Tennesseans Not Eating Enough Fruit & Veg

CHATTANOOGA,TN, (WDEF)-New CDC Research shows 3 out of every 4 Americans are not eating enough fruit and vegetables.

James Tumblin,Metropolitan Ministries Volunteer,"Make sure you eat vegetables, vegetables good for your health, your legs, good for your whole body."

Tumblin along with Metropolitan Ministries director Rebecca Whelchel, are trying to reverse an alarming trend in the Volunteer State.

Tennessee now ranks in the bottom five states for both both fruit and veggie consumption.
 
Rebecca Whelchel, Metropolitan Ministries Director,"We can distribute food to folks in our neighborhood who maybe don’t have that access but we are here, we are here, we have great partners like the food bank and the montessori school and our own bootleg gardens".

Whelchel is teaching low income families in Chattanooga how to grow their own gardens to combat more and more food deserts.

Nutrition Therapist Pamela Kelle believes Tennessee needs to wake up and start choosing smarter snack options before its too late.
 
"If you think about it, the fish eat seaweed and sea grass, animals eat grass in the prairie and the field, we need to eat our greens too, we have got to have them, actually whether you like them or not you have got to eat your vegetables".

Over at the Beth Center volunteers are working to make sure kids off school for the summer are not relying on junk food.

"Just as of late one of the stores right here in Alton Park area adjacent to the Beth Center has now started to offer fresh vegetables to this community ".

Experts believe the wide availability of potato chips and quick ready snacks are playing a role in keeping kids away from fruit and vegetables.

For More Information:

http://metropolitanministries.org/
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6426a1.htm
http://www.thebeth.org/www
http://www.yourownfoodcoach.com/