[Nfbf-l] Fw: Let's Move! Blog Featuring Innovative Websites andPrograms

Sun Feb 20 23:00:31 UTC 2011

Very interesting Carlos. Thanks for passing this along.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Carlos J MontasAS" <carlos.montas at gmail.com>
To: "NFB of Florida Listserv" <nfbf-l at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, February 17, 2011 11:04 PM
Subject: [Nfbf-l] Fw: Let's Move! Blog Featuring Innovative Websites 
andPrograms


> Let's Move! Blog Featuring Innovative Websites and Programs
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: White House Disability Group
> To: carlos.montas at gmail.com
> Sent: Thursday, February 17, 2011 5:15 PM
> Subject: Let's Move! Blog Featuring Innovative Websites and Programs
>
>
> Check out the below blogs featuring two innovative programs helping people 
> with disabilities stay healthy and gain employment.
>
>
>
> http://www.letsmove.gov/blog/2011/02/16/cooking-and-shopping-made-easier-and-healthier-for-blind-americans/
>
> Cooking and Shopping Made Easier and Healthier for Blind Americans
> Posted by Kareem Dale, Special Assistant to the President in the White 
> House Office of Public Engagement on February 16, 2011
>
> In its first year, Let’s Move! taught us to pay attention to what we eat. 
> We’ve learned that choosing a bowl of whole-grain cereal with non-fat milk 
> over cheesy biscuits and bacon is a great way to kick off a healthy, 
> energized day. We’ve realized that many times we are offered portions that 
> are bigger than necessary, and we’ve tested delicious, 
> perfectly-proportioned recipes to make at home. And, with the release of 
> 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans last month, we were reminded that 
> consuming less sodium, fats, added sugars and refined grains is essential 
> to a healthy lifestyle.
>
> But, for millions of blind or visually impaired Americans, reading the 
> nutrition information and cooking directions printed on the boxes, cans, 
> jars, bottles and bags at the grocery store has been all but impossible—at 
> least it was before the launch of directionsforme last month.
>
> Directionsforme is an accessible and user friendly website that contains 
> nutritional and product information for over 350,000 foods and appliances. 
> Created by Horizons for the Blind, directionsforme is helping millions of 
> Americans like me to plan healthy menus, cook at home and to pay attention 
> to the foods we consume. A study published in August 2010 by a group of 
> Columbia University professors showed that people who regularly read the 
> nutrition facts labels on the food that they buy have significantly 
> healthier diets and consume less calories, fat, sugar and sodium than 
> those who don’t read the labels.
>
> Thanks to directionsforme, blind grocery shoppers can now plan their trips 
> by carefully selecting foods and brands whose nutrition information they 
> have read and compared. A busy mom who wants to buy healthy snacks can use 
> the website to find out which brand of peach fruit cups has no added sugar 
> and an aspiring Italian chef can find out the appropriate serving size for 
> his favorite brand of pasta.
>
> Directionsforme is also helping American families eat healthy meals 
> together at home, another key component of the Let’s Move! initiative. 
> Planning menus and cooking at home is a fun and healthy way to bring the 
> family together. For sighted cooks, using a microwave to steam broccoli or 
> pureeing vegetables in a blender is as easy as a glance at a user’s manual 
> and the push of a button. Directionsforme now makes those time-saving 
> appliances available to visually impaired chefs with accessible package 
> information for thousands of products.
>
> Let’s Move! has always been committed to including people with 
> disabilities in its healthy lifestyle outreach, whether by cheering on the 
> American athletes at the 2010 Paralympic Games in Vancouver or recognizing 
> the students with disabilities who earned Presidential Active Lifestyle 
> Awards with a special ceremony at the White House. Now, with the 
> accessible nutrition information and appliance instructions on the 
> directionsforme website, blind Americans can more easily pay attention to 
> the food they eat and fully participate in the Let’s Move! call for 
> healthier meals and healthier families.
>
> Green Jobs in the Garden State
> http://www.letsmove.gov/blog/2011/02/17/green-jobs-in-the-garden-state/
>
>
>
> Posted by Kareem Dale, Special Assistant to the President in the White 
> House Office of Public Engagement on February 17, 2011
> February 9th, 2011 marked the 1-year anniversary of the launch of the 
> First Lady’s Let’s Move! initiative to reduce childhood obesity through 
> encouraging healthier eating habits and regular exercise. Throughout the 
> past year we have seen how seemingly-small modifications can add up to 
> make a big difference in our everyday lives, as well as the lives of those 
> around us. Every day, Americans are donning the hat of community organizer 
> and doing their part to promote positive change in their communities, be 
> it through education, entrepreneurship/job creation, health awareness, or 
> vocational rehabilitation efforts.
>
>
> One organization in particular is taking on all of the above. The Arthur 
> and Friends Greenhouse Project of New Jersey is helping pave the way for 
> social innovation and entrepreneurship in the disability community.
>
> Through collaborative partnerships with several local organizations, the 
> Kessler Foundation, and the use of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act 
> Stimulus Funds, Arthur and Friends’ Greenhouses meld innovation with 
> community integration by training and employing individuals with 
> disabilities and veterans to grow and sell fresh produce in an integrated 
> employment setting. The Arthur and Friends mission is to develop 
> integrated employment opportunities in Agribusiness “including 
> self-employment and entrepreneurship.” And that is precisely what they 
> have been doing since the initial development of their replicable business 
> model in 2008.
>
> Through a series of training programs, the employees learn about 
> specialized agri-business, retail sales, and online business development. 
> The integrated work environment allows the employees with disabilities to 
> become economically self-sufficient and “occupationally marketable” should 
> they ever decide to seek employment with another business organization or 
> start their own. In addition to the myriad of occupational skills gained 
> in the training programs, Arthur and Friends offers its associates with 
> disabilities an opportunity to gain fuller access and participation in 
> their communities in a sustainable way.
>
> All of the produce grown in the greenhouses is sold to local restaurants, 
> schools, and the surrounding communities, affording them greater access to 
> nutritious food choices that may not otherwise be available to them. In 
> doing so, Arthur and Friends are doing their part to reduce the number of 
> “food deserts” in their communities! (Food deserts are areas in 
> industrialized countries with limited access to fresh, healthy food.) Let’s 
> Move!, in partnership with the USDA, has affirmed a strong commitment to 
> reducing the number of food deserts in America in an effort to curb 
> childhood obesity and make healthy food choices more accessible to all 
> Americans. The Greenhouse Project is answering that call to action and has 
> been making great strides to impact their community for the better. The 
> Arthur and Friends Greenhouse Project is a shining example of innovative 
> sustainability being a viable and cost-efficient option for food 
> production locally.
>
> The inspiration derived from their innovative union of entrepreneurship, 
> community integration, and hope stretch far past the boundaries of state 
> lines. Arthur and Friends’ grassroots community building efforts serve to 
> reinforce the Obama Administration’s emphasis on positive change starting 
> at the local level. The Greenhouse Project is winning the future—and the 
> hearts and minds (and well-being) of Americans everywhere along the way.
>
>
>
>
>
>
> The White House · 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW · Washington DC 20500 · 
> 202-456-1111
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