Commissioner Miller Promotes A Healthier Future For Fellow Texans (3/15/2019)

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller has announced he is expanding his efforts to promote locally grown food beyond Texas school nutrition programs to include afterschool programs, and child and adult day care facilities. This year, the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) will participate in the Texas Department of Agriculture’s (TDA) Farm Fresh Challenge, a fun and engaging effort to encourage the use of locally-grown foods and garden-based learning activities.  Working together, these programs will help deliver nutritional awareness to more Texans statewide.

“I am proud to issue the Farm Fresh Challenge beyond school nutrition programs,” Commissioner Miller said. “My main objective is to help create a healthier future for families in the great state of Texas and joining forces with CACFP for this Farm Fresh Challenge takes us one step closer.”

CACFP brings healthy foods to tables across the country for children in child care centers, homes, and afterschool programs as well as adults in day care centers. Texas providers serve about 372,000 meals each day in more than 13,000 child care centers and day care homes, and about 50,000 meals a day in more than 400 adult day care centers. In addition to encouraging providers to add more Texas foods to these meals all month, the CACFP Farm Fresh Challenge will help them celebrate National CACFP Week, which will be observed March 17-23. National CACFP Week recognizes the program’s role in to providing high quality nutrition and healthy learning experiences for people of all ages.

CACFP Farm Fresh Challenge supports TDA’s goal of connecting federally funded nutrition programs with foods from Texas producers. Together, CACFP and TDA will work hard to promote good nutrition and help Texans recognize the positive impact of adding more healthy local products to meals for all ages.

For more information, visit SquareMeals.org

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Contact: Maddison Jaureguito

(512) 463-7899