Why stop along the road if you are stressing about the options? Roadsides are littered with multiple fast food options with a sprinkling of signs pointing to a diner which at least lets you believe the food is being prepared individually for you. Then, the options stop. This is especially true when you leave the Interstate for the scenic bypass routes. Leaving the road and exploring a small town can often yield little. Traveling into a larger town offers the best little secret: Try the local grocery store. You can at least find something that borders healthy, even if it’s not your favorite market, farm stand, or Whole Foods.

As the Interstates reveal, people are traveling again and judging by the numbers at picnic tables, frugality still dominates many of our dining decisions. Matching our budgets and desire to eat healthy poses numerous challenges which need great will power.

It can be done, but after your first opening of the Coleman, you might need to get creative.

When you witness a restaurant stuck in place, when nothing is operating in a timely manner, you wonder who’s in charge. Anyone? Having just barely survived such a situation, I think it’s important to go over what happened and why it all could have been avoided. First, the good news: The restaurant was packed. Now the more critical piece of info: Orders were taken, but then little else happened. It was odd that dinner salads arrived before appetizers which were ordered almost immediately upon being seated.

The waitress performance began at that point. Are the appetizers in process, we asked? A grimace, a murmured “yes,” and a quick exit. Probably been a good time to seek out the manager. The troops were getting restless. Everyone. Should the manager be visible and notice a table’s frustration or should the meal go from bad to worse before a managerial introduction?

Only two people of a party of six ordered meals that had accompanying salads. Tick, tock, more time elapsed. Some sweet water server kept appearing and doing his job, but the slow-mo process had the apps arrive after about an additional 35 minutes. Nothing complicated; nothing that takes time to get off the line. Again, should have tracked down the manager.

This is where restaurant dining gets confusing. Had the manager stepped out from the bar area and surveyed the dining room, he might have saved a lot of money that evening. Only when our dinners arrived–did I mention they were cold–that we had the table meet and greet. When we finally were able to locate the waitress and tell her that the food was inedible, did she say anything. “I’ll get the manager,” was her response.

We were tired, cranky, and hungry. OK, frustrated, too, but it was now too late to want to put ourselves through another round of ordering. Time to leave. The manager’s visit included the sentence, “You were one of about 70 complaints I received this evening.” Costly, disappointing performance. I believe there were steps that could have been taken to have prevented the complete meltdown.

Comping dinners is an easy solution. The restaurant lost a lot of money the other night and gave guests little reason to consider returning. Talking to the kitchen staff the next day, of course, has some value, but being a visible manager could have saved a lot of confusion.

Let me revisit an important restaurant mantra: It all starts and stops with training. Training at every level. The wait staff was ill-prepared to deal with the disappointed guests, and the restaurant itself was better at pouring water than anything else. Time to start at Square One and make the experience operational.

It was not that long ago that the slogan, “It’s the Economy, Stupid,” carried an election. Maybe the current restaurant malaise and burger elevation should help bring back that mantra. When you see the growth of a local DC area hamburger chain into one of the largest franchised companies in the country, you know what’s talking. Money and burgers are the winning order at Five Guys–you don’t need that much  money to get a decent, never frozen burger, Maybe the fact that they sell over 250,000 a day should convince you of that ratio! If you’re looking for the old-fashioned burger spot where you can cool your heels with a scoop of peanuts, you’re part of the restaurant’s growing popularity. Who would have figured their slow nationwide roll out would have such a positive, long-term effect? Maybe not me. They did!

High-end burger spots are just as common and dot many a commercial corridor. Bobby Flay, of Food Network fame and Laurent Tourondel, better known for his earlier BLT steakhouses have happily joined the burger brigade. The irony is that the basic fast food burger is still there, but when you study their lines, you hear customers selecting a wide variety of foods.  Plenty of homegrown chefs and restaurant owners have keyed in on the possibilities and find the translation does nicely in the cash register. The basic burger can easily be upscaled for a lot less money.

It’s the Burger, Silly that tells us the economy is still the pivotal point of dining out.

As there are an almost endless list of tomato varieties, there are no shortage of gazpacho recipes. You can make the dish as complicated or simple as you prefer. For some, it is merely a combination of the 3 veggies, a little garlic, some olive oil and red wine vinegar, and tomato juice or V-8. Nothing complex; lots of variations. A hot day+ a cold soup= perfection: A melody of soothing tastes.

