State Indicator Report on Fruits and Vegetables, 2009

The State Indicator Report on Fruits and Vegetables, 2009 provides for the first time information on fruit and vegetable (F&V) consumption and policy and environmental support within each state.* Fruits and vegetables are important for optimal child growth, weight management, and chronic disease prevention. Supporting increased F&V access, availability, and reduced price are key strategies towards the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) objective of improved F&V consumption and thus improved nutrition among all Americans.

National and state-specific information is reported in the State Indicator Report for behavioral indicators and policy and environmental indicators. The behavioral indicators are derived from objectives for F&V consumption outlined in Healthy People 2010, a framework for the nation's health priorities, and data is from CDC's health surveillance systems. The policy and environmental indicators are from multiple data sources and measure several aspects of a state's ability to support the consumption of F&V. Each indicator can be measured in most states. Individual states, however, may have data collected through state-wide surveys and/or have policies enacted outside the monitoring period that can augment the information in this State Indicator Report and thus can be used to further inform decision makers.

Throughout states and communities, many groups play a role in supporting policy and environmental change to ensure that individuals and families can easily purchase and consume F&V. When state officials, health professionals, employers, retail owners, farmers, school staff, and community members work together their efforts can increase the number of Americans who live healthier lives by increasing the availability of affordable healthier food choices such as F&V.

Data in the State Indicator Report can be used by states to track progress on a variety of indicators in order to—

• Portray how states support the consumption of F&V.
• Celebrate state successes.
• Identify opportunities for improvement of F&V support through environmental, policy and/or systems approaches.