FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 2, 2010
CONTACT: Wendy Holloway, Flavor of Italy LLC, Via Stazzo Quadro, 15/B, Rome 00060 (Riano) Italy, Tel. (39) 329.615.5164 or U.S. 415.902.8549, Fax (39) 06.233.229.617
info@flavorofitaly.com, www.flavorofitaly.com, skype: flavorofitaly
Roman Resident Represents Europe in Michelle Obama’s ‘Chefs Move to Schools’ initiative
Entrepreneur Wendy Holloway, owner of Flavor of Italy, a culinary tourism company catering to foreigners and residents alike, has been selected as the only foreigner to participate in the Chefs Move to Schools initiative hosted by Michelle Obama at the White House on June 4th. The initiative is just one more tool in the Obama arsenal to combat the growing epidemic of childhood obesity in America.
Michelle Obama launched the ‘Let’s Move’ campaign to fight obesity in 2009. Since then, she’s planted a fruit and vegetable garden on the white house lawn visible to passersby, set up a task force to work with schools, and now, invited Chefs to the White House to draw even more attention on healthy eating at school, where students take 50% of their meals. Michelle Obama believes that children who learn to eat healthy meals and choose locally, can influence their families who in turn can influence entire communities throughout the country and, with Holloway’s presence, even farther afield.
Wendy Holloway, upon hearing of this initiative, was absolutely passionate about participating in the program. Flavor of Italy has long offered students and families cooking classes and enogastronomical tours; she is committed to use only the finest locally grown and seasonal foods found in and around Rome’s Lazio region. Wendy impressed the selection committee with the fact that there are many Americans living around Rome, whose children attend American schools and Universities there.
Not only are there are over 160 American universities present in Italy, but with NATO bases in Italy’s Avellino, Vicenza and Pordenone towns, thousands of children in the Bel Paese may also be at risk. After June 4th, each chef will adopt a school and commit to working with schools, parents, teachers, students and food service providers to help combat obesity and improve childhood nutrition in their area.
“Everyone knows that the Mediterranean diet is all about healthy eating,” states Holloway, “But with changing lifestyles even in Italy, fast food, junk food and even imported green house food is changing the health of Italians today. The press is now focused on childhood obesity issues even in a country like Italy, and I want to be at the forefront of finding a solution.” In fact, Holloway believes we should go back to our roots – literally and figuratively speaking. She is currently working on a cookbook for healthy Mediterranean cooking for children, and is researching the foods and traditions of Italy, long before processed baby foods and chicken nuggets came into the fore.
About Wendy Holloway & Flavor of Italy
For over 10 years, Flavor of Italy, a culinary tourism company based in Rome, Italy offers a wide variety of culinary tourism programs (accommodation, culinary team building, food & wine tours and cooking programs) http://www.flavorofitaly.com
Wendy Holloway is also Vice Chairperson of the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) Culinary Tourism section whose focus this year is on “responsible, sustainable and locally sourced culinary programs for our clients worldwide.” http://www.iacp.com/
About Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” Initiative & Chefs Move to Schools
The Let’s Move! campaign aims to solve the childhood obesity epidemic within a generation.
With more than 31 million children participating in the National School Lunch Program and more than 11 million participating in the National School Breakfast Program, good nutrition at school is more important than ever.###
The “Chefs Move to Schools” program, run through the U.S. Department of Agriculture, will pair chefs with interested schools in their communities so together they can create healthy meals that meet the schools’ dietary guidelines and budgets, while teaching young people about nutrition and making balanced and healthy choices. By creating healthy dishes that taste good, chefs have a unique ability to deliver these messages in a fun and appealing way to the
larger audience, particularly children.
“School cafeterias are the frontline for fostering a healthy lifestyle for children,” said Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. “This initiative is a creative and vital opportunity for children to learn and practice healthy habits. When partnerships between schools and the broader community are created, everyone wins.”
As First Lady Michelle Obama remarked, “We are going to need everyone’s time and talent to solve the childhood obesity epidemic and our Nation’s chefs have tremendous power as leaders on this issue because of their deep knowledge of food and nutrition and their standing in the community. I want to thank them for joining the Let’s Move! campaign.” http://www.letsmove.gov/
Wendy Holloway is available for phone interview. Please contact by phone or email
to set up a time that is convenient.
Please visit Flavor of Italy’s website at www.flavorofitaly.com for more information on the company’s full range of activities.
A press kit in pdf format is available upon request. ###
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Congratulations! A big honor and a great program. Let's hope the schools get the message. Jamie Oliver and some others got this started and it is time to take it to the next level.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations Wendy - hopefully it will have some impact.
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