Here’s an obvious suggestion: Now is the time. Grab your bag and go for the freshest vegetables. Be creative. It’s hard to go wrong when you are working with just-picked produce. Chop, mix, and chill. Some like chunky; others prefer more of a liquid base. Again, not a problem. The season has just begun to offer its bounty. Plenty of time to experiment.

Here are a few simple recipes to tease you into action. Top the gazpacho with some fresh garlic croutons and you’re well on your way to celebrating summer.

Can you guess what we’ll be having tonight?

According to the Hearth, Patio, and Barbecue Association, the Fourth of July grabs the top spot as America’s single biggest day to grill outdoors with 80% of respondents planning to keep with tradition this year. Burgers top the list of most commonly grilled foods with ketchup repeating as the number one condiment. Probably should begin with a refresher course on food safety as many of us partake in our food ventures off premise as in picnic spots, tailgating, or camping. As always food handling should top the list of concerns and include the magic food safety words: Clean, Separate, Cook, and Chill. No matter the menu, the rules apply and make everyone safer for the experience.

For so many of us, keeping the charcoal lit and hot proves to be directly proportional to how much lighter fluid we have on hand. I know you’ll miss the smell of the endless squirting of fluid, but here’s a fun gadget that takes the guesswork out of the operation and more insures the possibility of success: The Looftlighter. (Makes me imagine an air-lifting experience that transforms an ordinary pile of coals into a full-blown campsite)! OK, I admit it looks a little like a hair straightener, but this product seems to have little difficulty starting a fire. Also great for hardwood chunks added to the grill to infuse different flavors. Such love of grilling does not come inexpensively, but the neighbors and the environment thank you!

I know you’ll miss the lighter fluid taste, but some sacrifices need to be made! What if you’re planning a road trip and still want to grill, then there are full range of portable grills to make this a possibility. Since I’m such a coffee person, I was interested in seeing what the Bodum folks (known for their full line of coffee makers and accessories) came up with. Don’t worry, they are serious BBQ players with a full line of what they call “Toys for Grown Ups.” Am sure that phrase is debatable, but they have a nifty portable grill and all the necessary tools to make the outing a true holiday. You’ll have fun with the Ikea-like names as the FYRKAT, a picnic charcoal grill, solves the grill-on-the-go experience. Anyway the palette of fun colors makes this an uplifting purchase.

When you’re thinking about what to grill, take a moment and think about the foods you purchase and consider the humane farm animal care program. The website can direct you to purveyors and farms that are part of the certified humane movement. You’ll find no shortage of selections and at the same time know that your food has been handled better and will often prove tastier.

Let’s begin the long weekend!

So how do we fulfill our parental role of providing good, healthy snacks and lunches while avoiding the easy-out pitfalls? Think this is the time for low-sugar drinks and fruit slices and bars. Eliminate the high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) from the diet and find a healthy solution.

Now here’s the caveat. Much of what we see on the front of the package belies a hidden problem. Take some of the organic snacks that do a shout-out about their 100% natural fruit without additives and preservatives, but when you examine the package more carefully, you find the product is manufactured for a US company but is a product of China.

We have talked extensively about food safety and food recalls. Why are we trusting that food safety standards are being upheld by China? We shouldn’t. A recent USDA report examined these organic certifications and questioned whether the USDA Organic certification is being properly upheld. The USDA went so far as to drop the food inspector in China. It’s time for us to do the same thing with our purchases.

Let them eat healthy fruits that are made and inspected in the US. Go with USDA Organics that fulfill the pledge without worrying that someone is sliding off the page. This is not an issue that will go away quickly.

Here are some suggestions. I’ve tried them all; these are at the top of the current, first week of camp list.

–Go with HonestKids‘ no high fructose corn syrup drinks. Easy to chill and cool ‘em down quickly.

If you worry fresh fruit will go all mushy before snack or lunch, consider these:

–Archer Farms real fruit strips.

–Clif kids Twisted Fruit.

–365 Organic Fruit Strip, or

Some without the USDA Organic label, but are USA products:

–Stretch Island Fruit all-natural fruit strip, or

Go with the new mini bars from Luna or Clif or honor the EnviroKidz Organic line.

We don’t need the sugar; definitely not the HFCS, or the worries of overseas inspections.

Our little scampers need to be safe. Food safety starts with trust.

