WHAT WE DO
	Our  innovative program provides parents raising babies in poverty with one-on-one parenting support and essential baby items throughout their children's critical first three years of life. Parents visit us every three months, starting at the mother's third trimester of pregnancy and then throughout the baby's first three years of life. This includes helping parents understand their child's developmental stages, offering strategies to recognize and respond to their child's many needs, and providing resources and support to help cope with raising a child in typically stressful circumstances. At every visit parents also receive age-appropriate clothing and  necessities, allowing them to provide fully for their baby in an immediate and meaningful way. Strong Client Commitment—every Room to Grow client signs a Client Agreement Form at their first visit outlining their responsibilities (for example, no more than two late appointments and no more than one missed appointment without notice over the course of the three years). In doing so, they become partners in this process towards supporting their children's needs Client Referral Process—our close and collaborative relations with utahs charities and  families who will most benefit from our program, leading to consistently high retention rates. Warm and Welcoming  so that we can display our baby items in an organized, thoughtful, and visually pleasing manner on  shelves and hanging racks similar to those seen in  children's boutiques. we provide dignified and positive spaces for our families to find needed items for there baby. Concrete Help—at each visit, parents leave with material items that they can immediately use to enrich their children's lives, including clothing, books, toys, bedding, strollers, highchairs, and other baby essentials. Offering these items directly and with careful attention and support enhances their significance and impact on the children's lives. Quality of Baby Essentials—we accept only the best for our clients-the best clothing, toys, books, and equipment, and the best information and support we can provide. For families who are so often asked to accept the cast-offs of others, we encourage them to believe that their families deserve and have a right to the best of what life has to offer. Opportunity for Community Participation—we seek out and encourage donations of new and nearly new baby items from parents in the communities where we operate, and provide a tangible opportunity for parents with plenty to directly help parents with less. Often, parents who have so much for their own children feel the impulse to support other families in need during these earliest years and to recycle to help others. is still in wonderful condition.

Tackling the Toxic Table in a Global Economy: Ten Steps We Can All Take

David Wallinga, M.D.
Director of the Food and Health Program at The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
Last Updated: Thursday, December 04, 2008

 Rising prices and food recalls have exposed the myriad challenges facing our global food system. Dr. David Wallinga of the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy discusses how to use our food dollars to improve our general nutritional health and forge a sustainable agricultural economy. 

Signs of an emerging crisis: melamine in baby formula and candies; a rise in obesity and diet-related diseases; air and water pollution from factory farms; and the record-sized “Dead Zone” in the Gulf of Mexico, caused in large part by natural gas-derived corn fertilizers flowing from the Mississippi. And we are likely heading for more changes because our industrialized food system relies on costly and polluting fossil fuels, used intensively in the form of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers as well as for transporting food around the world.

Public confidence in our food system has also been shaken by the growing awareness that today, most healthy U.S. livestock and poultry receive human antibiotics or heavy metals in their feed. As a result, supermarket meat is often contaminated with bacteria resistant to multiple antibiotics or with arsenic residues. Consolidation of food production, processing and distribution in the hands of a few large entities exacerbates a number of food safety risks. And we have experienced a string of recalls due to contamination with melamine, heavy metals like mercury, or disease-causing bacteria like E. coli O157:H7 or Salmonella.

We have surveyed the food landscape and zeroed in on ten steps we can all take to steer our global food system in a more favorable direction.

1. Buy pesticide-free produce.

Produce from conventional, industrialized agriculture systems–where use of synthetic pesticides is routine–tend to have more pesticides compared to produce raised organically or under other, more sustainable systems. Data from the USDA’s Pesticide Data Program (PDP) show 90 percent or more of conventionally produced apples, peaches, pears and strawberries have pesticide residues; 2004 PDP data found at least 4 pesticides in 11 percent of fruits and vegetables tested. Pesticides are designed to be toxic to biological endpoints that are typically shared by humans and pests alike.

There is growing scientific consensus that even very small doses of pesticides can adversely affect people, especially during the vulnerable periods of in utero and early childhood development when organ systems are maturing most quickly, when toxic defenses are least established, and when early programming of risks for chronic disease later in life takes place. Exposure to pesticides is linked to chronic diseases including Parkinson’s Disease, child and adult cancers and neurodevelopmental harm. Dozens of pesticides are known or suspected to disrupt normal hormone function.

