Recently, Elizabeth Makarewicz, the FFI Resource Contact, sat down with Postville food service director Laurie Smith to gain insight on what it's like to feed a school district of 550 students. In her first year as director, Laurie has brought some positive changes to Postville's school lunch and breakfast. With a focus on ordering fresh and local produce as much as possible, Laurie is taking the right steps to ensure the healthy choice is the easy choice for Postville students.

Chair yoga is beneficial for teachers to practice during their long stretches of desk-time and for students, who spend hours sitting in their desks without many opportunities for physical activity breaks.

Melissa Wicklund and her 4th grade students at North Winneshiek Community School have been working hard to integrate fitness and wellness into their classroom on a daily basis. The school received a $1,500 grant from the Northeast Iowa FFI to purchase activity monitors, in part because Ms. Wicklund volunteered to make the program a part of her curriculum.

Iowa has been chosen to be part of a national effort to fight obesity. The state has chosen one section of the state for the focus of the program. "We are working with the six counties that are in the Northeast Iowa Food and Fitness Initiative, and through the virtual team collaborative we will design a project, that we will be working on," Lillehoj says.

Creating a vibrant food system in Iowa requires diverse voices and strong partnerships. The Local Food and Farm Program team invites you to contribute to a lively discussion at the Iowa Local Food Summit on Tuesday, April 3. The legislature created the Local Food and Farm Program in 2011 to implement recommendations outlined in the Iowa Local Food and Farm Plan, which was developed by the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture. Craig Chase, coordinator of the Leopold Center's Marketing and Food Systems Initiative, leads the six-member team.

School Wellness Teams in northeast Iowa are invited to a regional retreat hosted by the Northeast Iowa Food & Fitness Initiative (FFI) at Luther College on March 21. The day will start with a special keynote on Iowa's Healthiest State Initiative given by Rebecca Wampler, Director of Health Care Sustainability at Wellmark Foundation. Breakout sessions will focus on team building, best practices and resources for schools. A family-style lunch featuring local foods will be served at Peace Dining Room in the Dahl Centennial Union. The meal will illustrate how to feed a local, healthy meal to a family for under $10.

Full-time position with Upper Explorerland Regional Planning Commission (UERPC) as Safe Routes to School Liaison for Northeast Iowa. This position runs through July 31, 2013 in collaboration with the Northeast Iowa Food & Fitness Initiative (FFI). The Liaison will work with NE Iowa schools and communities to facilitate activities that promote safe, walkable and bikable communities; and increase the opportunities for physical activity and play across the region.

FoodCorps seeks up to 100 men and women with a passion for serving their country as AmeriCorps service members by building healthy communities in 12 states around the country. Hannah Lewis, Iowa Program Director, is hoping to expand from four to seven positions in Iowa for the next year.

New Hampton Elementary School students are learning about nutrition from FFI Resource Contact Melanie Stewart. First grade students learned the importance of eating a balanced diet and being physically active through an introduction to MyPlate. Students picked activity cards with different food items, named which food group it belonged to, did the corresponding activity, such as hopping on one foot or dancing.