Latinos are the largest minority in Springfield, Oregon, and many live in an area without access to a grocery store.
Seeing the need for fresh produce in one underserved neighborhood, the Williamette Farm and Food Coalition, Lane Coalition for Healthy Active Youth, and a local convenience store have teamed up to bring fresh produce straight into the neighborhood.
Telltale Farm brings in fresh fruits and vegetables to the Dari Mart at 1243 Rainbow Drive once a week, and will continue to do so until fresh produce supply runs low in October. The Williamette Farm and Food Coalition subsidizes the farmers for their time and provides a person to operate a machine that accepts credit cards and food stamp cards so that the farmer does not risk losing money to provide fresh produce in ...
It's never too early to start healthy habits, especially when those habits can reduce kids' chances of heart disease, diabetes, and other serious conditions. The American Institute for Cancer Research crafted six toolkits to teach kids how easy and fun healthy eating and activity changes can be. Each toolkit contains a recipe, an activity, a lesson plan, and cooking and safety tips. Adults can bring these toolkits into homes as well as into the community. From yummy blueberry smoothies to a shopping cart challenge, these toolkits are informative but also just plain fun!
Check out each toolkit and download the materials to begin helping kids fight cancer and obesity.
Toolkit 1: Eat Powerful Plant Foods Toolkit 2: Go With Whole Grains Toolkit 3: Healthy Protein Toolkit 4: Get ...
If sugar is so bad for us, why do we crave it?
"High rates of obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease: the legacy, some experts say, of sugar." National Geographic traces our love affair with sugar back 10,000 years in the article Sugar Love (A Not So Sweet Story). Learn about sugar's journey around the world, first as a luxury item and later as a household staple, and how the sweet substance affects our bodies and our ...
The Farmers & Crafts Market of Las Cruces now accepts nutrition assistance for a number of healthy foods, thanks to La Semilla Food Center, a nonprofit organization that is spearheading the project. With a grant from the USDA specifically aimed to improve low-income communities' access to farmers' markets, La Semilla worked to get electronic benefit transfer (EBT) machines into the market and also improve other markets in the area. La Semilla has also employed a person to be present at an informational booth where the EBT machines and tokens will be kept. "We've got lots of partners that we're working with for this," said Rebecca Wiggins-Reinhard, Farm to School Director with La Semilla. To get EBT accepted in Las Cruces, they had to work with WIC (Women, Infants ...
The Health Impact Project, a collaboration of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and The Pew Charitable Trusts, recently released Health Impact Assessment of Proposed Changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), a paper that summarizes findings from an ongoing health impact assessment being conducted to provide nonpartisan analysis of the potential health impacts of the proposed changes to SNAP, the federal government’s principal program for helping low-income families purchase enough food. Read more about the report ...
In most communities, convenience stores are a common part of the retail landscape – and in many areas, both urban and rural, these stores are the only nearby places to buy food. Can you think of one in your area? What if they served more than just chips, candy, and soda? "Health on a Shelf", ChangeLab Solutions' guide to healthy small food retailer certification programs, is an extensive toolkit that takes folks through the process of creating and sustaining a healthy small food retailer program. By establishing a healthy small food retailer program, government agencies and community-based organizations can support and give incentives to food retailers (including corner stores, bodegas, and rural markets) that are willing to sell healthy foods. Programs offer a range of ...
Do you live near a community garden? Does your neighborhood sell good-quality, low-cost fruits and vegetables? Is there a farmer's market in your neighborhood? If you answered "no" to any of these questions, your neighborhood is ready for some healthy changes.
Check out ChangeLab Solutions' "Eight Steps to Get More Fruits and Vegetables Into Your Neighborhood", available in English and in ...
In places where only candy, chips, soda, and other junk foods are readily available, fresh “produce cart vendors” (like a produce stand on wheels!) can make a world of difference. ChangeLab Solutions created a model produce cart ordinance as well as a guide on how to create a permit program for produce carts in your city or ...
