A new study from Yale University indicates that a school breakfast may help ensure a healthier weight range for kids. Latino kids who are more at risk for unhealthy weight ranges and at risk for higher chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease may benefit from this research as the study suggests that students who consumed breakfasts were more likely to have a healthy weight trajectory. Researchers reviewed over 580 middle school students from fifth grade to seventh grade, from 12 school districts in urban schools where free breakfast and lunches are served daily. Evaluating breakfast location patterns, and the link between breakfast patterns and weight of students over time, researchers looked at six patterns of eating, and the odds of being overweight or obese for ...
Montezuma County (12.2 % Latino) was once well known for its blooming apple orchards. Back in 1904, three Gold Medals were awarded to the county at the St. Louis World’s Fair. But for years, these fresh apples weren’t always available to kids at local schools. Now, with the help of farm-to-school activists like Sarah Syverson and other groups, Cortez Middle School is growing a garden and an entire apple orchard to bring new fresh foods to local school cafeterias and to the school’s farmers market.
EMERGENCE
Awareness: Sarah Syverson, director of the Montezuma School to Farm Project (MSTFP) in Montezuma County, Colo., was proud of the school garden at Cortez Middle School (CMS). Established in 2013 the schools garden was a place where education and healthy food access went ...
A recent report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that Americans don’t come even close to the recommended 7 to 13 servings of fruits. Research has proven that, when we add fruits to our daily diet, we significantly decrease our risk for chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and numerous cancers. Here are 2 "super fruits" that can positively influence your health:
Apples
I know you’ve heard this before, but according to research an apple a day does literally keep the doctor away. Apples are full of powerful antioxidants, which protect cell damage and significantly reduce the risk of cancer.
Blueberries
Blueberries are loaded with anthocyanins, which improve vision and brain functions. Blueberries have also been found to help lower the risk ...
A study from Preventing Chronic Disease showed that after districtwide policies were implemented across Boston schools, students had less access to sugar-sweetened beverages. The data showed that after a ban of sugar-sweetened beverages in 2004, 89.6% of all schools studied met beverage nutrition standards, with elementary schools showing the most compliance at 93.6 percent. Through the study, researchers also found that when these nutrition standards were met at 85.5 percent of schools studied, only four percent of students had little to no access to competitive beverages or sugary beverages at school. Rebecca S. Mozaffarian, MS, MPH of the department of social and behavioral sciences at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health explained in a recent article that these ...
What does your school fundraiser look like? This question is a great way to ignite questions about healthier food fundraising for schools, as many schools across the nation are still allowing soda, and high-sugar foods to be used in school fundraising efforts, causing students to still be exposed to unhealthy foods. Healthy Eating Research (HER) and Bridging the Gap (BTG) have recently provided new data on food-related fundraising in schools. The new research brief reviews national research showing how using Smart Snacks Standards in food-related fundraising may help improve students weight outcomes and health. The research review also shows how more guidance is needed regarding fundraiser policies and practices nationwide. Suggested alternatives to unhealthy food-related ...
Helping to encourage kids to be advocates for their own lunchrooms, Sprout Urban Farms helps provide kids access to fresh foods by planting gardens in their school, getting local food in their cafeterias and helping the community with their "Fresh on Wheels" mobile market. The agricultural group is funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Binda Foundation, United Way, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Pennfield Schools Educational Foundation and is part of a Farm to School program that helps incorporate fresh foods from the school garden to the school cafeteria and beyond with their mobile markets. Each school has their own projects with Sprout that incorporate hands-on lessons taught in the gardens. Sprout leader Jeremy Andrews said in a recent article that the ...
In 2013, Shaun Lee wanted to start a company that would allow people access to fresh healthy foods, in and around San Antonio. Lee's company, Truckin' Tomato is a trailer-turned-farmers market, that delivers online ordered foods to homes in San Antonio on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. Lee works with various local farms across the state to pick in season vegetables that are at their peak in freshness, allowing people to have fresh local foods. But some areas of the city are hard to reach with limited funds to expand his business. Working to expand his deliveries, Lee is using a crowdfunding campaign to help him reach new delivery sites in San Antonio and work on ways to address the needs of the larger community to learn about healthy eating and cooking habits. In some delivery ...
The U. S. Dept. of Agriculture announced on March 7th, 2016, that they will continue to support the ongoing success of child nutrition programs like the School Breakfast Program. Agriculture Undersecretary Kevin Concannon said in a recent article, that the USDA will award $6.8 million in competitive Team Nutrition Training Grants to help provide support to schools and child care sites for successful implementation of healthy meals. According to the USDA, participation in school breakfast programs has increased by almost 27 percent; over 14 million students are now eating school breakfast each day. Nutritious meals are important to many Latino kids across the nation that eat more than half of their daily calories at school.
The Pediatric Nutrition Surveillance System (PedNSS), a ...
In Houston, Texas, 53 percent of voters agreed that many Americans can not afford healthier foods and better food policy needs to ensure that everyone can have access to nutritious foods. According to research from Food Policy Findings in October 2015, 75 percent of voters favor incentives to promote sustainable farming and 45 say that healthy foods need to be more affordable for Texans. Recipe for Success Foundation, a non-profit that focuses on combating childhood obesity, is working to address voter priorities by asking for a "Veg-olution" to fight for a healthier food system. Working to get people involved they have asked companies, schools and communities to join VegOut! and get schools active with the Seed-to-Plate Nutrition Education. If your company is interested in ...