NO, NO, and NO. Yes, we are eating in the equivalent of someone’s home when we dine out, but we need to be good guests, too. The definition of manners becomes eroded when guests make unreasonable demands or when managers overstep their boundaries and speak rudely to wait staff. Nothing far-fetched about these incidents; all occur. Holding everyone in check is really the responsibility of management and no one needs to know the secrets of training, just the end results: A smooth operation with everyone playing an appropriate part.

Let’s play out a recent situation. A four-top was finished with lunch. No one had stopped by from the time the plates were put down and the end of the meal. The server came to clear and saw that one guest had not eaten the protein in the center of the plate atop a field of salad greens. Shall I wrap that up she inquired? No, no thank you, was the reply; I did not care for it. Plates were cleared. Nothing further was said. Table conversation continued while awaiting the check.

Then the smart process went into play. Within minutes a sparklingly dressed young man, white shirt and tie, asked if he could join the table. He very calmly wanted to hear what was the problem with the dish. He immediately said the item had been removed from the check, although no one asked for that to happen, but he wanted to know what they had done wrong. Overcooked? Undercooked? Heavily seasoned? He was genuinely interested in discussing the process of preparation and the end result. Very smoothly handled.

Aha: Training at its best. The server knew what to do. The manager had the personality and skill to communicate, and the guests left impressed. This was not high-end dining but a casual, mid-tier chain that understands its part in the restaurant universe.

Not that difficult, but that important. Many could learn from this little one-act play. The lines are not that difficult to understand. A smooth operation means everyone knows his part.

First of all, not everyone accesses email all day long. Secondly, advanced and agreed upon details should not give a restaurant carte blanche, sorry couldn’t help myself, permission to make significant changes. When a group has been told that lunch hour is extremely busy but they can be accommodated if they preselect an agreed upon menu, then no further discussion is necessary. Certainly, the host should not arrive at the restaurant and be told that last-minute changes were made via email does not guarantee a positive experience. Email has its limitations. Phones still are preferable, but last minute changes cannot be a one-sided proposition: Two parties need to concur.

Remember the old adage: The customer is always right. The corollary, not in this case, just leaves a bad taste and results in diners or guests at the table deciding the restaurant does not deserve future business. Word-of-mouth may help or harm an establishment. A bad call is a bad call! Baseball demonstrated better manners than this!

The mild confrontation ended with the restaurant being over-solicitous to everyone at the table, to the point of their being too present. If the service model continues to rankle more diners than any other question on food surveys, then there is a lot to learn from such a poor display of restaurant strategy.

The economy is far from a solid investment at the moment, and restaurants should be thrilled to have group business. They need to show their appreciation and not confuse an otherwise fortuitous venture.

Nothing rankles diners on surveys more than issues of service. What is most important to a restaurant experience: Service. Overwhelmingly it is the one memory that diners unequivocally share. Many cannot remember the meal details other than comment that the food was good or even terrific, but when you ask for a full accounting of the evening, many start and stop their interplay with some comment about service. No one likes to be treated less than special in someone’s home. A restaurant welcomes you into its home. That’s what the hospitality industry is all about!

So listen up: Do not fawn; nor ignore. Train your staff to recognize the cues from a diner, to read the guest. Training never stops; it is an ongoing restaurant responsibility that impacts significant impressions.

We don’t need a silver platter. We want a service-oriented experience that complements the chef’s creations.

Costco is one of those companies that exudes trust. When they make a change, consumers often just nod and go along. When a product is not to one’s liking, then the return line welcomes the customer and the product back. It’s that type of company, a consumer-friendly atmosphere, so when they say they plan to expand their food offerings, we say, bring them on. Consumer Reports just added to Costco’s accolades with positive remarks for multiple departments. The Kirkland label has been an impressive solution to deals that were harder for them to cut. Remember they had to play tough guy with Coca-Cola not too long ago and who wanted their products back on the shelves and bowed to pressure: Coke.

BTW, the July issue of Consumer Reports offers multiple shopping strategies. Saving money is still the preferred route.

As an aside to all this attention, food wars are kicking up. Wal-Mart decided it could get more play at the registers by increasing its price cuts (Rollbacks) on name brands to get more customers in the door. A few competitors responded immediately by matching Wal-Mart’s actions. No one wants to be left with high prices as consumers are still scrambling to find the best deals and prices.

Either approach: One winner–the consumer.

Smart shopping’s the buyword!

OK, I confess I love the appetizer radishes at New York’s Prune Restaurant where chef Gabrielle Hamilton serves them with a side of butter and Kosher salt as a dip. Simple and good. Pick your special cocktail or beer and you have a great treat.

