Healthy Food

In the war between Twinkies and tofu, our creme-filled treats just got some major ammo. It comes in the form of a new word: orthorexia. Coined by Steven Bratman in his new book, Health Food Junkies, orthorexia describes - finally - the obsession with healthy eating. Before this word came along, anyone eating health food, no matter how weird and yucky (the food, I mean), had license to sneer at the rest of us polishing off our pound cake. Now their sanctimony is suspect. In fact, it may be proof of a real problem.

Ann Mack, director of trendspotting for the global marketing agency JWT, predicts 2012 will be the year food emerges as the prominent environmental issue of our time. In other words, concern about the quality of our air, water, and earth is coalescing under an overall food banner as folks become increasingly aware of how and by whom food is grown, harvested, transported, sold, cooked, and consumed - and the implications of those acts. Mack says companies that want to be perceived as being on the side of food justice should take note.

ACCESS TO healthy food for low-income Philadelphians improved by 17 percent in a two-year period, according to a report released Wednesday by the city's Public Health Department. The report, Walkable Access to Healthy Food in Philadelphia, shows that the number of Philadelphians living in high-poverty neighborhoods with limited access to healthy food dropped by 61,000 between 2010 and 2012. As part of the 2010 Get Healthy Philly initiative, the Food Trust and the health department offered corner stores an annual $100 incentive to encourage the sale of healthy food, said Giridhar Mallya, director of policy and planning for the health department.

1 The Food Trust The Philadelphia group's mission is to make healthy, affordable food available to everyone. They work with neighborhoods, schools, grocers, farmers and policymakers. For more information check out thefoodtrust.org or call 215-575-0444. 2Fair Food Stand Stop by the Reading Terminal Market (51 N. 12th St., 215-922-2317, readingterminalmarket.org) to sample locally produced fresh vegetables, fruits, dairy, meats and other goodies. The stand accepts SNAP benefits and often offers double-dollar days.

IN the food deserts of Philadelphia's low-income minority neighborhoods, where supermarkets are few and far between, the typical corner store that residents rely on for groceries has been a fat fortress, a high-carb castle, a heart-unhealthy haven for high-fructose corn-syrup drinks masquerading as "10 percent real fruit juice. " But today, if you walk into any one of 580 Philadelphia corner groceries, the first thing that hits you is that this is not your mom and pop's mom-and-pop store.

PHILADELPHIA NATIVE Ann Karlen, a ceramics artist and the visionary behind the cooperative art gallery Vox Populi, has always been a bit of an outlier. Her newest passion is all about the cultivation of locally farmed and sustainable food through the nonprofit Fair Food, of which she is the founding director. She said it all started with a very selfish desire. "I wanted healthy food for me," Karlen shared. "I started going to [local] organic shops . . . but I also noticed that all the farmers were from California.

On Sunday afternoon from 2 to 6, Whole Foods Market Jenkintown and the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture transform the market's parking lot into the Fresh Beets Music & Food Festival, featuring performances, kids' activities, a local celebrity chef demonstration, local farmers, and more. The purpose of the free festival is to promote healthy eating. Festivities begin with a jazz performance by the David Joel Quartet. Other performances include children's music by Peter Moses, the R&B acoustic sounds of David & Melissa, the Jeffhouse Band, and reggae by New Kings of Rhythm.

B EFORE starting Real Food Works, 1991 Wharton MBA grad Lucinda Duncalfe, 50, of Lafayette Hill, worked at tech startups and co-founded an anti-spam company in 2004 that later was sold for $28 million. Real Food Works, which is relocating from West Conshohocken to Center City , has seven employees and more than 100 customers. The company expects to receive $1 million in venture capital soon. Q: How did you come up with the idea for the company? A: I got healthy by eating better, and realized there was an unmet need for folks who wanted this but found it inconvenient.

By Christina Weiss Lurie and Joan C. Hendricks After years of being under the radar, America's hunger crisis is becoming a growing reality for many people. One in six Americans goes to bed every night with empty stomachs. Poverty is forcing millions into "food insecurity" - the inability to know where your next meal is coming from. Families are buying cheaper, less nutritious food or cutting meals entirely. The problem is not a lack of food; it's the inability to provide nutritious, safe, affordable food for everyone.

Corner stores are a staple in poor neighborhoods, where large supermarkets find it economically unfeasible to flourish. The problem has long been that small groceries aren't known for fresh fruits and vegetables. That has left an impoverished population bereft of good food, compelled to live in so-called food deserts. But Philadelphia's Food Trust, a nationally recognized nonprofit dedicated to ensuring that everyone has access to nutritious food, has been working to change that.

