5 Things You Didn’t Know About Childhood Obesity

Childhood obesity in Virginia has continued to increase over the past several years: 20 percent of 2- to 4-year-olds, 14.3 percent of 10- to 17-year-olds, and 13 percent of high-school students are obese. In total, this is nearly 30 percent – or one in three – of Virginia’s youth, and Virginia ranks 29th for highest obesity rates in America.

When the youngest members of our society are weighed down by extra pounds, we often see their school performance drop, along with their social lives, self-esteem and health. So what can we do?

Empty Bowls: A Concert to SERVE Our Community
  

Empty Bowls is back again this year – but with a twist!

Join NVFS at Uptown Alley Manassas on Sunday, Oct. 22, from 2 – 5 p.m. for Empty Bowls: A Concert to SERVE Our Community. This family-friendly event will benefit NVFS’ SERVE campus, which provides tools and resources for families to build brighter futures in Greater Prince William.

In keeping with NVFS’ Empty Bowls tradition, a meal of soup, salad and bread will be included with the price of admission, but to kick the event up a notch, live music will be provided by local rock and blues band, Big Tow.

To purchase tickets for Empty Bowls or to sponsor the event, please see our website or contact Sarah Crosley at scrosley@nvfs.org.

NVFS’ CARE Awards Breakfast is right around the corner, and we’re excited to acknowledge so many innovative local workplaces on the leading edge of change in providing family-friendly benefits and policies to their employees.

The CARE Awards are a natural extension of NVFS’ mission to help strengthen Northern Virginia families and the community as a whole by providing workplace flexibility, employee well-being and community stewardship.

This November marks NVFS’ 25th year presenting the CARE Awards. To celebrate this banner year, we’re presenting a special panel of industry leaders to speak on what will inspire businesses and workplaces in the years ahead. The CARE Awards Breakfast will be held on Friday, Nov. 17, at 7 a.m. at Hilton McLean Tysons Corner. Tickets and sponsorships are available now.

Northern Virginia may be home to some of the wealthiest counties in the country. But these acknowledgements mask the fact that there are pockets of poverty throughout our region, and many of our neighbors are struggling.

“Having worked at Northern Virginia Family Service (NVFS) for 18 years, I have met countless residents who come to us for help finding affordable housing, food, healthcare, medications and job training. Without support, these issues continue to negatively impact the families around us, creating larger barriers to self-sufficiency and the opportunity to thrive in our booming region,” NVFS President and CEO Stephanie Berkowitz shares in Connection Newspapers.

Northern Virginia Family Service (NVFS) is bringing healthy eating demonstrations and education to the Hunger Resource Center (HRC) in an effort to educate the public on the benefits of nutritional meals. The HRC serves more than 600 families in the Greater Prince William area each month, granting them access to affordable food, nutritional workshops, SNAP benefits enrollment assistance, and now healthy cooking demos every other Wednesday.

Upcoming Healthy Cooking Demos

• Celebrate Whole Grain Month – Friday, Sept. 29, 9:30-11:30 a.m. 
• Celebrate the Fall Harvest – Friday, Oct. 13, 9:30-11:30 a.m. and Friday, Oct. 27, 9:30-11:30 a.m.
• Celebrate Keeping Your Blood Sugar in Check – Friday, Nov. 10, 9:30-11:30 a.m.

Thank you as well to US Foods, Giant Food, Food Lion, Wegmans Lake Manassas and Costco, who have each donated $85,000+ in food to the HRC this year. The donations received from each company have helped to feed more than 8,000 families annually in the Greater Prince William area.

The 24th annual Lou Maroon Golf Tournament, hosted by Manassas Rotary Club at Evergreen Country Club in Haymarket, was a huge success! Dozens of players and volunteers signed up ready to play and support NVFS’ SERVE Campus, with total funds raised amounting to approximately $30,000.