Soccer mom creates healthy snack movement in Ohio



Mom and registered dietician in Columbus, Ohio, Sally Kuzemchak, calls herself a "soccer mom on a mission" after she found out that her kids were eating junk food and sugary beverages at all their sports and after school events. Sally saw the need to have her two kids fuel up on more than the usual sports drinks, juice boxed drinks and chips that are offered to kids. She wanted to create a grassroots effort to stop unhealthy snacking patterns for the sake of her and other kid's health. So Sally created a healthier snack movement, by asking other moms to take a stand towards healthier snacking at local school, church, and sports team events by becoming, "Snacktivists". Snacktivists moms are empowered to tell their kids coaches, and camp directors about their concerns with snacks ...

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ALDI grocer to partner and invest in schools health initiatives



Southern California schools are about to get help and funding from an unexpected source, a local grocery store. According to a recent article, the ALDI grocery store has recently partnered with Action for Healthy Kids (AFHK) to invest in 15 Southern California area schools to improve overall wellness environments through grants and technical assistance for the 2015 to 2016 school year. The investment from ALDI of $175,000 will go towards helping the schools expand and implement school wellness programs like AFHK's Game On program, and engage community members, parents and ALDI employees to promote wellness at school and home environments. In 2011, the company helped schools through partnering with AFHK in Chicago and hopes to continue to expand and benefit the more than 11,000 ...

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Parent speaks out about unhealthy, cheesy school lunch options



Advocate and parent Theresa Turco wants healthier meals for her student's district. Speaking out and giving ideas, while passing out a menu, Turco explained in a recent news article that meals were too focused on unhealthy items like pizza, mozzarella sticks, and nachos. Turco offered up suggestions at a Board of Education meeting on May 224th, 2016, asking about doing surveys in English and Spanish to help figure out what parents and students would like to see on the school's menu. She also suggested affordable ways to incorporate more fresh foods into the school's food environment through taste-tests, salad and smoothie bars, and working with programs like USDA's Farm to School and Chef to School for resources and training. Turco knows that healthy eating is better for ...

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Student approved meals gain success in South Carolina



What's a good way to make sure students eat the new healthy foods schools are trying to implement across the nation? Taste Tests! A school district in South Carolina, Laurens 56 school district, has worked with kids, offering taste tests to try the new healthy school food swaps, before putting them on the school menu. Now new favorites in the lunchroom include collards and broccoli! All items are taste-tested, and given feedback from kids before approved, to make sure students enjoy new items like the chicken fajita wraps. Cindy Jacobs, the Child Nutrition Director for the district, worked from the very beginning making sure teachers and students saw the importance of the new nutrition standards, and asked students to get creative by making their own lunch menus under the ...

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Arizona Parents Push for More Time for Recess



Christine Davis, a parent in Madison Elementary School District in Arizona, began looking into the school districts policies regarding time for recess and daily exercise in 2015. She made phone calls and sent emails to school administrators to gather information. She found that from the state level down, the policies were vague and the ones that were in place were mostly focused on P.E. This concerned her because she's knows an active body is an active mind, so she requested the district adopt more strict policies regarding recess to ensure kids get time to exercise everyday. Some Madison School District Government Board members agreed to discuss creating more specific guidelines for a recess policy. Davis and other parents also started the Madison Parents for Recess group ...

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MN school district ditches deep-fat fryers



The south is a place well-known for deep fried foods, but now Natchez-Adams school district cafeterias in Miss. are ditching the deep fryers. The districts are working to have healthier options in their schools and increase physical activity breaks among the district, by replacing fryers with steamers, learning new ways to cook healthy foods, and opting to have more fitness breaks outside for students. The district's Public Relations Coordinator, Steven Richardson, said in a local news story that the schools are working on highlighting healthy living amongst students. The child nutrition supervisor, Shantoura Spears, also explained that the funding for the fryers has been paid through grants the school has been receiving and have helped the schools replace them with healthier ...

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El efecto positivo de la educación física en los niños latinos



Según datos de Salud America! más del 39% de los niños latinos en EE.UU sufre de obesidad y sobrepeso. Un reciente informe de Voices for Healthy Kids, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation y SHAPE America subraya la importancia de la educación física en la lucha contra la obesidad infantil. Lee más sobre este informe y recomendaciones ...

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School Health Initiative Program kicks off in Williamsburg-James City County Schools



Working to make the healthy choice the easy choice, the School Health Initiative Program (SHIP) is activating kids in schools through fun activities and challenges for students to be active and eat healthily. On April 23rd, 2016, students from the Williamsburg-James City County Schools (WJCC) participated in a 5K and also led demonstrations in karate, yoga, hip-hop, and ballet. SHIP also provided farmers market attendees samples of the latest school foods being served up in the WJCC schools. SHIP is funded by the Williamsburg Health Foundation and works in partnership with WJCC schools to create and serve healthy recipes to kids in schools and keep kids active. To learn more about this change, click here. Copy & Share on Twitter: SHIP shows students in VA that active ...

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