Growing gardens in schools shows impressive results, reports a recent NPR article. Students in Texas, Washington, Maryland and Virginia, are part of REAL School Gardens, a non-profit that proves their efforts through REAL numbers of changes made through their efforts of planting learning gardens in schools. Many of the schools are in low-income areas, or urban areas considered "food deserts". The organization reveals on their website that school who had "learning gardens" had increased test scores, and were more equipped in science and math. The Learning Gardens encourage students to have a hands on learning approach to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) all while promoting healthy foods. Helping kids to be active in the garden is proving itself for ...
An announcement has been made from Local Foods and Local Places, about a grant opportunity for those wanting to build strong local food systems. Spurring on economic growth and health of the community, grantees will receive $800,000 to change their communities access to healthier local foods. Since 2014, the Local Food and Local Places program has existed to assist communities throughout the nation with plans for new farmers markets, to enhance neighborhoods' access to food hubs, to provide SNAP benefits, and to develop walkable community gardens. Various projects funded from the grant from 2014 can be found here. This federal initiative is a partnership between USDA, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the ...
Walking the 606, students in the summer school program in the Belmont Cragin Community, learn how the city made more active spaces out of a retired elevated train line. Fo many of the students in the community this was the first time they had ever been on the 606 park trail, according to a recent article. Students in the month long trial summer program within the Prieto Math and Science Academy, walked every other day along parts of the trail, interviewing locals on the trail about various topics. The program was allowing students to study any topic related to the trail, some students chose to interview local police officers of the trail and make a video about the do's and don'ts of the trail. Staying to the right of those who are running or biking is a good rule, according to ...
Announcing back in June, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) stated that over the next three years, food companies needed to get rid of the overuse of trans fats in their products, emphasizing the threat on health and obesity. However, companies like the Grocery Manufactures Association are trying to petition trans fats in some products like cereal and pie crusts. The good news is that many of these food companies have already lowered trans fat in their foods by more than 86 percent. Bad news is that even small traces of these fats are unhealthy, only used for progressing shelf life and in the long run causing high cholesterol and possible heart disease. In fact, trans fats are worse than any other fats for your heart and some studies even say that these fats can alter your ...
One of the world's first vertical farms will be set in Jackson, Wyoming. It is reported that Wyoming is home to over 40,000 people living in food deserts. The company, Vertical Harvest plans to produce 100,000 pounds of produce per year. Rotating vertical pillars of vegetables like a dry cleaning system, the vegetables spend optimal time getting nutrients from the sun's south side area in the three story vertical greenhouse. Coconut husks will help keep the garden strong along with hydroponic systems to keep the plants hydrated. Focusing on helping the community and being a sustainable re-source for the city, Vertical Harvest plans on hiring many of the unemployed adults living with disabilities, assisting them in lives of independence. Best of all, the company aims at ...
Many packaged food companies and fast food restaurants are nixing artificial foods. Kellogg has jumped on this bandwagon and has recently stated they will stop using artificial colors and ingredients in their products. Kellogg's is the world's largest cereal company who's plan is to have all fake ingredients out of their boxes by the end of 2018. Other companies like General Mills are also upping their standards against unnatural ingredients, due to consumer demand, and making a goal to rid all artificial ingredients by 2016, in at least 90 percent of it's cereals. Trying to rebrand their products for "wellness" and add more healthy options like muesli and varieties of granola, Kellogg hopes to regain the consumers who are overwhelmingly making an impact on the company's stocks. In ...
Forget about hotdogs and sausages at the concession stands, stadiums are growing healthy greens across the country to include more greens into baseball fans diets and become more sustainable businesses. Fenway Farms in Boston, is one example of this new baseball farm fad, growing vegetables on the 5,000 square feet rooftop. The garden rooftop provides for Fenway events, as well as the famous Red Sox baseball games. According to one article, it will also be used to educate local youth on environmental preservation and healthier eating. Founder of Green City Growers, Jessie Banhazl stated in an article in ThinkProgress, "The reaction is incredibly positive. People are really excited to see this particular area of the park that was not being used for anything all of the sudden ...
Why are sunflowers hairy? What is kale and how do you harvest it? These are just a few of the questions answered by gardener and director of education for Somerville’s Green City Growers, Leilani Mroczkowski. The YMCA's summer program to help children learn about gardening and cooking food, is taking root in East Boston YMCA’s “Urban Farm to Kitchen” program. The children in this program mainly come from first- or second-generation immigrants from South and Central America, reports the recent article. Mroczkowski says the kid's in the program rarely have access to the "natural world". Studies confirm that Latino children are less likely to have access to fresh fruit and vegetables and many live in food desserts. So, how does this program help Latino kids change ...
The end of the summer is near, and as school lunches must be packed, parents are wondering what to put in their kid's lunch. Will what a student eats, make him or her achieve better results in school? A recent article states that hydration, nutrition and sleep are key areas to help kids succeed in school. In fact, Mary Pat Turon-Findley MS, RD, LD, a clinical dietitian in the Division of Nutrition Therapy at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, encourages parents to start prepping kids with healthy meals, plenty of rest and sleep one week before school starts. Some Tips for a fresh start to the new school year are as follows: Start with a healthy morning meal ( fresh eggs, fruit, whole grains, low-fat dairy products)
Make sure students have a healthy ...
