Welcome to a most exciting year! It is with great pleasure that I serve as your chair in the Food and Nutrition Section (FNS) this year. I would like to update you on FNS activities. First of all, I want to send out a big “thank you” for all of your hard working in making the Annual Meeting a success. Many thanks to all the presenters and most importantly to the Program Committee. I would also like to congratulate our Section award winners, Genevieve Dunton, Betsy Haughton, Alice Lichtenstein, Jennifer Monti, and Teresa Anchondo. Thank you to the Awards Committee for a job well done.
We are planning the sessions for the Annual Meeting to be held Oct. 29 – Nove. 2, 2011 in Washington, D.C. This year’s theme is Healthy Communities Promote Healthy Minds & Bodies. We are also planning some exciting sessions that can be presented in the Film and Technology Theatre. The Program Committee is working hard to bring some new and exciting sessions this year. We have also received interest in co-sponsoring sessions from the Physical Activity SPIG; the Mental Health, Epidemiology, and Environment Sections; and the Breastfeeding Forum. FNS always needs reviewers for abstracts submitted to the Section for presentation at the Annual Meeting, so please contact Program Chair Ann Middleton if you would like to serve as a reviewer.
We are continuing work with the Fundraising Committee, led by Alyssa Ghirardelli. We hope to continue to explore APHA donation policies and hopefully bring in some much needed funding to our Section. If you are a member and would like to donate, please go to APHA’s website and click “donate.”
Our Communications Committee, led by Patti Risica, is doing a great job managing various communication mechanisms including the website, eCommunities, and sending out blast e-mails. Along with the Membership Committee, led by WenYen Juan, they have just started using Yahoo Groups this year. This is a great tool that is being used by our Section to get more information out to our membership and house important documents. If you haven’t already signed up, go to www.yahoogroups.com and type in aphafns.
In addition to our monthly conference calls, we will have our mid-year meeting at APHA in Washington, D.C., on April 29. This meeting provides an opportunity to meet with APHA staff and discuss FNS activities. In the past our Section has written policy statements on important food and nutrition topics. Please consider writing a policy statement in your area of expertise if you think APHA is the appropriate organization to sponsor.
Sarah Forrestal and Rachel Fisher are this year’s FNS newsletter co-editors, along with several guest editors contributing to each edition. The team has some exciting topics planned for this upcoming year. With the assistance of Melinda Boyd and Katharine Ryan, this issue explores eating behaviors, contextual cues, and mindfulness in three articles. Future editions will feature nutrition and social media, school wellness, and the work environment, so stay tuned.
In closing, I would like you all to get involved in FNS; this is your Section! With more of us working, each one of us is working less!
Thank you all for your hard work and commitment in making our section great!
Deirdra Chester, FNS Chair