Every five years the Child Nutrition Forum (diverse group of organizations) along with the Food Research and Action Center come together during child nutrition reauthorization to help create legislation that promotes access to healthy food for all children. The producers of the movie Food, Inc. and their supporters have put together a petition for the public to sign that would express public interest in healthy food choices in schools.     The following is a quote from the...

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    On Tuesday night the Catalyst gang and some Youth Board members went and checked out the new film "Fresh". Not only was it really fun times, but I learned a lot about food, sustainability and what people can do with what nature provides them. The movie really makes you think twice about what you're eating, what's in it and where it comes from. I just thought I'd share my thoughts about the movie with...

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Here's one way to make use of all the stickers on your fruit and vegetables! Artist: Bernie Snyder Check out the rest of his work here  

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I thought this advertisement was funny, so I thought I'd share it with the Catalyst folks. It's for a charity organization in South Africa. The copy reads: "In his previous life, Duncan worked for a tobacco company. Take a deep breath, Duncan. Do something good in this life." Enjoy!  

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2009 theme: TOBACCO HEALTH WARNINGS Tobacco is the leading preventable cause of death. More than five million people die from the effects of tobacco every year — more than from HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined. It is the only legal consumer product that kills when used exactly as the manufacturer intends. Up to half of all smokers will die from a tobacco-related disease. Second-hand smoke harms everyone who is exposed to it. Tobacco companies spend tens...

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Our focus this summer is on eating healthy, natural foods and being active in the community to spread this idea. We're also looking to help make positive changes surrounding access to fresh foods in neighborhoods and schools, as well as learning more about related topics. We found some fun volunteer opportunities in Minneapolis and surrounding suburbs that are available this summer that involve food, gardening and the community. If you're interested in getting more involved...

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Check out this video of Julia Havey, an author and obesity activist in an interview with an anchor at Diet.com. She shows a pretty gross example of the comparison between how real, natural food begins to mold and break down over time, and how McDonald's food transforms over the same amount of time. We all know McDonald's isn't good for you, but now we can see yet another reason to stay away from this type of...

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   Happy Springtime, friends! Although our spring weather hasn't been the nicest so far, summer is still on it's way and it's going to be filled with tons of opportunities to get involved with Catalyst! To celebrate we decided to get everyone together for a awesomely delicious cookout! That means good food, good company and good time to plan for the warmer months ahead.  We'll be talking about menu labeling efforts that are going on...

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 If you were at the Catalyst Mini-Summit, you probably remember seeing the slide show about how to gain support and talk to your school administration about the healthy changes you'd like to see made in your cafeteria (click here for the School Food Policy powerpoint). Changing what food your school serves you is one thing, but real healthy eating habits start at home. Just because you're aware of your health and want to make positive...

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"Every fifth child is overweight." The quote above was the basis for a guerilla marketing promotion aimed at child obesity.    A Swiss foundation, Santé Suisse was given the role of initiating, coordinating and evaluating policies to promote public health. In an attempt to raise awareness of the growing epidemic of childhood obesity and the dangers associated with it, they used guerilla marketing to draw attention the issues in very unique and eye-catching ways.  The...

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