Thursday, October 15, 2026

October 16, World Food Day 2026, Innovate today. Nourish tomorrow.

 World Food Day

Either we build a future for all, or
there will be no acceptable future for anyone.




The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) established World Food Day in November 1979. FAO celebrates World Food Day each year on October 16th, the day on which the Organization was founded in 1945.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations announces the official World Food Day theme. The goal is to focus on World Food Day observances and raise awareness and understanding of approaches to ending hunger. 

World Food Day
Innovate today. Nourish tomorrow.



Food is the essence of life and the bedrock of our cultures and communities. Preserving access to safe and nutritious food is and will continue to be an essential part of the response to, particularly for, poor and vulnerable communities.

In a moment like this, it is more important than ever to recognize the need to support our food heroes - farmers and workers throughout the food system - who ensure that food makes its way from farm to fork, even amid disruptions.

Achieving food security for all is at the heart of FAO's efforts—making sure people have regular access to enough high-quality food to lead active, healthy lives. 

The three main goals are the eradication of hunger, food insecurity, and malnutrition; the elimination of poverty and the driving forward of economic and social progress for all; and, the sustainable management and utilization of natural resources, including land, water, air, climate and genetic resources for the benefit of present and future generations.


The objectives of World Food Day are to:
    Don’t waste water.
    Diversify your diet.
    Keep fish populations afloat.
    Keep soils and water clean.
    Buy organic
    Energy-efficient is best
    Use solar panels or other green energy systems
    Buy only what you need
    Pick ugly fruits and vegetables
    Don’t let labels fool you
    Limit your plastic
    Recycle paper, plastic, glass, and aluminum
    Store food wisely
    Love your leftovers
    Make plant food
    Be rubbish-savvy
    Make cities greener
    Shop local.
    Protect forests and save paper.
    Bike, walk, or use public transport
    Be a conscientious consumer
    Keep up to date on climate change
    Be an advocate!

*Encourage attention to agricultural food production and to stimulate national, bilateral, multilateral, and non-governmental efforts to this end;

*Encourage economic and technical cooperation among developing countries;

*Encourage the participation of rural people, particularly women and the least privileged categories, in decisions and activities influencing their living conditions;

*Heighten public awareness of the problem of hunger in the world;

*Promote the transfer of technologies to the developing world; and

*Strengthen international and national solidarity in the struggle against hunger, malnutrition, and poverty and draw attention to achievements in food and agricultural development.


To learn more about World Food Day, visit the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).





Wednesday, October 14, 2026

October 15, Global Handwashing Day



Global Handwashing Day will involve millions of people in over 100 countries worldwide. Global Handwashing Day (GHD) was created to:
• Foster and support a global culture of handwashing with soap.
• Shine a spotlight on the state of handwashing in every country.
• Raise awareness about the benefits of handwashing with soap.





Why Handwashing with Soap?

Handwashing with soap is the most effective and inexpensive way to prevent diarrheal and acute respiratory infections, which take the lives of millions of children in developing countries every year. Together, they are responsible for the majority of all child deaths. Yet, despite its lifesaving potential, handwashing with soap is seldom practiced and difficult to promote.

Turning handwashing with soap before eating and after using the toilet into a habit could save more lives than any single vaccine or medical intervention. It could cut diarrhea deaths by almost half and acute respiratory infection deaths by one-quarter. A vast change in handwashing behavior is critical to meeting the Millennium Development Goal of reducing deaths among children under the age of five by two-thirds by 2015.

Global Handwashing Day focuses on children because they suffer the most from diarrheal and respiratory diseases and deaths. Still, research shows that children can be powerful agents for changing behaviors like handwashing with soap in their communities.


When should you wash your hands?

·         Before, during, and after preparing food
·         Before eating food
·         Before and after caring for someone who is sick
·         Before and after treating a cut or wound
·         After using the toilet
·         After changing diapers or cleaning up a child who has used the toilet
·         After blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing
·         After touching an animal or animal waste
·         After touching garbage
 
For more information on handwashing with soap, including research, tools, and news, visit www.globalhandwashing.org.


