Fruit and Veggie Month

WHEREAS, fruits and vegetables provide vital nutrients while remaining low in calories, fat and sodium; and

WHEREAS, scientific research demonstrates the importance of fruit and vegetable intake to reduce the risk of, and improve management of, chronic diseases as well as improve overall health and well-being; and

WHEREAS, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact families across our State, it is known that certain nutrition-related chronic conditions put individuals at higher risk of experiencing severe illness due to COVID-19 infection; and

WHEREAS, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans provides gold-standard evidence-based diet and nutrition research, stresses the importance of fruit and vegetable consumption and consistently recommends consuming produce in all forms, including fresh, frozen, canned and dried; and

WHEREAS, the vast majority of Americans still do not meet recommended fruit and vegetable intake, with 80% under-consuming fruit and nearly 90% under-consuming vegetables; and

WHEREAS, adding more fruits and vegetables as part of a diverse, balanced and healthy eating pattern also helps reduce loss and waste of these highly perishable produce items; and the movement to eat more fruits and vegetables assists in the commitment to improve supply chain, bring more fruits and vegetables to consumers and improve health in sustainable, waste-reducing ways; and

WHEREAS, Nevada is working to improve nutrition security of Nevadans and reduce food waste across the state through enhancing cross-sectional collaboration to address and resolve gaps and health disparities in nutrition services and programming to include all life stages; and

WHEREAS, the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services and Nevada Department of Agriculture are proud to work together to provide nutrition programming, education and awareness to Nevadans;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, STEVE SISOLAK, GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, do hereby proclaim the month of September 2021, as