US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced that nearly 6,000 US Department of Agriculture (USDA) partners are teaming to deem 8 March 2012 as 'What's on My Plate?' day to heighten public awareness of the importance of choosing nutritious foods for a healthy meal.
The effort is supported by almost 6,000 of USDA's MyPlate Community and National Strategic Partners, all of which are committed to promoting a diet that reflects the latest recommendations in the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and highlight the message behind the new MyPlate food icon.
'USDA is committed to helping Americans make healthier food choices and our MyPlate symbol is a simple reminder to think before we eat,' said Vilsack. 'Our public and private sector national partners represent an important cross-section of industry, advocates and academia pulling toward a common goal of improving the health our country through diet and in many cases reversing childhood obesity.'
The goal of 'What's on My Plate?' day is to create a nationwide buzz about food choices as part of national Nutrition Month activities. By leveraging the strengths of social networks such as blogs, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook to promote MyPlate and its related messages and resources like the new SuperTracker and the ChooseMyPlate.gov website, these resources empower consumers with the how-tos to build healthier plates.
A key goal is to encourage partners and their constituents to take action on the quarterly message, 'Enjoy your food, but eat less,' tell their stories and share photographs of personal successes.
