Chicago Public Schools unanimously approved a healthier snack and beverage policy on November 13, 2012. The policy bans the sale of items like Gatorade, energy drinks and whole milk in schools. It also discourages rewarding kids with sweets or selling them at school fundraisers. Latino children make up the majority of students in the district, at 44%. Schools will be given a full year to implement the ...
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On Friday, January 18th, 2013, the Mayor's Fitness Council in San Antonio, Texas hosted the Healthy Schools Summit. The summit, which is open to the community, including parents, teachers, administrators and organizations, took a look at wellness policies in San Antonio school districts and brainstormed ways schools can put on ...
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A company by the name of Healthways is working with communities in California and Iowa to shape policies that would make communities more active through the Blue Zones Project. According to a blog post from the DC.StreetsBlog.org, the Blue Zones Project---a collaborative effort of AARP, Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, and the Walkable and Livable Communities Institute---is now working to integrate more physical activity into daily life. The blog post mentions that communities near Los Angeles like Hermosa, Rendondo Beach, and Mahattan Beach, participated in a planning process to institute walking school buses, to create a livable streets plan and to develop a master bike plan. It also states that since the start of the Blue Zones project in Southern California, ten local schools have ...
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CSPI urges advocates to demand better from the country's fast food chains by singing their letter to leading fast-food chains. The letter asks that fast food decision-makers to commit to providing children with healthier meal options at their restaurants by reformulating current menu options to reduce the amount of calories, sodium, saturated fat, and sugars, offering more fruit and vegetable options, making the grains whole grain, and removing soda and other sugary drinks from the children's menu. Want to show your support? Click ...
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CycloBia is Brownsville's version of Ciclovia--an open streets event--which originated in Colombia. The first CycloBia was held November of 2012. The event was a way of getting people to leave their houses and become active, by riding bikes and walking down a temporarily closed off streets in Brownsville. CycloBia not only gave participants a chance to ride their bikes through downtown Brownsville, but also the opportunity to participate in "reclovias"--free exercise sessions available at four different locations, along the closed off streets. In this blog, Lisa Mitchell-Bennett, a participant of the Brownsville CycloBia, shares the wonderful experience she had while attending Brownsville's first CycloBia. She describes the healthy event as one where "the streets belonged to ...
Read MoreA town hall meeting is a great way to make your voice heard in local government. Typically open to everybody in the community, attendees get the chance to voice their opinions and ask questions of the public figures, elected officials, and each other. If there’s an issue in your community that needs to be addressed, a town hall meeting is a great place to start. But let’s be honest, getting a bunch of concerned neighbors together in one room can be a challenge. Demanding jobs and busy kids leave little time to meet in a room with folks to discuss food access issues. Knowing all this, a group in Detroit got creative. Fair Food Network’s Strengthening Detroit Voices, a nonprofit dedicated to building a more just and sustainable food system, hosted a Telephone Town Hall on December ...
Read MoreMore than 70,000 East Baton Rouge Parish residents live in “food deserts,” according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, meaning fresh fruits and vegetables are not easy to get. This community is tired of their food options, and local officials say they are intent on addressing the problem. The Food Access Policy Commission, a 13-member citizen panel formed in February of 2013, is dedicated to analyzing the problem and presenting solutions to parish and state authorities by the end of 2013. The commission was born after Together Baton Rouge, a nonprofit made up of about 40 local religious and civic organizations, heard community members talking about the need for more healthy and reasonably priced foods in their neighborhoods. After analyzing the problem in the East ...
Read MoreWhen it comes to getting healthier food into your neighborhood, you have to get the word out first. On March 6, the League of Women Voters of Dane County hosted a forum on food desert issues in Dane County.The forum discussed limitations of Madison’s food system and what local government and businesses are doing to address related problems. “Poverty is not unique in Wisconsin,” said Carrie Edgar, department head and community food systems educator for Dane County UW-Extension. Dane County’s Food Share participants more than tripled from 2000 to 2010. Among those suffering from poverty, children outnumber the elderly two to one. Edgar encouraged the community to address the food insecurity by promoting and establishing food access points, such as farmer markets, that are ...
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The Promoting Health as Youth Skills In Classrooms And Life Act (S.392) is a federal bill that would amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 and make health education and physical education core academic subjects in the classroom. It was brought before the 113th Congress on February 27, 2013 and sponsored by Sen. Tom Udall (D-New Mexico). Read the full text to the bill ...
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