They weren’t inclined to shy away from a challenge, so USDA staffers across the nation recently pondered--and then put into action--creative ways to get Americans to eat more fruits and vegetables.

Their efforts were in support of an initiative titled “5-A-Day for Better Health,” or “5-A-Day” for short, which is a national program to encourage American adults--and kids--to eat five servings of fruits and vegetables every day for better health. The program is jointly sponsored by the National Cancer Institute and the Produce for Better Health Foundation, a nonprofit consumer education foundation representing the fruit and vegetable industry. USDA is part of a new federal 5-A-Day Partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that was launched last spring by Secretary Ann M. Veneman and HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson.

In the last 20 years the percentage of overweight children ages 6 to 11 has nearly doubled and the number of overweight teens has nearly tripled. In addition, an estimated 60 percent of adults are considered overweight.

Accordingly, what made the recent efforts of USDA staffers unique was that they relied on USDA’s 5-A-Day Partnership to accelerate their activities--in creative ways--to entice Americans to make healthy food choices and get plenty of exercise.

For instance, as part of National 5-A-Day Week in mid-September, Food and Nutrition Service staff at the agency’s Western Regional Office in San Francisco took an unprecedented step. “For the first time,” explained Marisa Cheung, an FNS Food Stamp Program regional nutritionist, “we brought the 5-A-Day message directly to a large representation of our nutrition program participants through food demonstrations taught by professional chefs.” The demos were held at a school, a WIC Clinic, and a Food Stamp Office in the San Francisco Bay Area and reached more than 150 program participants--both kids and adults.

Cheung, who was the originator of the community events, tied nutrition lessons into the fruit and veggie-laden food demos. “We need to get the word out that meeting 5-A-Day is simple, and that a serving can come from fresh, canned, frozen, or even dried fruits and vegetables,” she said.

“It’s the original fast food.”

Registered dietitians in Massachusetts participated around the state in a series of cooking classes using fruits and vegetables. Those classes, sponsored by the state of Massachusetts, originally were planned to be held only in Boston. But because of efforts by staffers with FNS’s Northeast Regional Office in Boston, those cooking classes were expanded beyond the 5-A-Day classes in the Boston area.

Candice Stoiber, an FNS Supplemental Food Program regional nutritionist for that office, summed up the goals of the 5-A-Day coalition in Massachusetts. “Partnerships are key to making quality fruits and vegetables accessible and affordable to families and their children,” she said. “As we did with those cooking classes, we’re looking for additional ways to work together to bring the 5-A-Day message to the community level around the state.”

Mark Durma, a food program specialist with FNS’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Office in Robbinsville, N.J., pointed out that the 5-A-Day program has its own mascot: “Produce Man.” So, during the recent commemoration of National School Lunch Week in mid-October, Durma and Produce Man teamed up to teach elementary school children about the Food Guide Pyramid and the importance of loading up on fruits and vegetables every day.

Durma later observed that community events like this, to promote 5-A-Day, may just be the key to changing behavior. “But, although there has been progress,” he advised, “studies show that most Americans--both children and adults--are falling short of the recommended five daily servings of fruits and vegetables.”

During still another event to promote 5-A-Day during National School Lunch Week, several USDA mission areas joined forces--and brought along some mascots--to create an event for children, at an elementary school in Denver, that specifically focused on nutrition and food safety.

The mascots included FNS’s “Power Panther,” a purple panther wearing a T-shirt who encourages youngsters to make health food choices and be physically active, with the message “Eat Smart, Play Hard;” the Food Safety and Inspection Service’s “Thermy,” who encourages consumers to use food thermometers to ensure that foods are cooked to safe internal temperatures, with the message “It’s Safe to Bite When the Temperature Is Right;” and FSIS’s “Fight BAC,” an ugly green bacteria, whose purpose is to educate the public about safe food handling and preparation to reduce the incidence of foodborne illness, with the message “Fight BAC! Keep Food Safe from Bacteria.”

Stella Nash, the regional nutrition director for FNS’s Mountain Plains Regional Office in Denver, explained that, “We really want to encourage children to eat nutritious foods and to exercise more. And besides giving them nutrition information so they can make informed choices, the children also need to keep their meals safe by cooking to the proper temperature and washing their hands.”

While 5-A-Day activities were being celebrated across the country, the Department announced on September 26 that $6 million in grants would be awarded to a total of 100 schools to improve fruit and vegetable consumption among school children. A mix of rural and urban schools in Indiana, Iowa, Ohio, and Michigan, plus six schools in the Zuni Pueblo in New Mexico, were selected as grant winners.

The project relies on a variety of methods such as free standing kiosks, snacks of fresh and dried fruits and fresh vegetables both in the classroom and in after-school care programs, and a “grab and go” option for children before or after school.

Three of the selected sites come under the jurisdiction of FNS’s Midwest Regional Office in Chicago. Mavia Fletcher, the agency’s regional nutritionist in that office, is providing technical assistance to the states.

“This project,” she affirmed, “like other 5-A-Day initiatives, has the potential to change the mindset and habits of school children, plus their parents as well, and improve the students’ dietary habits after the school day ends--above and beyond the healthy choices that are available at the schools.”

“We want these lifelong efforts to continue to grow--and we’re seeing that happen already. We’ll continue to work to that end.”