vice Chairman Hoffman and his fellow officers are responsible for developing new wheat markets, partnering with export organizations, assisting with wheat-variety research endeavors and creating educational nutrition programs for consumers.

Ohio Small Grains

• Ohio is the nation’s leader in growing soft red winter wheat (used in flatbreads, crackers, biscuits, cake/pastry flour)
• Ohio produces an average of more than 70 million bushels of wheat each year
• About 700,000 to 1 million acres of wheat are planted in Ohio each year
• Ohio has about 20,000 wheat farmers
• Ohio is one of the largest flour-milling states
• Ohio’s wheat crop value is $300 million to $400 million annually

About Ohio Small Grains Marketing Program
The Ohio Small Grains Marketing Program Board works to improve wheat production, wheat qualities and to strengthen markets for wheat in Ohio as well as wheat export markets. OSGMP supports educational programs in the state and funds research programs to create better crops and open new markets.  For more information, visit ohiosmallgrains.org

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The Ohio Small Grains Marketing Program (OSGMP) is sponsoring a statewide competition among FFA chapters to increase awareness about the nutritional value of a diet with whole grains. OSGMP awarded nine chapters* with $500 scholarships to implement programs in their school systems and will select one program as the winning chapter to award $2,000 for future program implementation.

The most recent campaign took place at Miami East High School, which went “healthy” during the week of November 14, designated as “Healthy Lifestyles Week.”

The school’s FFA “Healthy Lifestyle Committee” sponsored a “Food For Thought” log in which, students and staff recorded their food and drink consumption during a day. During study halls, students received a healthy snack for keeping their log updated. Snacks included an apple, orange or banana, a low-fat whole-grain snack bar, water and a non-fat yogurt. Dannon Company donated the yogurt.

Additionally, the high school attended a Healthy Lifestyles Fair during lunch. Displays were provided by the Upper Valley Medical Center Sports Medicine, Miami Valley Hospital, Stone’s Throw Cooperative, Miami East Schools’ Nurse Jeanelle Adkins and the Farm to Consumer Foundation.

A canned food drive for students and staff was coordinated. For every five items an individual donated, the student’s name was entered into a drawing to throw a pie at school Principal Tim Williams at an all-school assembly. All cans donated will be given to the Fletcher Food Bank at the Fletcher United Methodist Church. About 1,000 cans were collected.

Finally, in celebration of the Miami East FFA’s 53rd birthday, all chapter members were invited to participate in a chapter carry-in. The challenge for the carry-in was to collect water, lean meats and whole-grains, low-fat and non-fat food items.

All unused grant funds will be donated to the Fletcher Food Bank.

*Nine Ohio FFA Chapters Receiving $500 Grants:

• Ridgemont FFA
• Mt. Gilead FFA
• Northwestern FFA
• Clear Fork FFA
• London FFA
• Miami East FFA
• Ridgedale FFA
• North Union FFA
• Twin Valley South FFA

Sunshine Salsa

• 3/4 cup prepared salsa
• 3/4 cup coarsely-chopped orange sections

Chicken

• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 tablespoon margarine, melted
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1-1/2 cups Quaker quick oats, uncooked
• 1  egg, lightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon water
• 4  boned and skinned chicken breast halves (about 5 to 6 ounces each)
• Chopped cilantro (optional)

Preparation

In small bowl, combine salsa and orange sections. Refrigerate, covered, until serving time.

Heat oven to 375°F. In flat, shallow dish, stir together oil, melted margarine, chili powder, garlic powder, cumin and salt. Add oats, stirring until evenly moistened.

In second flat, shallow dish, beat egg and water with fork until frothy. Dip chicken into combined egg and water, then coat completely in seasoned oats. Place chicken on foil-lined baking sheet. Pat any extra oat mixture onto top of chicken.

Bake 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and oat coating is golden brown. Serve with Sunshine Salsa. Garnish with chopped cilantro, if desired.

Makes 4 Servings

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
4 cups chopped eggplant
1 red or green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 pound small fresh button mushrooms, sliced
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves or 1 tablespoon dried basil leaves, crushed
1-1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano leaves or 1-1/2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves, crushed
2 cups cooked pearl barley (see cooking directions below)
1 can (15 ounces) garbanzo beans, drained
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes and juice
1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
1 teaspoon seasoned pepper
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup chopped pimiento-stuffed green olives
10 drops red pepper sauce

Directions

Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; sauté until golden, stirring occasionally. Add eggplant, bell pepper, mushrooms, basil and oregano; sauté 10 minutes. Stir in cooked barley, garbanzo beans, diced tomatoes and juice, tomato sauce, salt and pepper. Simmer 10 minutes. Mix in vinegar, olives and red pepper sauce; simmer 5 minutes longer. Makes 8 servings.

To cook pearl barley:

Place 1 cup pearl barley, 3 cups water and 1/2 teaspoon salt in medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook 45 minutes or until barley is tender and liquid is absorbed. Makes about 3 to 3-1/2 cups. (Place extra cooked barley in an airtight container and freeze for use later.)

November 16 in Vietnam, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that USDA’s market development programs are investing roughly $213 million in more than 70 U.S. agricultural organizations to help expand commercial export markets for their goods. Consumers in the Asia Pacific, said the Secretary, recognize the United States as a reliable supplier of the highest-quality food and agriculture products.

And USDA’s international market development programs are playing a significant role in the surging demand for the American brand of agriculture throughout the world.