At present, government-certified or third-party certified food labels, like certified organic, are the best avenue for avoiding dietary exposure to pesticides. Recent studies suggest switching to an organic diet can eliminate residues of certain pesticides in children’s urine in just a few days. Switching to certified organic produce for the “dirty dozen”—the 12 domestic and imported fruits and vegetables most routinely contaminated–will greatly reduce one’s exposure to the 14 or so different pesticides typically found on conventionally grown produce on a given day, according to analysis by the Environmental Working Group.

2. Be a “locavore.”

Buy locally produced foods, when possible, to support the economic health of your local foodshed, and to help reduce “food miles.” The U.S. food production system accounts for an estimated 17 percent of the nation’s fossil fuel use.16 Truck-shipped produce in Chicago traveled an average of 1500 miles in 1998, according to Iowa State University. Buying local can reduce your carbon “foodprint.” Buying from the farmer (directly, on the internet, or via a Community Supported Agriculture program) allows you to know exactly where your food comes from and how it has been grown. Much non-certified, locally grown produce also uses few or no pesticides.

3. Know where your food comes from.

Our global, consolidated food system can make it hard to know exactly where your food comes from. A single hamburger patty can comingle meat from a hundred different head of cattle, from four different countries. Or, looked at from another perspective, a single contaminated carcass shredded for hamburger can pollute eight tons of finished ground beef. Given the huge size of many meat processing plants, a single package of ground beef can contain meat from hundreds of cows. In the Jack in the Box outbreak, investigators found that the ground beef from the most likely supplier contained meat from 443 different cattle that had come from farms and auctions in six states via five slaughterhouses. In July 2008, the USDA finally issued a rule requiring country of origin labeling of some food commodities. Beginning in September 2008 muscle cuts and ground beef (including veal), lamb, chicken, goat, pork; fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables; macadamia nuts; pecans, ginseng, and peanuts will be labeled for their country of origin.

4. Shop for safer, more sustainable fish.

Find fish good for you (high in healthful fats, low in environmental toxins), as well as good for the ocean. Fish are an important source of protein and omega-3 fatty acids. But overfishing and unsustainable fish harvesting practices have left many seafood species depleted or on the brink of extinction. Global dispersal of certain toxic pollutants—like PCBs or mercury—that persist in the environment and/or bioaccumulate in the food chain, make some larger, more predatory fish less safe to consume than others. This is especially true for pregnant woman and children. A huge body of research supports the importance of omega-3 fatty acids in the diet, American diets are highly deficient in omega-3 fats. People should neither avoid fish consumption, nor consume fish blindly. The most prudent approach for the health of our environment and the people in it is to eat safer,
less polluted fish species from sustainable fisheries.

5. Eat grass-fed meat and dairy products.

In recent decades, ruminants and other food animals have been moved from outdoors to indoors, and from grass and forage diets to feed composed primarily of grains. There is some evidence that animals fed grain-based diets are themselves less healthy, and produce meat and dairy products lower in omega-3 fatty acids and other beneficial fats. Eating food from grass-fed animals can address some of these concerns. The USDA’s 2007 voluntary standard for meat marketed as grass-fed precludes these animals from getting routine antibiotics. Antibiotics are used to promote growth as well as to compensate for the industrialized conditions that put these animals at greater risk of infection. About half of these feed antibiotics are from medically important classes, including penicillins, tetracyclines and erythromycins. Scientific consensus exists that these unnecessary agriculture antibiotics are helping create an epidemic of hard-to-treat (and sometimes untreatable) multi-drug resistant infections in humans.

6. Avoid chicken raised with arsenic.

Instead of conventional chicken, buy certified organic, which is arsenic-free, or from local producers who can assure arsenic was not used. In addition to routine antibiotics, at least 70 percent of conventionally raised broiler chickens in the U.S. are fed arsenic. The most common additive is roxarsone (3-nitro-4-hydroxyphenylarsonic acid). Roxarsone is an “organic” form of arsenic, once thought medically benign. Once ingested by animals, however, roxarsone can degrade into cancer-causing inorganic forms of arsenic (arsenite and arsenate) within the animal’s digestive tract and in animal waste. Roxarsone is FDA-approved for growth promotion, feed efficiency and “improved pigmentation” of meat. Significantly, the 27 countries of the European Union have never approved this practice as safe.

