U.S. Census Bureau Daily Feature for February 5: Snack Food Month

WASHINGTON, Feb. 5, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:

SNACK FOOD MONTH

Profile America — Sunday, February 5th. February is American Heart Month, dedicated to the serious matter of monitoring and taking care of our beating hearts. This is important because while heart disease has claimed fewer lives in recent years, it is still the nation's number one killer — responsible for some 614,000 deaths annually. However, almost as if to prove that no good intention goes unpunished, February is also National Snack Food Month. Despite increasing health consciousness, snack foods still find a way into Americans' hearts through their stomachs. After the brief disappearance a few years ago of Twinkies, there are again some 648 snack food manufacturers across the country. About 49,000 people are employed in the nearly $36 billion a year business of testing Americans' willpower … or lack of it. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at www.census.gov.

Sources:
Occasion/accessed 11/28/2016: http://www.theteacherscorner.net/calendars/february.php 
Heart disease/accessed 11/28/2016: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/deaths.htm 
Twinkies: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/06/23/twinkies-return/2450233/       
Snack food manufacturers/County Business Patterns/NAICS 31191: http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/BP/2014/00A1//naics~31191 
Snack food employment and receipts/Annual Survey of Manufacturers/NAICS 31191: http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ASM/2014/31GS101//naics~31191

Profile America is produced by the Center for New Media and Promotion of the U.S. Census Bureau. Statistics and accounts drawn from cited non-Census sources are employed for illustrative or narrative purposes, and are not attested to by the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look for "Audio" in the "Library" pull-down menu). 

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SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau