Published: October 10, 2008 12:00 am      

Local, better eating urged

Mixing up meals, planning menus and finding local food sources have been turned into ``Eat Well, Eat Local and Eat Together.''

Healthy Start Partnership recently launched the campaign, called Eat3 for short, in six upstate counties. The goal is to help families choose, prepare and enjoy healthy meals using locally grown produce, presenters said.

Bassett Healthcare is promoting the program in Otsego County, and Cornell Cooperative Extension of Delaware County is encouraging participation in that county.

"We're enthusiastic about promoting a healthy lifestyle within the communities we serve," said Ida Baker, Bassett research assistant, community public health, said in a media release. "The partnership supports the Eat3 program in our clinics and the other agencies we work with."

Information about the "Eat Well, Eat Local and Eat Together" is available at www.eat3.org. The site offers recipes, tips, games and links to related websites. Eat3 also will be promoted by local food retailers and media and highlight a ``meal of the week,'' presenters said.

Jeanne Darling, executive director of CCE in Delaware, said demonstrations will be held in some participating grocery stores, including the Great American in Sidney. Recipes and meals are being promoted this month, and the intent is to highlight meals for a month in each calendar quarter, focusing on seasonal foods, she said.

Jennifer Casey, of Sidney, said she has been looking for recipes that help her prepare meals including the different food groups. The Eat3 program and website are providing good recipes, she said.

``They're healthy and well-balanced,'' she said.

When family members eat a home-prepared meal together, they generally eat better, according to Dr. Christine Olson, a professor in the Division of Nutritional Sciences at Cornell University who leads Healthy Start Partnership. Better eating means consuming more fruits and vegetables, more dairy foods and whole grains and fewer soft drinks.

Other ``Tips for Eating Together'' from the website:

Make eating together a priority.

Aim for eating three or more meals a week together.

Make meals quick, easy and nutritious.

Shop for food and prepare meals together as a family.

Make your meal quickly but eat it slowly.

Turn off the television during mealtime.

Take phone calls later.

Work toward happy, relaxing conversations at meals.

Respect each individual's right to decide how much to eat.

``Eat3 is a vitally important initiative and will benefit our patients for generations," said Dwynn Golden, certified nurse midwife at Bassett Healthcare and Healthy Start Partnership member. "As a midwife, providing holistic care to my patients is my goal. I believe that by teaching women and families to enjoy healthy, wholesome meals, and to do it inexpensively with local products, we are giving them a resource they can use throughout their lives.''

Eat3 is an initiative of the Healthy Start Partnership, a multi-county coalition working to promote healthy weights in childbearing women and their infants in Chenango, Delaware, Herkimer, Madison, Otsego and Schoharie counties. The campaign is part of a five-year federally funded project, officials said.

"While our partnership is specifically designed to promote healthy weights in childbearing women and their infants, the Eat3 campaign is for people of all ages and genders,'' Olson said. ``We want everyone to participate."