"Childhood Obesity: The School Lunchroom Debate," will be the 2011 topic of the annual National Farm-City Week Symposium held at the Griffin Gate Marriott, Lexington, Ken., on Thursday, Nov. 17. The public is invited to attend. The purpose of this symposium will be to explore the issues around childhood obesity in the United States and how it can be managed through healthy choices made available in the school lunchroom. "The epidemic of childhood obesity - which usually continues on into adulthood - is an increasingly difficult situation to reverse throughout the United States," says Hugh Whaley, chairman of the National Farm-City Council. "If we can help children and young adults develop healthy eating habits through improved food selection education and healthy choices in school lunch programs, we'll go a long way toward managing this national problem. "We are assembling a broad range of nutrition experts who will be able to discuss this challenge. The goal of this Symposium is to identify tools with which local, state and national agricultural leaders and organizations can use to assure our communities have a robust and positive discussion of this issue." The Symposium begins at 10:30 a.m. EST and will continue until 2 p.m. Discussions from 11 a.m. until noon will be broadcast live by the nationally syndicated AgriTalk radio show, hosted by nationally noted broadcaster, Mike Adams. It will include a lunch from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. with a topic-related speaker. Symposium participants and the lunch speaker will be announced later. The Griffin Gate Marriott, 1800 Newtown Pike, Lexington, KY 40511, (859) 231-5100, is located about 10 miles from the Lexington airport. For more information on the National Farm-City Council Symposium on "Childhood Obesity: The School Lunchroom Debate," contact Holly Fritz at 610.621.2253 or holly.fritz@hbfritz.com. The event kicks off National Farm-City Week from Nov. 18-25, ending on Thanksgiving, and celebrates the important partnership between farm and urban residents in providing the nation with a bounty of food, fiber, fuel and a growing list of other products. The National Farm-City Week, recognized by a White House proclamation, is organized by the National Farm-City Council, a nonprofit organization dedicated to enhancing links between farm families and urban residents. The Council provides local organizations with educational programs about people who grow their food. For those interested in organizing a local Farm-City event, go to the National Farm-City Web site at www.farmcity.org or call 202.406.3706. The National Farm-City Council is a 501(c) (3) charitable organization under the Internal Revenue Service Code. 08.10.2011