Family Food Revolution: America Makes Dinner Launches

Cozi and Partnership for a Healthier America Launch National Campaign to Encourage American Families to Sit Down to Dinner Together Tom Colicchio, Laurie David, Sierra McCormick and other celebrities share their favorite family recipes for America Makes Dinner; Families can enter to win a private cooking lesson from Chopped’s Allison Sosna Seattle, Wash.— June12, 2012 –Cozi, the No. 1 online and mobile family calendar and organizer, and the Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA),an organization focused on making the healthy choice the easy choice for busy parents and families, today announced America Makes Dinner, a national campaign focused on changing the way American families think about dinner, and providing them with the tools and encouragement they need to prioritize healthy, sit-down dinners. America Makes Dinner kicks off today, with new family dinner selections each week from celebrities, chefs and food bloggers including Tom Colicchio, owner of Craft Restaurants; Laurie David, producer and author of “The Family Dinner: Great Ways to Connect with Your Kids, One Meal at a Time;” and Sierra McCormick, from the Disney Channel Original Series “A.N.T. Farm,” all of whom have shared their healthy and affordable family recipes. Families across the country can visit www.AmericaMakesDinner.com to find simple, nutritious meal ideas and, by preparing each week’s featured recipe and sharing their feedback, help choose recipe finalists. Once America’s favorite recipes have been chosen, the America Makes Dinner campaign will culminate with America Makes Dinner Day on Oct. 17, when families across the country will sit down and enjoy the winning recipes. Families also can enter their favorite family-friendly dinner recipes at www.AmericaMakesDinner.com. Three finalists will be featured during one week of the America Makes Dinner challenge, and the winning family will win a private cooking lesson from chef-preneur Allison Sosna, former executive chef of DC Central Kitchen, a competitor on Food Network’s “Chopped” and a passionate advocate of healthy food for children. During the three-hour cooking lesson, Sosna will teach the basics of preparing quick and easy dinners, and leave the family with a full week’s worth of delicious family dinner ideas. The winner will also receive an All-Clad sauté pan, perfect for large families who like to cook one-dish meals. Families are encouraged to submit a recipe that helps them get a healthy meal on the table, even on a busy weeknight. To be eligible, dinner recipes must be simple, original and appropriate for families with children. The final recipes also will follow federal MyPlate guidelines for a healthy meal. “The single most important act anyone can do with their family is to sit down together and enjoy a home-cooked meal,” said Laurie David. “And if you do, your children will reap the benefits long into their adult years.” America Makes Dinner partners who will be sharing their favorite family dinner recipes include: • Daniel and Shauna Ahern, authors of “Gluten Free Girl: How I Found the Food That Loves Me Back” and “Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef” • Kristy Bernardo, personal chef and blogger for “The Wicked Noodle” • Floyd Cardoz, chef and Top Chef Masters winner • Tom Colicchio and Maria Hines, James Beard Award-winning chefs • Laurie David, producer and author of “The Family Dinner: Great Ways to Connect with Your Kids, One Meal at a Time” and her co-author, Kirstin Uhrenholdt • Cara Eisenpress, author of “In the Small Kitchen” and a Meatless Monday blogger • Sierra McCormick, of Disney’s “A.N.T. Farm” • Holly Smith, chef and James Beard Foundation Medal winner, and her son Oliver • Allison Sosna, chef and contestant on Food Network's “Chopped” “Most everyone agrees that eating dinner together is a good thing—good for our health, our families and our wallets,” said Cozi CEO Robbie Cape. “But things get in the way—like homework, soccer practice and not knowing quick and healthy recipes. Both Cozi and PHA are committed to helping build healthier futures for children, and we hope that families across the nation will join us to promote the importance of sitting down together as a family to have dinner and talk about their day.” “We know that when families eat together at home, they inevitably eat healthier,” said Larry Soler, PHA CEO. “America Makes Dinner is a great way to celebrate the power of families to make healthier choices together, and to inspire everyday families to share their favorite quick, healthy meals. We look forward to the recipes that America will cook up together this fall!” Families can visit www.americamakesdinner.com to find simple recipe ideas that follow MyPlate guidelines for a healthy meal and help choose the recipe finalists. About Cozi Cozi is a free Web and mobile service that simplifies busy family life. With Cozi, families have the tools to manage schedules and activities with an online calendar, track grocery lists, shopping lists and to do lists, plan meals and store recipes, organize household chores, and share family moments with relatives and friends—all with one solution. Families can access Cozi from any computer at home or at work, and can get their grocery list, shopping list, to do list,schedule and messages on any mobile phone. Located in Seattle, Wash., Cozi was founded by veterans of Microsoft, Expedia and Amazon with a vision for creating technology tuned to the family. Cozi has over 6million registered family members, and is available for free at www.cozi.com. About the Partnership for a Healthier America The Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA) is devoted to working with the private sector to ensure the health of our nation’s youth by solving the childhood obesity crisis. In 2010, PHA was created in conjunction with – but independent from – First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! effort. PHA is a nonpartisan nonprofit organization that is led by some of the nation's most respected health and childhood obesity experts. PHA brings together public, private and nonprofit leaders to broker meaningful commitments and develop strategies to end childhood obesity. Most important, PHA ensures that commitments made are commitments kept by working with unbiased, third parties to monitor and publicly report on the progress our partners are making. For more information about PHA, please visit www.aHealthierAmerica.org and follow PHA on Twitter @PHAnews.