Vitamix Aims to Help Fight Childhood Obesity with Blender Donations to 50 Chefs

CLEVELAND, Sept. 23, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The obesity rate has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). To help reverse this disturbing trend, American Culinary Federation Education Foundation's Chef & Child Foundation is encouraging chefs to host Childhood Nutrition Day awareness events throughout the month of October. Vitamix^® has again partnered with the Foundation and will donate personal household blenders to the first 50 chefs who register and fulfill their commitments to host events for the first time. Chefs who received Vitamix machines last year for hosting events and agree to host events again this year will receive dry grains containers.

Chefs can use the Vitamix machines in their activities, which could range from cooking classes to demonstrations to hands-on smoothie making. While Childhood Nutrition Day is October 16, the Foundation encourages chefs to hold awareness events across the country throughout the entire month of October to help kids and families improve their health through proper nutrition.

"People around the world are finally starting to realize the connection between what they eat and how they feel, and by teaching children the value of proper nutrition early on, our hope is that we can help make healthy eating a positive, sustainable experience," said Jodi Berg, president and CEO of Vitamix. "When children and families discover how incredibly quick and easy whole foods are to prepare in a Vitamix—and how great they taste—healthy eating becomes part of their lifestyles."

Vitamix, a fourth-generation, family-owned manufacturer of high-performance blending equipment for home and commercial use, began promoting the benefits of whole food nutrition as far back as the 1930s. The company specifically engineered its blenders to have the power and versatility to turn fruits and vegetables into delicious dishes—including healthy green smoothies with an enjoyable, smooth consistency.

The Chef & Child Foundation was founded in 1989 to promote awareness of proper nutrition in preschool and elementary school children and to combat childhood obesity.

"Over the years, hundreds of our chefs have stepped up to share their knowledge and expertise with children and families," said Ira Fingerman, chair, Chef & Child Foundation. "Whether it's organizing food drives, creating hands-on activity booths or offering healthy cooking demonstrations, they are working to make healthy eating attainable for everyone."

Chefs can register to host events on the American Culinary Federation web site. The initial 50 first-time chefs to sign up and host events will receive machines from the Vitamix Certified Reconditioned Standard series, backed by a five-year full warranty. Past participating chefs will be given dry grains containers, which can be used with the Vitamix machines they received last year.

By inspiring kids and families, chefs can reinforce information provided by the CDC that healthy eating helps prevent high cholesterol and high blood pressure and helps reduce the risk of developing chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes.

About Vitamix^®
Vita-Mix^® Corporation ("Vitamix") is a privately held family-owned and -operated company founded in 1921 that manufactures high-performance blending equipment for home and commercial use. The company's commercial customer list reads like a "Who's Who" of major restaurant chains, and gourmet chefs say their Vitamix machines are as important to them as their knives. A recognized leader in marketing and product innovation, Vitamix founder William G. "Papa" Barnard created one of the first infomercials in 1949 to demonstrate how the Vitamix blender could help people improve their health with whole foods, and the company developed the first true commercial blender in the early 1990s, which ignited the smoothie movement. Vitamix, whose products are known worldwide for their performance, durability, and reliability, continues to win awards for product innovation and is a recipient of the president's prestigious "E Star" Award for Exports. Headquartered in Olmsted Township, Ohio, 19 miles from Cleveland, Vitamix products are manufactured in Northeast Ohio and sold in approximately 100 countries. For more information, please visit www.vitamix.com.

About Chef & Child Foundation
The purpose of the American Culinary Federation Education Foundation's Chef & Child Foundation is to foster, promote and encourage awareness of proper nutrition in preschool and elementary-school children, as well as combat childhood obesity. The foundation funds programs that provide instruction on nutrition and proper eating habits to children. For more information, visit www.acfchefs.org/CCF.

About Childhood Nutrition Day
Childhood Nutrition Day, celebrated on, or around Oct. 16, focuses on the need for education about childhood hunger, proper nutrition and obesity issues. Since the campaign's launch in 1995, hundreds of chefs across the nation have participated in events within their local communities to feed hungry children, and foster and promote awareness of proper nutrition.

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SOURCE Vitamix