Next month, the Louisville Metro Department of Health & Wellness in will launch a $500,000 program to begin working with local restaurants and eateries to help them calculate calories in their dishes and print that information on their menus.
The money is coming from a $7.9 million federal obesity prevention grant, secured by the Health Department in March. The menu labeling is a voluntary program — for now — and Health Department officials believe they can work with between 50 and 200 local restaurants with the available money.
The federal health insurance reform bill, passed by the federal government earlier this year, will require menu labeling with national chain restaurants that have 20 or more locations. The local grant is aimed at helping smaller eateries accomplish the same thing so consumers can make healthier choices.
“This is an opportunity for Louisville to be one of the first cities with a menu labeling policy in place,” said Dr. Adewale Troutman, director of the Health Department. “It will create the opportunity for healthy eating, where all residents have the opportunity to make healthy choices.”
To read the rest of the story, please go to: The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY).