On November 28th Sara Lee Food and Beverage announced a sponsorship of a competition to develop an innovative product for potential use by the company. Winners will be awarded $10,000 for developing an innovative product for potential use by the company. The competition is open only to Purdue students.  Sophomores, juniors, and seniors in foods and nutrition, hospitality and tourism management, food science, and agricultural and biological engineering are eligible to apply.

Student teams can begin submitting applications listing the idea, advisor and a budget in January 2007. If chosen to compete, teams will develop the innovation during the spring semester and make a final presentation with the product in April for judging.

Dr. Jim Fleet, the director of the Interdeparmental Nutrition (INP) graduate program at Purdue, was recently awarded a training grant from USDA Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service.  This grant is specifically intended for the recruitment of outstanding students to pursue and complete their doctoral degree in the area of diet and obesity.

Obesity is a major and growing public health problem in the US. The new USDA award will support three Ph.D.-level students during the first three years of they degree program. The goal of the INP graduate program is to train research scientists with the ability to critically evaluate and integrate knowledge concerning the root causes, dietary contributors, and prevention strategies related to obesity and diet. 

The first ever Walk Across Indiana took place on Oct. 21-28. It encouraged all Hoosiers to walk on their own and keep track of their progress. The Walk Across Indiana is part of the INShape Indiana health initiative and is sponsored by the Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service, the Governor's Council for Physical Fitness and Sports, and the Indiana State Department of Health. The purpose of the event was to promote the health benefits of walking.

Events around the state featured one-day organized walks by 26 counties in an effort to increase physical activity. 778 participants walked at their own pace totaling 4, 600 miles and over 9 million steps.

Karen Zotz, Purdue Extension’s Consumer and Family Sciences program director commented, “this is the first Walk Across Indiana.  The State Department of Health and Purdue University Extension plan to make this an annual event.  Our goal is to show people that exercise can be fun and also be healthful if done on a daily basis for 30 to 60 minutes.” 

Walk Across Indiana was part of Purdue Extension’s Healthy People, Healthy Communities coalition efforts. By partnering with local groups around the state, community planning is encouraged. Participants not only took steps to better their own health, they worked together to better the health of the State of Indiana.