This year I took them to a whole new level with Melissa Clark’s New York Times recipe for roasting them with anchovies. Read no further if anchovies are not to your liking. I tried them once and then became a farm market radish lover. I admit I needed to tweak the recipe and cut down on its olive oil and butter but that little tweak did not affect the overall taste: Delectable. I never served them on bread but on corn thins, a light, puffy crisp of a cracker (and G-F). I think of all the times I scoffed at trying the simple, humble radish! What a shame; what a taste waste!

Maybe my composter will be the saddest of us all as the green tops have played an important role in adding depth to my soil and fulfilling my soul!

Oh, seasons. You come and go, and now my energy is focused on local strawberries. Talk about sweet, mouth-poppers!

Yes, a few more weeks of these beauties.

Time passes quickly in the fields.

Now as we move into summer, we are seeing signs of local life. Little roadside stands are starting to pop up again and there are many more selections at the larger farm markets. Corn has made its way out of the fields and local strawberries remind us how sweet a taste they can provide. This is a good transitional season.

This week Chipotle Mexican Grill announced an even bigger commitment to locally grown produce. They slowly began the rollout two years ago and have continued to expand its offerings as part of its “Food with Integrity” program. When you select red onions, jalapeno peppers, and tomatoes, they come with a local assurance. In some states, such as California, the range of options is much larger as locally grown lemons and avocados are easy to add to the local farm list. The company’s goal is to find local produce that travels no further than 250 miles from its distribution centers. They manage to find over 70% of their produce from within 150 miles!

Chipotle wins the tip of the hat for its commitment to locally grown and sustainably raised ingredients and the fact that they score top marks within the fast food category for having more naturally raised meat than any of its competitors. These are all noteworthy markers that hopefully will become more imitated. They are the largest national restaurant buyer of locally grown produce!

We strive to be healthy eaters and finding a restaurant at an affordable price point helps make this a reality for more diners.

How about a restaurant chain that decided you might pay better attention to the calorie debate if you saw it printed on your receipt. It’s an interesting twist and it assumes people look at their receipts! Not only do you get calorie information, you get suggestions how to make an even smarter decision next time you customize your order!

Burgerville in the Pacific Northwest, an area known for its emphasis on healthy living with smart food approaches and outdoor activities, decided customers needed a little more information than the simple itemization of their order! They are considered a fast-food chain but have always stressed their commitment to finding local suppliers and having customers understand that nutritional information is important to the company. BTW, this company is no slouch in its environmental commitment with its ever-expanding compostable product line to its use of wind-power rather than straining the electric grid.

The company may prove to be a model of innovative approaches to healthy eating at affordable prices. They have grown considerably over the years and now have almost 40 locations in Oregon and Washington. They established a food program to help customers make healthy choices and entice them with coupons for future visits and receipts filled with calorie information and suggestions about possible item substitutions!

Maybe this forward-informational approach is a model for what other companies should do. Diners need help with price points and healthy eating strategies.

Let the West lead. Lots to follow.

Here are some interesting ones to add to your shopping outing:

–Avocados. This vegetable gets a lot of confusing press for its high fat content. Stop: It’s the good fat, the one that reduces the bad (LDL) cholesterol. Take it in. Most guacamole experts prefer the Mexican avocado splashed with a healthy dose of lime juice. Or just slice an avocado onto a salad or top your scrambled eggs (egg whites) with this colorful, soothingly sweet taste.

–Black Beans. With all the talk about BPA and can-leeching, find a market that offers dried beans and avoid the canned variety all together. Studies indicate that black beans have a special property in being able to boost your brain function. Grab a 3-ounce serving, your pen, and the New York Times Crossword Puzzle. See how effective this strategy is!

Sounds like we are solely advocating a Latin American-influenced diet, but the next flavor may move you around the globe.

–Turmeric. This bright colored, yellow spice gives flavor to many Indian dishes. Try it on chicken or use it with rice to benefit from its special properties that help lessen the possibilities from Alzheimer’s.

Don’t forget almonds and walnuts and last week’s nutty examination. Then move over to the dried fruit aisle for dried plums and figs, both of which have numerous health benefits. Figs for their lowering of blood-sugar and plums for their overall effect on lessening aging’s impact. Of course, fresh figs should not be overlooked when they are in season as they pair wonderfully with so many foods (cheeses) and turn an ordinary salad into a special treat. Add a little Balsamic, a ripe tomato, and you’ve got a beautiful plate.

