National Study Recommends Georgia Children Need to Eat More Fruits and Vegetables

SAVANNAH, Ga. - Feb. 24, 2023 - PRLog -- (SAVANNAH, GA) Young children need fruits and vegetables daily to support healthy growth and brain development but a new study has found 1 in 2 Georgia children don't eat a vegetable daily and 1 in 3 don't eat a fruit daily.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released the results of a 2021 study, "Fruit, Vegetable, and Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Intake Among Young Children, by State." [https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/72/wr/mm7207a1.htm?s_cid=mm7207a1_w] The data indicates the importance of and need for interventions at both the national and state levels that improve young children's nutrition to support their optimal growth and brain development.

The CDC study cites the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans which recommends that children eat fruits and vegetables each day, and limit sugar sweetened beverages. However, it also found that many young children between ages 1 and 5 years are not eating fruits and vegetables each day and are regularly drinking sugary beverages.

The five-year, $3.4 million REACH grant is administered by Healthy Savannah and the YMCA of Coastal Georgia. The grant was awarded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2018 with funding deployed in an "upstream" approach by the Savannah/Chatham County project team to foster sustainable health equity among Black residents in low-wealth neighborhoods.

Healthy Savannah has also conducted community surveys since 2014, asking residents in priority neighborhoods about their access to healthy food options among other lifestyle topics.

Respondents in 2020 said they wanted more fresh produce at neighborhood stores. In the 2022 survey, participants indicated a general increase in healthy food purchases and the use of SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits.

The 2022 survey also showed that Forsyth Farmers' Market (FFM) continues to be a leading resource of fresh food in Savannah /Chatham County. A majority of respondents (66%) had heard about or used the market and (53%) currently purchase healthy foods at FFM, up 20% from 2019. A quarter (26%) had purchased food from FFM's Farm Truck 912 and three quarters (75%) desired to do so.

An initiative of the YMCA of Coastal Georgia, in partnership with Second Harvest of Coastal Georgia, the Fresh Express program was launched in 2016 to serve neighborhoods with low access to fresh food.

12 local stores are also now participating in the Corner Store Initiative which launched in 2019 to make healthy food choices the easy choice in small retail stores that are often the only source of food in some of Savannah's low-wealth neighborhoods.