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

Mon Feb 21 04:42:22 UTC 2011

Not a problem.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Sherri Brun" <flmom2006 at gmail.com>
To: "NFB of Florida Internet Mailing List" <nfbf-l at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Sunday, February 20, 2011 5:00 PM
Subject: Re: [Nfbf-l] Fw: Let's Move! Blog Featuring Innovative 
WebsitesandPrograms


> 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
>> _______________________________________________
>> Nfbf-l mailing list
>> Nfbf-l at nfbnet.org
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbf-l_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
>> Nfbf-l:
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbf-l_nfbnet.org/flmom2006%40gmail.com
>>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Nfbf-l mailing list
> Nfbf-l at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbf-l_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
> Nfbf-l:
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbf-l_nfbnet.org/carlos.montas%40gmail.com
>