Editor's Note: This column is sponsored by TD Bank. The opinions and analysis expressed here reflect the views of the authors alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views of TD Bank, N.A. or its affiliates. Bryn Davis ate his way to entrepreneurship. Davis, who lives in Horsham, says he entered college a "lean-as-you-can-imagine" 170 pounds. By his junior year, he was stressing the scales at 240. A doctor scared him into committing to a healthier lifestyle. Davis took it one step further: He started a business featuring only healthy fast food.

By Christina Weiss Lurie and Joan C. Hendricks After years of being under the radar, America's hunger crisis is becoming a growing reality for many people. One in six Americans goes to bed every night with empty stomachs. Poverty is forcing millions into "food insecurity" - the inability to know where your next meal is coming from. Families are buying cheaper, less nutritious food or cutting meals entirely. The problem is not a lack of food; it's the inability to provide nutritious, safe, affordable food for everyone.

B EFORE starting Real Food Works, 1991 Wharton MBA grad Lucinda Duncalfe, 50, of Lafayette Hill, worked at tech startups and co-founded an anti-spam company in 2004 that later was sold for $28 million. Real Food Works, which is relocating from West Conshohocken to Center City , has seven employees and more than 100 customers. The company expects to receive $1 million in venture capital soon. Q: How did you come up with the idea for the company? A: I got healthy by eating better, and realized there was an unmet need for folks who wanted this but found it inconvenient.

RINCON, Puerto Rico - Several years ago, I found myself needing a certain type of vacation - one that would help me reset life and that combined my passions: fitness and sports, the outdoors and travel, healthy food and new people. I wanted much of the planning done for me. I also wanted the ability to break from any itinerary. And I wanted to go alone without feeling lonely. A reasonable cost, a variety of activities, and a warm location also were important. So I started searching online for "active vacations" and "fitness trips" and "wellness retreats.

Corner stores are a staple in poor neighborhoods, where large supermarkets find it economically unfeasible to flourish. The problem has long been that small groceries aren't known for fresh fruits and vegetables. That has left an impoverished population bereft of good food, compelled to live in so-called food deserts. But Philadelphia's Food Trust, a nationally recognized nonprofit dedicated to ensuring that everyone has access to nutritious food, has been working to change that.

ACCESS TO healthy food for low-income Philadelphians improved by 17 percent in a two-year period, according to a report released Wednesday by the city's Public Health Department. The report, Walkable Access to Healthy Food in Philadelphia, shows that the number of Philadelphians living in high-poverty neighborhoods with limited access to healthy food dropped by 61,000 between 2010 and 2012. As part of the 2010 Get Healthy Philly initiative, the Food Trust and the health department offered corner stores an annual $100 incentive to encourage the sale of healthy food, said Giridhar Mallya, director of policy and planning for the health department.

The Diggity Dudes four-member band, who play hip music for hip kids, are known for their infectious grooves and will bring their show to the World Cafe Live in Wilmington on Saturday. Their songs, combining melody and humor, are about kid-centric topics, but are adult-friendly. In 2011, the title track from their debut album, My Science Project , ranked No. 3 on WXPN's Kids Corner Philadelphia's top songs of the year. The performance starts at 11:30 a.m.   The Diggity Dudes, 11:30 a.m. Saturday at World Cafe Live at the Queen, 500 N. Market St., Wilmington.

IT REALLY angers me that there is still hunger in America, knowing that we are more than capable of feeding each and every citizen - but don't. As far as I'm concerned, access to healthy food should be an inalienable right. Don't you agree? Sadly, every day in these United States, 50 million people, including one in four children, are food insecure, which basically means that they're hungry and not sure when or from where their next meal is coming. The recent documentary "A Place at the Table" removes the veil on this hidden-in-plain-sight national disgrace.

1 The Food Trust The Philadelphia group's mission is to make healthy, affordable food available to everyone. They work with neighborhoods, schools, grocers, farmers and policymakers. For more information check out thefoodtrust.org or call 215-575-0444. 2Fair Food Stand Stop by the Reading Terminal Market (51 N. 12th St., 215-922-2317, readingterminalmarket.org) to sample locally produced fresh vegetables, fruits, dairy, meats and other goodies. The stand accepts SNAP benefits and often offers double-dollar days.

K RITI SEHGAL, 29, a University of Pennsylvania grad who lives in Center City, is co-founder (with her brother, Kunal, who lives in New York) of Pure Fare. The company, launched in April 2011, provides fresh, healthy all-natural foods supported by Web tools that enable consumers to track health goals. Pure Fare has two locations: 21st Street near Walnut, and South Street above 16th, both in Center City. Q: Tell me about the idea for Pure Fare. A: It started as a technology idea.