Never too young to consider these foods and the longer list of possibilities. Time to start your weekend shopping.

What happens when it goes; when a company decides to step up to the plate and eliminate HFCS?

Some people protest and say the product no longer tastes right. Some notice little difference. Where will you straddle? The company of most recent note is Hunt’s which just announced no more. No more HFCS! That’s big news for people who like their Hunt’s Ketchup. Perfect timing at the beginning of the summer grilling and picnic season.

This health-conscious approach and smart business decision is sure to be imitated by competitors at every price point. You won’t miss the HFCS; they replaced it with the natural sweetener: Sugar. As consumers we are becoming ever more vigilant in our search for fewer ingredients and natural solutions to items we learn have health-negative effects. It all starts with a perfect tomato; it’s not about a long list of ingredients.

As for HFCS–who needs it? We don’t!

Here are a few:

–Bread and butter do not just magically appear when you are seated. You are often asked if you would like to have bread and butter. Smart, cost-saving approach to running a restaurant. Not like we need to have bread and butter! Nor do they need to put a basket on the table and waste its contents.

–Sauces. Rather than just put cocktail sauce or tartar sauce, for example, on every fish or seafood plate, servers are checking to see if the diner wants either or both. If not, hey, the kitchen saves the money on either or both of the sauces. Lemon falls into that category. It is no longer just a natural plate adornment. More often than not, guests make the inquiry. It’s not an automatic slice or 1/8th.

–Water. Of course, in higher-end restaurants, the water question comes with numerous choices and dollar signs: Flat, fizzy, or tap. At multiple price points, water does not even come to the table unless you ask for it. With a worldwide water shortage, this is a logical, natural omission. Why serve something that’s just going to get poured out and wasted?

As consumers watch their dining out dollars, restaurateurs play the same game. Economic uncertainty still drives many businesses to close their doors. Recuperation is a slow process and little glimmers of hope do not mean we are out of the woods.

Little changes make a significant difference. We can support each other.

The specific area of greatest concern at the moment is fish and seafood. Where is it coming from? This is a very difficult time as we watch so much of the Gulf fishing region (1/3 of our seafood comes from this area) struggle to have any fish to catch and supply. The stories from the fisherman are all devastatingly sad. Questions arise when and if this area will be able to return to its prior position in the food chain. There are numerous reports attesting to the possibilities of a strong future, but at the present time, the news is bleak for the fisherman and the consumer.

Several markets had supply on hand since they were able to purchase quantity and could easily store the fish. Others have not been as lucky. Some were also hit with the European volcanic eruption which stalled any hopes of getting salmon to the US, but then the Alaska wild came in: Problem solved. It’s seafood such as shrimp, crabs, and oysters and fish such as grouper and snapper that are currently in the most limited supply column and receiving our attention. You can check the supply and safety issues as information gets updated daily.

When your market runs a sale of one of these products, it is time to ask the question: Where is it from and when did it come in?

Regardless of the food issue, we need to hold the cards and ask the questions. Information changes quickly and with something as diverse and confusing as the oil spill, this minute’s answer may not apply in 10!

For the record, all current reports indicate the fish and seafood is safe to eat, albeit we will pay a premium. As for tomorrow and the future, we need to stay focused and make certain we are aware of the information cycle and make any necessary adjustments to our shopping.

Basically, Whole Foods learned how to offer sizable price reductions in each of the major departments. For the consumer, the translation is quite simple: Buy strawberries when they are on sale; not when they are back to their old prices. A basic example. You can plan your menus easily around the sales. This week you’ll buy one type of fish and next week it may be a whole different flavor profile. This type of  shopping’s much easier: You buy the freshest foods with the biggest reductions and you leave the store a much wiser, healthier individual. Those are the products you want to plan your meals around. Nothing foreign about this concept. This is how chefs shop for restaurants. What looks good, what just came in, and what about the price point are considerations when they tour the markets.

At this new store, there was a product innovation that is sure to interest the curious and captivate the regulars. Some shoppers will continue to create their own salad/main course meal from the cold and hot selections which are sold by the pound, and then there are the newbies. Individuals who will want the $7.99 box with 3 compartments of items stuffed to the gilder-sterns as long as the lid closes: One price, one huge possibility!

The healthy focus has certainly helped drive their business as more consumers are focused on purchasing healthy foods for their families. Combine that strategy with the emphasis on finding producers of local foods, and you have a pretty good understanding of how the company has made such major strides across the grocery aisle.