Meat from chickens fed arsenic can carry arsenic residues, only adding to a person’s risk of disease from arsenic exposure elsewhere in one’s diet and environment. The ultimate fate of 75 percent of the arsenic in U.S. poultry feed resides in the 26-55 billion pounds of chicken litter created annually, 90 percent of which is currently applied to fields and cropland as “fertilizer".

7. Buy dairy products from cows not given synthetic growth hormone (rBGH).

The FDA-required package insert for rBGH lists 17 adverse health impacts for cows treated with the hormone, including mastitis. Cattle treated with rBGH get more mastitis, and therefore receive more antibiotics, which contributes to antibiotic resistance. Animal and human health concerns have led most industrialized nations, including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and the European Union to ban rBGH use in dairy production.

IGF-1 is a growth factor found in both cows and humans. Increased IGF-1 levels in humans are associated with elevated risk for colon, breast, and prostate cancer. It is known that rBGH use raises IGF-1 levels in cows and milk. What remains unclear is whether drinking milk with higher IGF-1 levels will raise IGF-1 levels in humans. Given this uncertainty Health Care Without Harm–a global health coalition of 473 organizations in more than 50 countries–encourages health care providers to recommend non-rBGH dairy products.

8. Avoid plastic bottles and food packaging.

Most soft drinks, juice and water bottles are made of PETE (polyethylene terephthalate ethylene.) While these petroleum derived bottles are recyclable, the vast majority are thrown away. The plastic packaging in some cling wraps and squeeze bottles, cooking oil and peanut butter jars, is made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or #3 plastic. PVC often contains phthalates (pronounced "thAl-ates"), phthalic esters or benzenedicarboxylic acid esters, used primarily as plasticizers to make the PVC product soft and elastic. Since phthalates are not chemically bound to PVC polymer, they readily leach out of PVC products.

Phthalates act as hormone disruptors increasing the risk of reproductive damage and asthma. PVC manufacture and incineration produces dioxins, another hormone disrupting family of chemicals and a human carcinogen. As of 2008, new federal law bans six phthalates from children’s toys, but not from food wraps, lunch boxes, shower curtains, vinyl blinds or other vinyl products.

Concerns about hormone disruption have also been raised for bisphenol A, the chief chemical building block of polycarbonate, some #7 plastics, and epoxy resins. Clear plastic polycarbonate is found in many reusable water and baby bottles; bisphenol A is also found in the plastic liners of cans of tuna fish and infant formula. Bisphenol A is a synthetic estrogen, similar to diethylstilbesterol (DES), and has been found to leach from plastic containers into breast milk and other foods at levels known to cause harm.

9. Eat an anti-inflammatory diet to help prevent cancer and heart disease.

The anti-inflammatory diet has three major components. First aim for a diet rich in antioxidants by consuming 7-9 servings of fruits and vegetables per day. Second, try to find a better balance between your ingestion of omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids. The average American probably eats 15 times more omega-6s than omega-3s; a more healthful balance is a ratio of between 2:1 and 4:1. To reach this balance, both boost your omega-3 intake, and shrink your consumption of beef, poultry, and processed foods high in soybean, safflower, corn and other oils rich in omega-6 fatty acids. Third, choose more complex, less processed carbohydrates to avoid spikes in blood sugars which ultimately lead to a pro-inflammatory cascade. These carbs are, for example, whole grain cereal grains and bakery products, rather than those from bleached grains or white flour.

10. Choose your foods wisely to prevent diseases linked to the toxic chemicals prevalent in our industrialized foods and farming systems.

Preferably eat whole, fresh foods. Minimize consumption of processed, refined and most fast food. And avoid partially hydrogenated oils–a source of trans fats–and high fructose corn syrup, both signs of low quality food.

Follow these ten steps and we not only improve our health, we send a strong signal to farmers, grocery stores, and policymakers as to the kinds of food we want to eat—at home, in our schools and in our hospitals. How we spend our food dollars can steer the future direction of our global food system in a healthier, more sustainable direction.

  Facts About Hunger

            Hunger in Utah

• Currently 1 in 10 Utahns live in poverty. A family of four living in poverty makes just over $20,600 a year to cover health care expenses, shelter, food and other household expenses (U.S. Census Bureau, 2007).

• Utah is ranked 4th in the nation for the highest rate of food insecurity. More than 345,700 individuals are at risk of missing or skipping a meal due to a lack of resources (US. Department of Agriculture, Household Food Security in the United States, 2007).

• Over 134,000 Utahns receive food stamps, which are not even half of those who are eligible (U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2005).

