At Patrick Henry Middle School in Houston, TX, also known as "the Pat," school officials know that healthy families are a key to Sponsored by the middle school along with Texas ACE 21st Century, this event will provide information, resources and fun learning activities that will assist parents in guiding their families to practice healthy living. School officials are seeking community resources, vendors, supporters, etc. to provide resources that can help low income parents explore their options in order to adequately provide for their families. At "the Pat," over 72% of students are at-risk and 95% are low income. 88% of students at "the Pat" are Hispanic. To learn how you or your business can contribute, please contact Miss Jay at jricheyo@houstonisd.org or call 713-696-2650 ...
The Aetna Foundation has announced the launch of the 2015 GoLocal: Cultivating Healthy Communities grants program. This year will be an Open RFP called Local Roots: Supporting Community Gardens, Urban Farms and Farmers Markets. Through this RFP Aetna will fund the creation and expansion of community gardens, urban farms and farmers markets in underserved neighborhoods so that fresh fruits and vegetables are locally available, accessible and affordable Beyond the gardens, farms or farmers markets themselves, successful applicants must have programs that also engage local residents in one or more of the following: Nutrition education and/or cooking classes that improve knowledge and skills about the health benefits of fresh produce;
Cultivating and/or distributing produce that ...
Check out this bill tracker that follows bills in the 84th Texas Legislature that are relevant to research taking place at the Michael & Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living and the expertise of their faculty. The bills are sorted into 4 general categories: food policy, obesity and the built environment, school health, and tobacco. Click here to access the bill ...
Using data from the 2012-13 school year, researchers with Bridging the Gap's National Wellness Policy Study collaborated with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to update a series of briefs and an accompanying PowerPoint presentation highlighting opportunities to support wellness policies through evidence-based strategies. These briefs provide an assessment of policies across school districts nationwide related to seven wellness policy components. They also highlight areas of opportunity for state agencies, school districts, and schools to strengthen wellness policy components. The PowerPoint presentation provides stakeholders with an easy-to-use resource to present the research findings, recommendations, resources, and other information found in the ...
This policy brief, created by Leadership for Healthy Communities which is a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, investigates sugary drink consumption in communities of color, focusing on the public health impact and marketing of such products, and policy options to facilitate healthy beverage consumption. It also discusses how decision makers can work to prevent childhood obesity and related illnesses by advancing policies to reduce the marketing and appeal of sugary drinks—and increase the availability of healthy alternatives—in communities of color. Download Sugary Drinks in Communities of Color: Recent Research and Policy Options for Reducing ...
Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro from Connecticut has reintroduced a bill she first brought to Congress last year. The SWEET Act would place a tax on sugary drinks of one cent per teaspoon of caloric sweetener, such as sugar or high-fructose corn syrup. Nutritionally important beverage products such as milk, 100 percent fruit juice and infant formula would be exempted. Rep. DeLauro cites health and nutrition as the critical factor behind the bill in a press release: “People want to be healthy and they want their kids to be healthy. But we are in the midst of dual epidemics, with Type 2 diabetes and obesity afflicting our nation and the related, astronomical health care costs. There is a clear relationship between sugar-sweetened beverages and a host of health conditions, including ...
A new mobile food market is rolling into neighborhoods in St. Louis without easy access to fresh, affordable food. Washington University graduates Colin Dowling and Tej Azad and Saint Louis University medical student Jeremy Goss teamed up to create the St. Louis MetroMarket, a mobile farmers' market. The mobile farmers’ market is designed to combat the health problems associated with food deserts by bringing fresh produce, fish, meat and other staples to low-income areas that don’t have grocery stores. The food will be sold on a sliding pay scale. St. Louis MetroMarket recently received a $75,000 grant from the Incarnate Word Foundation to launch the grocery-store-on-wheels, and the local metro transit company has donated the bus. Part of St. Louis MetroMarket’s plan ...
Despite an unsuccessful attempt at passing a tax on sugary drinks previously, health advocates in Vermont spent Summer 2014 gearing-up for this year's legislative session. And their preparation seems to be paying off. In January 2015, legislators introduced a bill that would place a two-cent-per-ounce tax on sugary drinks like sodas and some juices. As of March, the bill has made it through several House committees with no sign of slowing down. The Alliance for a Healthier Vermont, which supports the tax, said in a recent news article that Vermont spends an average of $202 million a year on obesity-related medical costs for adults alone. The tax would help offset this cost, supporters say---revenues could be used to fund health initiatives or subsidize insurance ...
Another state legislature is taking-up a bill that would encourage food retailers to provide more healthy food options. Legislators in North Carolina recently introduced the Healthy Food Small Retailer/Corner Store Act. The bill will provide funding assistance of up to $5,000 to independently-owned corner stores and small retailers to upgrade their refrigeration equipment and provide employee training, to enable the stores to sell fresh fruits and vegetables and other nutrient-dense produce in food desert zones. “North Carolinians view unhealthy eating and childhood obesity as the most serious problems facing kids across the country today, above a lack of physical activity, education or spending time outside,” said Sarah Jacobson, Healthy Food Access Coordinator for the North ...