For example, consumers in Taiwan, like others throughout the world, are becoming more health-conscious and aware of the nutritional value of whole-and multi-grain products. Recognizing this as an opportunity to increase markets for U.S. wheat and other products, U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) and other export promotion organizations have partnered with the Taipei office of USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service to promote healthy baked goods in Taiwan with funding from USDA’s Market Access Program (MAP).

Beginning in 2007, USDA cooperators, including USW and others, worked with Taiwan flour mills and bakers and the China Grain Products Research and Development Institute (CGPRDI) to produce a new line of healthy bakery products made with hard red spring wheat grown in the United States.

The effort expanded in 2010, when the Cranberry Marketing Committee and the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council joined USW and the other partners. The groups worked with CGPRDI to develop formulations for healthy breads. They delivered this information to professional bakers and nutritionists via educational seminars across Taiwan and also conducted events to promote the products to consumers. USW also worked with local flour mills and the Taiwan government to develop protocols for ingredients and production.
This year, USW expanded its efforts further, partnering with the U.S. Grains Council in the development and promotion of Chinese-style, flour-based products such as noodles and steam breads.

As a result of these cooperative efforts, demand for U.S. wheat has increased, despite the fact that Taiwan is considered a mature market. During the past five years, the United States has provided nearly 84 percent of Taiwan’s wheat imports.

Currently, the American brand of agriculture is surging in popularity worldwide. Farm exports in fiscal year 2011 reached a record high of $137.4 billion – exceed the past record  by $22.5 billion – and supported 1.15 million jobs here at home. The agricultural trade surplus stands at a record $42.9 billion. And, USDA’s international market development programs have supported U.S. agriculture’s success. An independent study released in 2010 found that for every $1 expended by government and industry on market development, U.S. food and agricultural exports increase by $35.

Mount Gilead FFA participated in multiple activities during National School Lunch Week to teach fellow students about the nutritional value of whole grains as part of an educational campaign — The “Food for Thought Challenge” — sponsored by The Ohio Small Grains Marketing Program.

Mount Gilead National School Lunch Week Features:

• Students taste-tested whole-grains snacks in both the middle and high schools and completed tasting surveys; the results of the snack surveys will help the lunchroom stock their shelves, with results presented to the Mount Gilead school board

• Students from health classes made posters with nutrition information and presented hands-on activities during lunch times

• School staff wore custom buttons featuring “healthy-eating” logos

• Cafeteria staff wore special aprons

This campaign is awarding Buckeye State FFA chapters with funds to implement healthy eating campaigns in their schools. Ten Ohio FFA chapters will win $500 and one Ohio FFA chapter will win $2,000.

Winning schools will be selected October 28 and will showcase their campaign efforts at the Ohio State FFA Convention May 3 and 4, 2012.

This campaign — The “Food for Thought Challenge” — is sponsored by The Ohio Small Grains Marketing Program (OSGMP), which is awarding Buckeye State FFA chapters with funds to implement healthy eating campaigns in their schools.

Can your FFA chapter get students to:

• Eat a good breakfast?
• Choose whole grains?
• Eat fruits and vegetables?
• Drink water instead of pop?
• Change attitudes and behaviors toward healthy eating?

Winners will be selected October 28th and will showcase their campaign efforts at the Ohio State FFA Convention May 3 and 4, 2012.

Submit your proposal

Contact jeanne@educationprojects.org with questions.

Contact: Jack Irvin
614.306.8605
jirvin@ohiocornandwheat.org

September Celebrates Whole Grains

DELAWARE, Ohio – Ohioans are reminded of the positive influence of the state’s grain industry in September as the month is designated as “Whole Grains Month.”

The economical impact of grains production, particularly wheat production, in Ohio is significant — $253 million is generated from this sector each year.

“Everyone is familiar with the nutritional advantages of whole grains, but no one stops to think about the businesses responsible for producing the staple grains that end up in our food,” said Ohio Corn & Wheat Growers Association CEO Dwayne Siekman.

Ohio Grains Production Facts

• No. 1 producer of Soft Red Winter Wheat in the U.S.
• Produced more than 46 million bushels in 2010
• Home to 12 flour mills
• Home to 358 grain elevators
• Wheat yields average 61 bushels per acre

Though much of the Midwest has experienced extreme weather conditions to threaten the viability of its grains production, Ohio is fortunate.

Nine hundred thousand wheat acres were planted the previous fall, an increase from 2010 and 52 million bushels harvested, which is an increase from 46 million bushels in 2010. The health of the crop depended on its location in the state, as the wet spring presented a challenge and added additional disease pressures on the crop.
“Overall, the wheat crop probably turned out better than expected recognizing the difficulties of our historic spring,” said Siekman.

About Whole Grains

Whole-wheat flour is rich in B-vitamins, vitamin E and protein and contains more trace minerals and dietary fiber than white flour. The fiber, like the fiber found in whole-wheat flour, is necessary for the digestive tract to function well.

Whole-wheat bread’s increased nutritional value is related to the whole grain. The whole-grain kernel consists of three parts. The outer layer of the grain is the bran, which has a lot of fiber and protein. Inside the bran is the germ, which is loaded with vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids. The endosperm is the starchy area within the whole grain.

For whole-grains recipes ideas, visit www.wholegrainscouncil.org

The recently implemented Ohio Senate Bill 210, known as the Healthy Choices for Healthy Children Act, mandates new nutritional guidelines for school lunches that incorporates more whole-grains foods in cafeterias.