• In Utah, over 63,000 people a month eat dinner at a soup kitchen (Utahns Against Hunger, 2006).

• 1 in 8 children in Utah live in poverty (U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 2005 Annual Social and Economic Supplement).

• Nearly 300,000 Utah children receive free or reduced lunch -that's about 40% of all school-age children (U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2004).

• Two factors associated with poverty are lack of education and inadequate family income. Families living at or below the federal poverty level are 5 times more likely to be food insecure than other families (Children's Sentinel Nutrition Assessment Program (C-SNAP), 2005).

• Household heads that have less than a high school education were highly likely to become food insecure and the remain food insecure. Each additional year of schooling is associated with a 2.5-percent decline in entry into food insecurity ("Persistence and Change in the Food Security of Families with Children" by Sandra Hoffert, 2005).

Tips on Feeding Children Safe Food

Plan your meals and choose foods that are less likely to be contaminated using the following shopping and meal planning tips:

Food For Thought

Janelle Sorensen
Last Updated: Friday, November 14, 2008

You can battle the ill effects of neurotoxins in the environment by feeding your child brain-boosting foods. Specifically, the brain craves good fats, antioxidants, good carbs, folate, and protein (all in perfect moderation). Here’s a very simplified explanation of why, followed by a guide to buying and preparing brain super-foods that are kid-approved.

 Part I:  Five Nutrients Essential to a Healthy Brain

The human brain is a delicate and complicated machine. With over 100 billion neurons, our brains have the capacity for more connections than there are stars in the sky, giving us unimaginable capability for thought, creativity, and innovation. All our human potential is stored inside that 3-pound gray mass. While a newborn baby’s brain is only about one-quarter the size of an adult’s, all 100 billion neurons are already present at birth. These neurons all lay waiting for guidance and development.

As parents and caregivers, whether intentionally or not, we are always teaching our children. They watch us talk, walk, eat, clean, cook, read, run, and shop. Then the school years begin and formal curriculum is introduced. It’s an unquestionable part of life, but are you doing everything you can to make sure their brains are ready to learn and develop to their full potential?

You can promote a healthy brain and battle the ill effects of neurotoxins in the environment by feeding your child brain-boosting foods. The brain needs a lot of food to keep it revved up and ready to go; in fact, it uses almost 25% of our caloric intake (compared to 2% in some vertebrates). Specifically, it craves good fats, antioxidants, good carbs, folate, and protein (all in perfect moderation). Here’s a very simplified explanation of why:

Fats: Once eaten, fats are transformed by our bodies into fatty acids. Fatty acids are what our brains use to create the specialized cells for thought and emotion. They are the building blocks of our brains. In fact, our brains are 60% fat (dry weight). Still, there are good fats and bad fats. Good fats are essential to optimize learning ability, memory retention, and emotional well-being. Likewise, bad fats can disrupt cognitive function and harm the brain. Good fats are also imperative for healthy fetal brain development, so it is especially important for pregnant women to consume enough.

There are two kinds of fatty acids that are considered essential fatty acids (EFAs). EFAs must come from food as our bodies cannot manufacture them.
• Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), which is the foundation of the "omega-3" family of fatty acids.
• Linolenic acid (LA), which is the foundation of the "omega-6" family of fatty acids.

Carbohydrates: Carbs provide the fuel, glucose, that makes our brains function. Just like fats, though, there are good carbs and bad carbs. Good carbs are complex carbohydrates and bad carbs are simple carbohydrates. Simple carbohydrates provide a short-lived sugar rush that ends in a crash that makes you feel hungry and tired. Conversely, complex carbs fuel the brain with a steady, stable stream of glucose that promotes energy and brain function.

Antioxidants: When our cells use oxygen, they naturally produce by-products called free-radicals. The production of free-radicals increases when our bodies are ill, stressed, or exposed to pollutants like exhaust, pesticides, lead paint and other chemicals and heavy metals. Antioxidants prevent and repair the oxidative damage caused by free-radicals throughout the body, but, most importantly, in the brain.

Folate: Folate is essential for making new cells and DNA. New cells are needed as the body increases in size, as well as for brain growth and development of the nervous system. For this reason, it is especially important for pregnant women and growing children to get adequate amounts of folate. Folate is the form found naturally in foods; folic acid is the form used in fortified foods and supplements. Folate naturally found in foods is the recommended source for children under one year of age.

