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Journal of Hunger and Environmental Nutrition
Award Winners

HEN Web Announcement

2008 Award Winners

Congratulations Alison Harmon of Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana, and co-award winners, Tammy Vitale of Utah State University, Logan, Utah and Teri Underwood, consultant, Park City, Utah  for receiving the 2008 HEN Excellence in Hunger & Environmental Nutrition Award.

 Barbara Hartman of Martinsburg Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Martinsburg, West Virginia is the recipient of the 2008 HEN Excellence in Hunger & Environmental Nutrition Leadership Award. 

Alison Harmon is a vital member of the Hunger & Environmental Nutrition DPG Sustainable Food System Committee serving last year as Chairperson.  Alison has written articles for the HEN newsletter and spoken at multiple state affiliate conferences on the topic of sustainable food systems.  As a professor, Alison saw a need for sustainable food system resources for dietetic educators working with the future of our profession. She is chairing a task force within HEN to create such a resource.

Alison has been an author and reviewer for the Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition, most recently serving as co-editor for the special issue of JHEN on Sustainable Food Systems.

When given an opportunity to contribute to literature and education on sustainable food systems, Alison’s answer is always a resounding “yes”.  She served as a member of the ADA Sustainable Food Systems Task Force and presented an educational session, Sustainable Food Systems: Opportunities for Dietitians, at FNCE.

Teri Underwood and Tammy Vitale just completed a three-year tenure as co-editors for the Hunger & Environmental Nutrition DPG quarterly newsletter.  Under their leadership the HEN Newsletter continued to be a top-rated member benefit, with high quality articles and the first HEN-offered CPE articles.

Over the past three years, Teri & Tammy assured the newsletter served as more than a communication tool for HEN, but as a valuable means of educating members on important and timely issues that further the HEN mission.  During this time, Teri and Tammy have identified and written articles tackling issues of sustainability, carbon footprints, pesticides in children, the paradox hunger and obesity, greening of hospital food service and much more. 

Outside of their newsletter responsibilities, Tammy & Teri have been important members of HEN through the years.  Last spring, they promoted HEN vision and values through presentations about sustainable food systems as part of the 14-state HEN state affiliate tour, through a presentation to the Utah Dietetic Association.
 
Barbara Hartman served as the Chairperson for the Hunger & Environmental Nutrition DPG in 2004.  She led our DPG through a phase of strategic planning during a time when our small group was gaining our voice – both through education and policy – as we determined how to best merge our ideals of a sustainable food system and access to nutritious food for all people.
 
After her years in the Chair role, Barb’s dedication and leadership within HEN has continued to grow.  As one of the matriarchs of the HEN family, Barb consistently serves as a sounding board and advisor, providing a calming voice or fire & inspiration to the leaders who have followed her.

Barb serves as an inspiration through her work as the Foodservice Director at the Martinsburg VA Medical Center to make changes that contribute to a healthy foodservice program by purchasing local products, including piloting a farm to hospital program, and educating her foodservice colleagues on doing the same.  Barb truly lives her HEN values in her day-to-day professional work and is an inspiration to other foodservice dietitians looking for ways to do the same.

In 2007, Barb worked with fellow HEN member Melinda Hemmelgarn to provide the vision and the legwork to create the first annual HEN DPG Film Feastival.  We’re grateful for that vision and happy they continued to work together in the 2nd annual event at this year’s FNCE.

It is a distinct honor and privilege to receive a HEN award.  Alison, Tammy, Teri and Barb were nominated by their peers. They were honored at FNCE during the HEN Member Reception, Sunday, October 26 at the beautiful Chicago Cultural Center.  Congratulations and thanks to all of them for their inspiration, passion and commitment. 

2007 HEN DPG Award Winners
Excellence in Hunger & Environmental Nutrition Leadership

Angie Tagtow, MS, RD, LN

Angie is an ambassador, advocate, environmental nutrition expert, educator, public speaker and extraordinary leader; she fully embodies the vision this award.

