Oral

The purpose of the session is to provide an opportunity for the audience to learn about the importance of incorporating sustainable food systems in to the U.S. food supply, to understand the issues and barriers around food security in rural areas and to learn about the emergency food system. In addition, the audience will understand the barriers associated with changes in school food systems and possible mechanism to overcome them. All of these issues are highly relevant at this time for all nutrition-related professionals in public health.

Session Objectives: • Articulate the importance of an environmental approach to preventing nutrition and activity-related chronic illness. • Identify specific sustainable food system strategies that can be utilized to improve human health. • Recognize the importance of collaborative networks in building efficient food systems. • Articulate barriers to food security in rural areas. • Discuss the current status of integration of fresh food into the emergency food system in one Philadelphia suburb and describe approaches to integrating fresh, healthy food into the emergency food system. • Identify the steps necessary for one school system to incorporate local produce into their menu, identify the barriers and enablers of change in food service.

CE Credits: CME, Health Education (CHES), Nursing