Protein: The brain’s neurons communicate using neurotransmitters made from amino acids, some of which come from protein. The brain chemicals that result from eating protein are norepinephrine and dopamine, which keep you energized and alert. Dopamine is also essential for feeling pleasure.

Now that you know some of the essential nutrients for optimal brain development and function, learn about the best foods that contain these nutrients and how to get your kids to eat them.

Part II: Seven Super Brain-Boosters

There is an American Proverb that says “We need brain more than belly food,” and it couldn’t be more true. In fact, a resting person’s brain uses about 20 per cent of the body's energy even though it is just 2 per cent of the body's weight. Our brains need fuel, and not simply calories, but foods packed with brain-boosting nutrients. Here are seven to have on hand, some ways to get your kids to crave them, and how to pick the purest, eco-friendly options.

1. Avocado
Avocado is one of the most easily digestible sources of high quality protein and healthy fats. Avocado also contains antioxidants, fiber and folate, among other nutrients. They are so packed with goodness, avocado advocates claim “an avocado a day keeps the doctor away.” Note: Avocados are very high in calories, so eat them in moderation.

• Make it Yummy:
Mash it and spread on sandwiches, crackers, and wraps.
Mix up guacamole and dip veggies in it.
Whip up easy Avocado Baby Food

• Make it Green:
Buy USDA certified organic avocados

2. Nuts (not for those with allergies)
Nuts contain protein, complex carbs, and beneficial fats. They also provide a good dose of vitamin E, which promotes brain function. Almonds are the best nuts, followed by filberts, hazelnuts, cashews, and walnuts. (Seeds are also an excellent option).

• Make it Yummy:
Grind up some nuts and toss into pastas, salads, oatmeal, or pancakes
Make your own almond milk to put on cereal or drizzle over berries

• Make it Green:
Choose organic, raw nuts

3. Oatmeal
Oatmeal promotes healthy blood flow to help your brain function better. It also contains fiber, protein, antioxidants, and a bit of Omega-3's. Have a bowl for breakfast for stable energy all morning long.

• Make it Yummy:
Make oatmeal breakfast bars
Make oatmeal pancakes

• Make it Green:
Buy organic, steel-cut oats. Make it even greener by buying in bulk to reduce packaging waste.

4. Blueberries
Blueberries are a super-food packed with nutrients like protein, complex carbs, fiber, folate, antioxidants, vitamins, and more. They’re great for your body and very good for your brain as well. Look for fresh or unsweetened frozen or dried.

• Make it Yummy:
Eat them au natural
Make blueberry yogurt popsicles by blending blueberries, plain yogurt, and a touch of honey (babies under 1 year old should not have honey)

• Make it Green:
Buy local and certified organic. When blueberries are out of season, pick cranberries, grapes, blackberries or cherries

5. Salmon
Salmon is packed with Omega-3 fatty acids. These essential fats are linked to improved cognition, alertness, memory, and mood. Unfortunately, salmon can be contaminated, so you shouldn’t eat it too often. Select wild-caught for the lowest levels of contaminants.

• Make it Yummy:
Make into patties and tuck inside a tasty sandwich
Marinate in teriyaki sauce and bit of brown sugar to make the flavor more kid-friendly

• Make it Green:
Alaska wild caught salmon is considered the greenest, cleanest option. Use Seafood Watch to learn about all options.

6. Beans
Beans are loaded with fiber, vitamins, minerals, protein, and folic acid. Beans also provide a slow, stable supply of glucose for your brain - which means crash-proof energy.

• Make it Yummy:
Puree beans and spread on whole grain pitas, crackers, or chips
Whip up a soup using a variety of beans and your child’s favorite veggies
Make your own refried beans and use in quesadillas, tacos, or burritos

• Make it Green:
Choose organic beans. Look for heirloom varieties and buy dried in bulk, not canned.

7. Eggs
Eggs contain protein and fat and are another source of stable energy for your brain. The selenium in organic eggs has been shown to help improve your mood. Choline, also found in eggs, is a chemical building block of every cell and has been linked to improved memory. Egg yolks are among the richest natural sources of choline.

• Make it Yummy:
Hard-boil eggs and cut into fun shapes
Scramble eggs and tuck inside a pita with other ingredients your child likes
Bake egg custard

• Make it Green:
Look for local, organic eggs

Regardless what type of healthy food you’re trying to coax your child into eating, they’ll be much more apt to eat it if you involve them in the preparation. Let your child help select food at the market, find recipes, and
prepare meals and snacks.