It’s In Your Hands




Resources and References
1. CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Handwashing: Clean Hands Save Lives
1. Partnership for Food Safety Education, Fight BAC!
2. The Scrub Club is a fun, interactive, and educational website that teaches children the proper way to wash their hands. The site contains interactive games, educational music, downloadable activities for kids, educational materials for teachers, and program information for parents.
3. Healthy Schools, Healthy People, It’s a SNAP! (School Network for Absenteeism Prevention) The program is a joint initiative of the CDC and the American Cleaning Institute. It seeks to improve hand hygiene habits to help prevent the spread of infectious diseases and reduce related absenteeism. This grassroots, education-based effort can improve health by making handwashing an integral part of the school day. Without proper hand cleaning, a single infection can quickly spread among students, teachers, family, and friends.
4. World Hand Hygiene Day, WHO



Healthy Halloween Treats





There are healthy Halloween snacks to choose from at the market. Read the label—make sure fruit snacks are made with 100 percent real fruit; choose treats without trans fats; and look for items with whole grains. 

The following items are available in snack-size packages:
1. Whole-grain cheddar-flavored crackers
2. Fruit snacks made with 100% fruit with added vitamin C
3. Fruit leathers made with 100 percent fruit
4. Animal-shaped graham crackers made without trans fat
5. Raisins
6. Individual fruit cups
7. Low-fat pudding cups
8. Baked, unsalted pretzels
9. Popcorn

Make Your Own Halloween Treats
Resources
1. EatRight, Enjoy a Healthy and Happy Halloween
2. EatRight, 7 Ways to Make Halloween Safer for Kids with Food Allergies, Rima Kleiner, MS, RD, LDN
3. 
Terrifying Scary Movies to Watch for Halloween




National Dessert Day - Healthy Choices

Dessert is a confectionery or sweet course that concludes the main meal. The course usually consists of sweet foods, fruit, and possibly a beverage such as a dessert, wine or liqueur, but may include coffee, cheeses, nuts, or other savory items. In some parts of the world, such as much of central and western Africa and most parts of China, there is no tradition of a dessert course to conclude a meal.

The term "dessert" can apply to many items, including cakes, tarts, cookies, biscuits, gelatins, pastries, ice creams, parfaits, pies, puddings, custards, and sweet soups. Fruit is also commonly found in dessert courses because of its naturally occurring sweetness. 

Pink Desserts 
Breast Cancer Awareness Month 




Recipes Below are Parfait Desserts
Pumpkin Pie Parfait with Cranberry-Walnut Relish


Strawberry Parfait with Granola


Mango Parfait

Strawberry Shortcake Parfait

Red, White, and Blue Parfait


Resources
1. Dessert, Wikipedia
2.  Healthy Dessert Recipes, EatingWell
3. Healthy Baking Alternatives, Jessica Cox, RD, Eatright
4. 
9 Vegetables You Can Eat as Dessert, EatingWell

Sunday, October 11, 2026

Columbus Day and a Look at Scurvy

On the evening of August 3, 1492, Columbus departed from Palos de la Frontera, Spain, with three ships: the Niña, Pinta, and Santa María. The land was sighted on October 12, 1492. Columbus called the island San Salvador (today, it is known as the Bahamas).


Scurvy was a major health problem onboard Christopher Columbus's ships. Fresh fruits and vegetables were not taken on these long voyages due to spoilage. This resulted in a high incidence of scurvy among the sailors. The relationship between scurvy and Vitamin C has not been discovered yet.




The typical foods brought on these long journeys consisted of water, vinegar, wine, olive oil, molasses, honey, cheese, rice, almonds, salted flour, sea biscuits, dry legumes, salted and barreled sardines, anchovies, dry salt cod and pickled or salted meats (beef and pork). Fresh livestock, including pigs and chickens, were part of the ship's provisions. Fish was readily available.

Foods were commonly salted and pickled as a method of preserving food. The crew was served two meals a day. Foods were mostly boiled and served in a large wooden bowl. The sailors ate with their fingers because they had no forks or spoons. There was a lack of proper sanitation. Hand washing before meals was not required.

There is a legend that during one of Christopher Columbus's voyages, some sailors had scurvy and wanted to be dropped off at one of the nearby islands and die there rather than dying on board. While the men were on the island, they ate some of the island's fresh fruits and vegetables and to their amazement, began to recover. When Columbus's ships passed by several months later, the captain saw the men were alive and healthy. The island was named Curacao, meaning Cure.






Foods Rich in Vitamin C
Pirates For Sail talks about
Scurvy Awareness and Prevention
Filmed at Piratz Tavern, Silver Spring, MD 


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