The Importance of Beecher's Flagship Foundation

*In the United States, the percentage of overweight or obese children has doubled over the past 30 years to 25 per cent of the under-19 population.

*Kids today drink twice as much soda as they do milk.

*French fries are the most common type of vegetable children eat. Fries account for about one-quarter of children's vegetable intake.

*Unhealthy weight gain due to poor diet and lack of exercise is responsible for over 300,000 deaths each year.

*The annual cost to society for obesity is estimated at nearly $100 billion.

*Overweight children are much more likely to become overweight adults unless they adopt and maintain healthier patterns of eating and exercise.

Seattle Food and Wine Experience is proud to contribute proceeds from their ticket sales to Beecher's Flagship Foundation and their Pure Food Kids Workshop.

The Pure Food Kids Workshop, funded through the Flagship Foundation, is aimed at educating fourth through sixth grade students about the prevalence of food additives and their possible health risks.

To date, over 14,500 students in the greater Puget Sound and Portland metro regions have taken the Workshop. The students learned to understand: how they we being marketed to on packaging, how to read the nutrition facts statement and ingredient list, how to read a recipe and make a vegetarian chili right in the classroom and how to understand some common food additives. They learned first hand to make healthier food choices and an appreciation of pure, all-natural foods.