Food Bank, President's Council, and Area Chefs Help Local Families Cook their Way to Better Health

WASHINGTON, DC--(Marketwired - March 16, 2017) - The Capital Area Food Bank (CAFB) is hosting the President's Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition's (PCFSN) #0to60 Family Food Fest, bringing together DC-area families to learn healthy cooking techniques from local professional chefs. Shannon Feaster, Deputy Executive Director of the President's Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition, will kick off the event in celebration of National Nutrition Month and PCFSN's 60^th anniversary. The Surgeon General of the United States Vice Admiral Vivek Murthy, will also be a special guest at the event and will assist the families with prepping healthy meals.

Family Food Fest families, some of whom participate in the CAFB's free monthly school-based market program known as Family Markets, will chop, slice and peel under the direction of Chef Ryan Ratino of Ripple; Chef Morou Outtara of Kora; Chef Jerome Grant of Sweet Home Café at the National Museum of African American History & Culture; Chef Daniel Thomas; and the food bank's own in-house nutritionist Jodi Balis. And to the sounds of 15 year old DJ Beauty and the Beatz, they'll learn new, inexpensive, and healthy ways to prepare the foods they often receive from the monthly markets.

"Cooking isn't just a skill -- it's a powerful tool for keeping families healthy," said Nancy E. Roman, President and CEO of the Capital Area Food Bank. "Providing the building blocks for wellness by creating access to good food and information about how to use it is something we couldn't be more committed to."

Today, PCFSN is also announcing updates to their Presidential Active Lifestyle Award (PALA+) program that promotes physical activity and good nutrition, and recognizes Americans for establishing healthy habits with a free award. As part of a partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion (CNPP), PALA+ is incorporated into USDA's free online food and activity tracking tool, SuperTracker. For the first time, program participants will have the ability to log individual food items and physical activities on their SuperTracker profile to achieve the program's goals. Participation in PALA+ is one way for individuals ages 6 and up to move towards the recommendations in the latest Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans and Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Learn more about the PALA+ program at www.fitness.gov.

About the Capital Area Food Bank: The Capital Area Food Bank is the largest organization in the Washington metro area working to solve hunger and its companion problems: chronic undernutrition, heart disease and obesity. By partnering with nearly 450 community organizations in DC, Maryland and Virginia, as well as delivering food directly into hard to reach areas, the CAFB is helping 540,000 people each year get access to good, healthy food. That's 12 percent of our region's mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, sisters, brothers, and grandparents. To learn more, visit: capitalareafoodbank.org, or find the Capital Area Food Bank on Facebook at facebook.com/CapitalAreaFoodBank, and Twitter at @foodbankmetrodc.

About the President's Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition: The President's Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition educates, engages and empowers all Americans to adopt a healthy lifestyle that includes regular physical activity and healthy eating. The President's Council is a committee of volunteer citizens appointed by the President who serve in an advisory capacity through the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Through cross sector partnerships, the President's Council promotes healthy lifestyles through evidence based programs and initiatives for Americans of all ages, backgrounds and abilities. For more information about the President's Council, visit: www.fitness.gov.