California state Senator Bill Monning (D- Carmel) has reintroduced a soda tax bill that has failed once before. S.B. 622 would impose a penny-per-ounce tax on sugar sweetened beverages in California. The money raised would go toward health and education programs aimed at reducing childhood obesity. Poll shows that more than half of Californians would support a soda tax if the money was used to improve school nutrition and physical education. Check out some frequently asked questions about CA's sugary beverage tax. Follow the ...
A group of 24 Spanish speaking women in Bakersfield, who were part of a walking group, recognized the need for improvements in their local park. In order to get these improvements they worked with the Central California Regional Obesity Prevention (CCROP) Program to conduct a walkability assessment of their neighborhood. The information collected through the assessment was presented before the city council, and city officials agreed to provide resources for the improvements that were needed. Later the walking group was able to gather additional support from the Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce ($10,000) to create a walking path. Once funds for the path were available, volunteers from throughout the community showed up to the park to construct the walking path and even the children ...
When city planners and public health officials work together great things can happen for a community. Take for instance the community of Kettleman city, in King's County. In 2005, specialists from both fields gathered for four lunchtime roundtables where health, the built environment, and smart growth codes were discussed. Soon the team met with community residents who expressed their greatest health and safety concerns, which included: a pedestrian crossing along Highway 41 used by children who walk to school, and lack of fresh produce in their community. With the help of the planning team, residents in Kettleman were able to get a $140,000 Cal Trans Environmental Justice Grant to determine what safety measures should be added to the crossway. Public health officials were also able to ...
The Sioux City school district has initiated a program which they hope will encourage children to walk to school. Through grants from the state department of public health, school officials will initiate an effort to create a network of parents and peers who would walk to school.
As a Blue Zones designated community, Sioux City hopes to help Iowa become the healthiest state by 2016. The Sioux City school district is initiating a one week walking program at each school, but hopes that parents will continue the program on their own. Read the full news article about the Sioux City's efforts to initiate more walking to ...
Currently, Nebraska does not place as tax on groceries, and that includes sodas and other sugary drinks. One state senator would like to change that. LB 447 would tax all, non-alcoholic beverages that contain natural or artificial sweeteners at the standard sales tax rate, which is 7% in Lincoln. It would generate 11 million dollars to create the Nebraska Healthy Kids Fund to help fight childhood obesity, a report shows. Lincoln Sen. Bill Avery has pitched his soda tax proposal and asked the Legislature's Revenue Committee to include his bill in a tax commission study. The beverage industry and health activists went head-to-head debating whether to tax soda to support health programs. Check out the bill's progress ...
The Sonoma County Healthy and Sustainable Food Action Plan (Action Plan) is a collaborative effort between the Sonoma County Department of Health Services, the Sonoma County Food System Alliance and community stakeholders provides a county-wide framework to stimulate and coordinate improvements within our food system. The Action Plan encourages local governments, businesses, organizations and individuals to commit to specific actions so they can play a role in building a viable food system for Sonoma County that assists efforts to reduce childhood obesity. Highlights of the plan include support for policies that increase point-of-sale acceptance of CalFresh and WIC at farmers’ markets, community-supported agriculture (CSA) farms, and neighborhood stores, develop tax and zoning ...
There is a bill now in front of the House Education Committee that will eliminate certain foods that are considered "junk foods" from lunch rooms and vending machines in South Carolina. The bill would also allow for only water, 100% fruit juice, and fat-free or low-fat milk to be offered in schools. Changing regulations would require the snacks served in the lunch room or in vending machines must not have more than 200 calories, 35% of total calories from fat, 35% of their total weight composed of sugar, or 10% of their total calories from saturated fat. These rules will only apply to events and locations during the school day, and will not be regulated during after school clubs, activities, or fundraisers. The regulation of food and nutrition at fundraisers will be debated in the ...
The Fit Family Challenge, organized by San Antonio Sports--a local non-profit organization--has provided hundreds of families in San Antonio an opportunity to participate in free fitness events over a four-month period. The goal of this campaign, made possible through a grant from the Kronkosky Charitable Foundation and local sponsors, is to motivate San Antonio families to get active, eat better and learn about health and fitness. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-Gl4FKL0CI&list=UUye2TxFjae2cCSSALF4ikWg&index=3 Visit the Fit Family Challenge Facebook page to find out about more about the ...
Since 1993, San Antonio Sports has provided sports and fitness opportunities for children in grades K-12 across San Antonio, with a special emphasis on disadvantaged youth. Examples of these programs include: the Valero Go!Kids Challenge, the ING Kids Rock San Antonio program, the iPlay Afterschool program (formerly Dreams for Youth), and the Community Olympic Development program. Learn more about the impact that these programs are having on the community by watching this video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOyZOOv1Gs0&feature=player_embedded Through the iPlay Afterschool Program disadvantaged children from 15 elementary schools in grades 3-5, attending Harlingdale ISD and San Antonio ISD, are given the opportunity to participate in after school sports. Often, Latino children ...
