This Week's Facts:
-
USDA Tool Helps Track
Nutritional Value in Foods
-
Contest Encourages Hoosiers
to Quit Smoking
-
Census Enters Final Stage of
2010 Data Collection
HUD Seeks
Your Input on Housing Market
The
US Department of Housing and Urban
Development wants your help! The HUD’s mission
is to “create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and
quality affordable homes for all.” This not only means
strengthening the housing market, but also trying to ensure that
quality rental housing is available for those who need or prefer
it. However, they recognize that United States citizens may
have some good ideas on how this can best be carried out.
That’s why they have
HUD Ideas in Action, a
collection of forums on various topics dealing with housing.
While some of these are only available to HUD employees, many
are open to the public. Citizens can comment on the
FY 2010-2015 HUD Strategic Plan
or even submit their own ideas on other topics. If you or your
patrons have an opinion on housing in this country, this may be
a great place to get your voice heard.
-------------------------------
Friday Facts Editorial Team:
Katharine Springer
State Data
Center Coordinator
Elisabeth
O’Donnell
Federal Documents Librarian
&
Kim Brown-Harden
State
Documents Coordinator
 
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USDA Tool
Helps Track Nutritional Value of Foods
 We
hear a lot about how obesity is on the rise in the United
States. As a result, many people are looking at their food
consumption as a way to maintain a healthier lifestyle. One
great tool to help with this is
My
Food-A-Pedia from the
USDA.
My Food-A-Pedia breaks down foods by calories and food groups
based on the new
Food Pyramid. Food groups
include grains, vegetables, fruits, milk, meat & beans and
extras (this includes fats and sugars). You can find out which
food groups make up the foods that you’re eating. Each entry
also includes the basic food pyramid, so you know how much you
still need to eat to get your ideal daily allowances. It allows
you to select how much of each food you’re eating and even
allows you to compare two foods. One really nice feature is
that you can not only search by generic food term, but also by
brand-name. Did you start your day with a cup of Honey Bunches
of Oats and a banana? Not a problem – both of them are easily
found in the database!
Contest
Encourages Hoosiers to Quit Smoking
 If
you or someone you know wants to quit smoking, now is the time!
Through the
Quit Now Indiana contest,
you can adopt a healthy lifestyle and win prizes. Quit Now
Indiana is a collaborative effort between
Indiana
Tobacco Prevention and Cessation,
INShape Indiana and the
Indiana
State Department of Health. The contest begins
September 1, 2010 and ends September 30, 2010. To enter, you
make a pledge not to use tobacco for the month of October of
this year.
Click here for complete
eligibility requirement s and contest rules. Tobacco can be
smoked, chewed or inhaled and has negative effects on the
overall health of Indiana residents. In fact, Indiana has the 6th
highest smoking rate in the nation. Becoming tobacco free has
many
benefits, including overall
better health for the smoker and those around them. If you
need help, there are many
tools and resources to help
you become successful in having a smoke-free atmosphere. You
can win a healthier lifestyle when you quit! Good luck!
Census Enters
Final Stage for 2010 Data Collection
 The
door-to-door data collection period for the 2010 Census has
ended as of July 30. However, certain households may still be
visited or called by workers from the U.S. Census Bureau who
will conduct quality control interviews called
Quality Assurance Checks.
The Census Bureau takes this additional step to ensure accuracy
and completeness of data. During these quality control periods,
U.S. residents can still mail back their census forms. However,
they will not have access to the phone and walk-in Questionnaire
Assistance Centers, as they also ended operation on July 30. See
this
Timeline of 2010 Census Operations
for a full schedule of operations and this
Census Operations list and
glossary for definitions of terms.
The next major step for the 2010 Census is
congressional apportionment.
This process is repeated every 10 years in the U.S. after the
census takes place. The Census Bureau is responsible for
delivering the data from the 2010 Census to the President within
nine months of Census Day (Apr. 1), on or before December 31,
2010. According to the
Census Bureau, “this report
will show the apportionment population counts, by state, and the
number of seats in the US House of Representatives apportioned
to each state”. The remainder of the data products from the 2010
Census will be released from April 2011 to September 2013. This
updated list of release
dates, data products, and geography levels is helpful for
patrons who want to know exactly what will be released for a
certain geography. As always, a big thank you to everyone who
participated in the 2010 Census!
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