Healthy Options are Tasty Success at the Taste of Buffalo

Tens of thousands of hungry people will converge on Delaware Avenue for the 2009 Taste of Buffalo presented by Tops July 11 and 12 where trying a Healthy Option is sure to please everyone's palette.

Recognizing that diet-related health problems affect our community, the Taste, in partnership with the Independent Health Foundation, will again require participating restaurants to offer one healthy choice food item. In the second year of this initiative, the Taste remains the first major food festival in the country to implement a healthy option policy.

"There was a fantastic response to the Healthy Option's initiative last year and these restaurants have really stepped up with new recipes for this year's Taste," said Carrie Meyer, executive director, Independent Health Foundation. "All healthy option items are lower in fat, cholesterol and sodium. A computer program determines nutritional value and whether the dish meets the requirements to be deemed healthy."

New to the Healthy Options initiative this year is a visit from Mr. Food.

"The Taste of Buffalo is unlike any food festival around and this year is no exception thanks to their Healthy Options competition," said Mr. Food Art Ginsburg. "We all love eating at food festivals, and if we can eat even healthier...what a plus!"

The Independent Health Foundation's Healthy Options program was created in 2004 to help address the significant obesity, stroke and heart disease rates in this region. Under the program, the Foundation works with area restaurants to design and prepare heart-healthy menu options.

"By working with area chefs, we want to help you make better decisions about the meals you eat when you're out and show that eating healthy can taste great, too," Meyer said.

For a complete list of restaurants that participate in this program, visit www.healthyoptionsbuffalo.com.