Innovations are great as long as the price point stays in the center of the radar. Competition will remain strong, as at the other end of the spectrum is major competition in the form of Wal-Mart. Here’s a company that has made significant strides in its food line this year and just announced plans to continue to increase the depth of possibilities–they call it the aggressive Rollbacks program. We are talking about a major retailer that has reworked its aisles and departments to limit some selections in favor of increasing the overall breadth of food selections. This is where to shop for the basics that every household needs: It’s a win-win situation: You fill your house with great price-point savings on pantry essentials.

Everybody else in between plans to continue its coupon-driven enticements. The consumer has become a more savvy shopper after this past year of economic upheaval and has learned how to save shopping dollars. Markets cannot return to their old ways.

Shopping need not be Guerrilla warfare. I am more a believer than ever.

Now there’s still another chewing gum innovation. Did you ever realize there could be so many options. How about a gum that doesn’t just combine flavors but changes flavor somewhere in the middle of its lifecycle. That would be the new Stride Shift. Maybe gum sales are at their peak as dieters learned a long time ago, that little chewing sensation action keeps you from eating the large snack!

Kraft, the company that has the Shift gum innovation, has applied a similar new flavor technology to the world of cough drops with its new Halls Refresh 2 in 1. You have the soothing lemon flavor your throat appreciates sprinkled with a a taste of raspberry to soften the power of a Halls!

Another fun snack approach and perfect for school lunch boxes and breaks between after-school activities comes from the Crispy Green people. The new Fruitzio flavors, Apricot and Peach easily mimic the real fruit taste. We’re talking about a good sized bag that has just 100 calories! Freeze-dried fruit tastes good without having the sugar problem and calories associated with dried fruits. These new packs taste like their counterpart fruits and are made with cane sugar, the new wonder sugar that is making headway in more products. I really like the peach pack and did I mention an additional plus: Gluten-Free.

This category of foods has just taken off. Expect explosive taste results!

The trail led others, for instance, Jamie Oliver, to cross the pond and discuss the horrid obesity statistics in the US. Then there were the various other food mavens (Alice Waters) who got in on the act to remind people, consumers, that they, too, have a long-held interest in this topic. Now everyone seems to have lined up in an orderly fashion behind the leader of the band, The First Lady. Each First Lady traditionally takes on a cause. This one strikes home more than most. It affects a larger cross-section of the population than most and has a terrible effect on speeding through life too quickly: Early Death.

Yes, there are a lot of contributing factors. School Lunch programs deserve some of the blame with their insistence on antiquated guidelines that place too much emphasis on carbs. Food choices in these programs are little better with too much interest in pre-packaged foods such as pizza and chicken tenders. Not good. Then there are the numerous fast food chains that trip over each other to offer low cost foods. Well, if your budget is on the continuing downhill decline, then $1 meals, regardless of what they are, serve a functionality that cannot be beat: They feed people at an affordable price. The end result may not be a pretty picture!

Now where is this all going. Just this week the First Lady’s program of getting people out and moving (Let’s Move) and eating healthy found lots of new friends, in this case, government agencies that would be coming together to get the message out and provide the muscle to make it work. OK: the commitments. The White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity has 70 recommendations in its 124-page report. One of its strongly worded goals is to reduce childhood obesity which has been steadily climbing since the 1970s from its current level at 20% to 5% by 2030: “Solving the Problem of Childhood Obesity Within a Generation.”

The First Lady believes these goals will help reduce the childhood obesity epidemic by working with the child, the family, and the community. Some of the strategies include an emphasis on prenatal care and improved child care settings. Getting food manufacturers (Heinz and Kraft have already committed to reduced sodium levels in some foods) to improve their labels and improve their foods. There is also interest in improving nutritional education and getting children more physically active.

A number of government agencies will be at the forefront of change from the FCC that will monitor the ways food is marketed to children and the DOT which is rolling out the National Center for Safe Routes to Schools with improved biking and walking access. The First Lady recognizes that the task is enormous and involves cooperation from every sector of the private and public universe of agencies and businesses.

Fun strategies are already in place to get young people interested. USDA will partner with the International Game Developers Association to host game jams in US cities next weekend, May 21-23 with the idea of producing video game prototypes. Remember the Apps for Healthy Kids competition continues until the June 30 deadline.

We can all cooperate and make this work. Too many lives are at stake.