Angie’s leadership is demonstrated through her commitment and dedication to HEN through her work as Newsletter Editor, Chair-Elect, Chair, and Past Chair, all of which has led to the incredible growth, expansion and flourishing of HEN as a DPG.  In addition to the record increases in HEN membership, Angie’s foresight, innovation and dedication led to the creation and fruition of the Journal of Hunger and Environmental Nutrition, where she currently acts as Managing Editor.  The development and completion of this journal, along with the continuing successful partnership with Haworth Press, marks a new, groundbreaking era for all dietetic practice groups.

Even beyond her leadership within HEN, Angie’s continual advocacy for policy change, legislation, program development, and education is inspiring to all registered dietitians.  Her leadership within the ADA Sustainable Food Systems Task Force Report has brought a marked increase in HEN issues to the ADA, as well as her involvement in the publication and presentation of Healthy Land, Healthy People:  Better Understanding of Sustainable Food Systems for Food and Nutrition Professionals at the ADA House of Delegates Meeting.  She is also key to such initiatives as the Iowa Network for Community Agriculture, the northeast Iowa Food and Farm Coalition, and the Food and Fitness project in northeast Iowa.  These leadership positions, as well as the recognition of colleagues working across all aspects of environmental and nutrition organizations, have led Angie to create and develop her own business, where she now acts as the Owner and Consultant of Environmental Nutrition Solutions. 

In short, Angie’s tireless work and leadership on behalf of environmental and nutrition justice for all people is both inspiring and humbling.   In the words of one of her colleagues, “There is not another person, I believe, that has been more of an ambassador for HEN than Angie.  She exemplifies the vision and mission of HEN, and she walks and talks HEN and the HEN message.”  She is truly a leader for all of us.

Excellence in Hunger & Environmental Nutrition

Melinda Hemmelgarn MS RD

Melinda is a registered dietitian, newspaper columnist, freelance writer, television host and speaker.  Many of Melinda’s articles address food access and sustainable food system issues, which has significantly increased the awareness of hunger and environmental nutrition issues among eaters, over 50,000 residents of Missouri, and other health professionals. 

Through her work as a W.K Kellogg Foundation Food and Society Policy Fellow, she focused on connections between youth, diet, and health and how food is produced.  Melinda was the consultant behind the Munch Crunch Bunch, an innovative story/activity book, that empowered children to make healthy food choices based on the whole food philosophy that ‘real kids deserve real food’.

In addition, Melinda has conducted numerous trainings and workshops on sustainable food systems and environmental influence on diet and health.  As attested by Melinda’s colleagues, she has become a HEN leader changing and supporting a sustainable food system where food is healthy, green, just, and affordable.

Lynn Mader MBA RD

Lynn, a registered dietitian, teacher, advocate, state and DPG affiliate, and businesswomen, truly is one of HEN greatest voices. She has dedicated much of her time to promoting awareness of safeguarding our nation’s food supply. As one of the first voices supporting sustainable agriculture, she has been instrumental in the development of programs that advance food security within her region

One of those programs is focused on connecting schools with local farms; she was invaluable to her local school district’s Farm to School Project. The goals of their program are to: reconnect communities to the local food system, positively impact student food choices, serve healthy meals in school cafeterias thus improving student nutrition, provide health and nutrition education opportunities, support local small farmers, and promote the value of agriculture for communities.  Currently, she is working on a tool-kit to help other Minnesotan schools districts implement their own Farm to School Programs.
  
As a teacher she shared her knowledge with countless students of all ages. She has provided a connection between agriculture and nutrition. She has taken complicated issues such as “safe food supply and how it relates to communities” and has transformed it into an approachable and reality-based understanding. She is truly and advocate for sustainable agriculture and works diligently to make sure that everyone she comes in contact with understands the importance of maintaining our food supply, and small rural farms.

(left to right: Angie Tagtow, Mary Jo Forbord, Melinda Hemmelgarn, Lynn Mader)

Past Environmental Nutrition Award Winners

Past Hunger & Malnutrition Award Winners