As you may know, the Food Revolution team work hard all year round to increase awareness of the benefits of healthier food.
Here they update us on their latest news and some exciting developments within the campaign:
? In a historic move New York City has announced it has passed a proposal to ban the sale of sugary drinks over 16 ounces. Back in June, the Mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg, put forward a proposal which would put a ban on the sale of sweetened drinks, including soda, sports drinks, ?energy? drinks, sweetened teas and coffees and sweetened fruit drinks, over 16 ounces and which contain more than 25 calories per 8 ounces. Yesterday the New York Board of Health passed that proposal (8 voted for, 0 against, 1 abstention). We, along with Jamie (who submitted a comment in favor of this in July) have been supporting this ban. It will hopefully start a conversation to begin to change attitudes towards food and drink and overconsumption. We just put up this article here which has more information on this move.
? At the end of August we kicked off the first of our community Food Revolution Google+ Hangouts! This are going to be monthly occurrences and this first one focused on back-to-school as kids in the US are heading back to school and back to new and improved school meal regulations. We were joined by lunch legend Chef Ann Cooper, the amazing 12 year old Marshall Reid, representatives from the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), Harvard School of Public Health and some of our fantastic JOFR Community Ambassadors. Our next G+ Hangout will be at the end of this month and focused on the global Food Revolution!
? We are just entering our second month of the Ambassadors Program with a resounding 268 Ambassadors in over 46 countries and 185 cities participating. We launched the Ambassador Program because we saw the fire that was ignited by Ambassadors and volunteers during Food Revolution Day 2012. Our Ambassador Program engages leaders throughout the year and reaches communities worldwide. All of our amazing Ambassadors have shown a dedication to real food, a commitment to engaging others, and are keen to start conversations and create meaningful connections in their community. Are you interested in becoming an Ambassador in your city? Apply here!
? On top of launching an Ambassadors Program, the Food Revolution has kicked off our Monthly Challenges. Every month, there will be different challenges that will inspire Food Revolutionaries to engage with their communities. They are designed to make deeper connections with the thought leaders in the real food industry and connect with family and friends through fresh food.
? We have had Ambassadors from Slovakia and Kenya to Canada and Argentina participate in August?s Monthly Challenges. We had such a successful first month that we are so excited to see what Ambassadors comes up with this month. September?s Monthly Challenges focus on connecting with others in your community to build the Food Revolution, teaching someone the tools to smart grocery shopping and learning how to grow seasonal herbs.
? Our new and updated school food toolkits are now live on the website and can be found on our school food page. These provide parents with a clear idea of the school food system and arms them with the facts and information they need to find support and start a campaign to help support more real food in schools!
? At the end of August we created a school food pledge on causes.com to Support Better Food In Schools. So far 4,700 people have taken it and we?ll be sending updates next week to these pledge takers with information on next steps in supporting changes in school food and getting more real food on the lunch tray!
Source: JamieOliver.com