"Sugary beverages are the number one source of sugar in our diets", stated May Okihiro, a local Pediatrician speaking in a film about the need for the new water bottle filling stations in the state of Hawai'i. The partnership between the University of Hawai'i Manoa John A. Burns School of Medicine and Kaiser Permanente Hawai'i has provided a water bottle filling station to 25 schools in the state and reusable water bottles for the students. The partnership hopes to incorporate educational awareness about healthier beverage consumption as a part of the school's wellness policies. All students received a colorful new water bottle, encouraging them to use it daily at the water bottle refilling station. The Be Well @ School project is an initiative for the Hawaiian schools to offer ...
In Palm Desert, Calif. (22.8% Latino) the Desert Sands School Districts are encouraging students to have a hands-on education about agriculture, gardening, health benefits of plants and more. Incorporating science, math, nutrition, language arts and art, students are learning integral lessons about gardens, farming, and how to incorporate farm-to-table solutions for a healthier lifestyle. Starting in elementary schools like Ford Elementary School, where each class has their own gardens, to middle schools like La Quinta Middle school where students go on farm field trips, all the way up to high school like Palm Desert High School, where handicap students have had a garden for over six years. Incorporating a culture of health, students have been encouraged to use the vegetables, ...
Some Members of Congress, food companies, and trade organizations are urging Congress to roll back school nutrition. Have they considered what that would mean for kids’ health? Here are 9 reasons rolling back school nutrition is a bad idea. ...
Children in elementary schools all over the nation are following a 3rd to 5th-grade health curriculum called, Energy Balance 101, part of Together Counts, funded by Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation. The Healthy Weight Foundation has some very familiar CEO's funding the program from companies including PepsiCo, Kellogg, Hershey, Nestle, Coca-Cola, Unilever, Smucker and General Mills. Questions about the curriculum have come up in a recent article, as the educational materials do not point out the need to eat healthy foods, but instead encourages kids that they can eat whatever they like, as long as they "balance" their food choices with exercise. Unfortunately, many Latino kids are already dealing with obesity and possible health risks like pre-diabetes. Kids need information ...
Tom Vilsack announced on November 17, 2015, that $4.8 million dollars would go towards grants for states needing support for child nutrition programs that include local farmers and ranchers through Farm to School programs. The grants will provide over 5,211 schools projects that include various initiatives to connect farmers and ranchers to schools and support school nutrition with fresh produce. The 2016 Farm to School Grants summary page includes lists of all the projects that will be funded through the grant, working in states across the country that are mainly schools eligible for free or reduced-price meals. Projects include, connecting local farmers with schools, culinary trainings, harvesting projects, food hubs, training of best practices, local food processing kitchens, and ...
This year in July, the bill for the farm to school program passed in Hawai'i, allowing funding for a farm to school program coordinator and also bringing more awareness to the state with support from local politicians and community members. School advocates visited the National Farm to Cafeteria Conference in 2014 in Austin, Texas and learned about legislation and how they can put healthier food policy into practice. Needing funding for an official state Farm to School Coordinator, the efforts for policy change began. After defining the policy goal in mind, the National Farm to School Network worked with Hawai'i leaders, giving them resources and fact sheets to raise awareness of farm to school activities and getting more supporters on board. The bill was approved after the farm to ...
Did you know that only six percent of schools sell fruits and vegetables in vending machines, school stores or snack bars? The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has produced new tips for parents to get more involved in their child's school health initiatives. These set of resources, called, Parents for Healthy Schools, helps schools and school group associations, engage parents in creating and sustaining healthy school environments. The resources within CDC's toolkit give helpful ideas and tips for parents to see how to get active in schools by helping kids have: Healthier School Snacks
Healthy School Fundraisers
Available Drinking Water
Healthy Student Rewards More facts are also available on the site, showing parents that 74% of schools sell soft drinks ...
School gardens are not new, according to researcher Suzanne Teghtmeyer. School gardening within the United States started as early as the 19th century and is still thriving today. But how are school gardens growing and changing students' health and education today? Helping school gardens grow through network opportunities, online tools, and resources, is a new network called The Edible Schoolyard Project. Founded by Alice Walters, their mission is to create and build a national edible education curriculum that runs from pre-k education through high school. Thier efforts support a network of current school gardens with a map showing all the new school gardens growing around the nation and the world. They also provide stories and resources like math and science ...
How can one family have an impact on reducing obesity in their school and beyond? Just look at the Surani sisters of Corpus Christi, Texas. After learning that their city had been named the fattest in the nation and how obesity is a huge health threat among children, the three girls wanted to take action They, with the help of their parents and others, created several programs to improve children’s health, including the iConquer program to help kids beat obesity by achieving healthy lifestyles starting from the early ages of 3 to 6 years old.
Sister History of Health
Fifteen-year-old Zoya Surani, along with sisters Sara (19) and Saherish (16), grew up in a household where healthy choices were commonplace. Their father, a pulmonologist, and mother, a respiratory therapist, ...
