Cookies, chocolate and wrapping paper aren’t just hallmarks of the holiday season, they’re also staples of school fundraising initiatives. While the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act is bringing more dark red, orange and green vegetables to students’ lunch trays, children are also raking in the green with foods more likely to be served at sleepovers than [...]

  Contaminated food sickened at least 17 Iowans in less than two years and cost the state more than $1.4 million, according to a new report. Those illnesses and costs were linked directly to food recalls, according to the report from the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, or PIRG. Nationwide, the report cited 1,753 Americans [...]

  CEDAR RAPIDS — Kalais Kuhlmann grew up on a farm in Readlyn. For her, eating local isn’t a movement. It’s the way she was raised. Continuing those healthy habits in college, however, can be challenging. Add the fact that Kuhlmann has to balance academics with athletics — the senior is a guard on the [...]

How is the success of a community measured? For some, that simple question is answered by the number of luxury cars lining the city streets, or by the size of wallets bulging out of back pockets. But an increasing number of community leaders, health professionals and government officials — including Gov. Terry Branstad — are [...]

  The “pink slime” moniker drew attention to an additive in ground beef, but you might be surprised to know how many other foods undergo alterations. That breakfast cereal you ate this morning and the pudding or chocolate your kids will snack on after school, for example, all could have been treated with the same [...]