Webinar: Bringing Everyone to the Farmers’ Market
Check out this informative webinar from ChangeLab Solutions about how low-income communities can improve their access to farmers' ...
Read MoreEight Steps to Get More Fruits and Vegetables Into Your Neighborhood
Do you live near a community garden? Does your neighborhood sell good-quality, low-cost fruits and vegetables? Is there a farmer's market in your neighborhood? If you answered "no" to any of these questions, your neighborhood is ready for some healthy changes. Check out ChangeLab Solutions' "Eight Steps to Get More Fruits and Vegetables Into Your Neighborhood", available in English and in ...
Read MoreGet the Facts: California Certified Farmers’ Markets and Farm Stands
California certified farmers’ markets and farm stands can help bring fresh fruits and vegetables directly to the communities that need them most. It can be difficult—if not impossible—to find fresh, affordable healthy food in many urban and rural low-income communities. These fact sheets from ChangeLab Solutions explain how state law works to encourage more farmers’ markets, farm stands, and community supported agriculture (CSA) programs, where farmers can sell their produce directly to ...
Read MoreFruits and Veggies: Just What the Doctor Ordered in NYC
Many doctors in New York City will now be prescribing more than just medicine. The Fruit and Vegetable Prescription Program is being brought to New York City for the first time in a pilot program at Lincoln Medical Center in the Bronx and Harlem Hospital Center in Manhattan. The Fruit and Vegetable Prescription Program (FVRx) is a nationally-recognized program by Wholesome Wave under which a doctor and nutritionist assess the health and nutritional habits of patients and families at risk for obesity and give patients “prescriptions” to consume more fruits and vegetables. FVRx patients at the two hospitals will then receive Health Bucks, which are coupons from the Human Resources Administration and the Health Department that can be redeemed for fruit and vegetables at all of New ...
Read MoreGood Laws, Good Food: Putting State Food Policy to Work for our Communities
The Harvard Food Law and Policy Clinic has published a toolkit intended to serve as a reference for food policy councils, food advocates, state policymakers, and non-profit entities.This toolkit is composed of nine sections that cover a range of potential topics that a state food policy council may wish to explore--- from food assistance programs to land use and ...
Read MoreDig In! Engaging 5th and 6th grade students in gardening!
Team Nutrition, through the USDA, provides a guide called Dig In! for those looking to engage 5th and 6th grade students in gardening, and the nutritional and educational experiences that go with it! They provide lessons, handouts, and posters. For teachers they provide a guide that discusses how to feature different items of produce in fun educational lessons that teach food safety, have tasting activities, teach food preparation, and gardening techniques. The resources created by Team Nutrition are made to be fun lessons, that give students hands on experience with new foods and teach them how to create sustainable gardens so that they may use this knowledge throughout their lives. ...
Read MoreSummer Food Stand Kicks off in East Austin
One Hispanic community in East Austin has been making healthy changes not only at home, but in their neighborhood as well. Manantial de Salud -- the Dove Springs Health Network -- is dedicated to promoting well-being in the Dove Springs community of Austin, through healthy lifestyles and positive environments. They have community-wide campaigns targeted at eliminating sugary drinks and getting more active. This summer, Manatial de Salud and its partners at GO! Austin / VAMOS! Austin (GAVA) in Dove Springs, the Sustainable Food Center, Urban Roots, and Austin Parks and Recreation Department are coming together to host a neighborhood food stand. The Neighborhood Farm Stand will be open from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00p.m. every Wednesday beginning June 5 through July 17 at the Dove ...
Read MoreSugar Bites; Ad campaign against sugar-sweetened beverages
An ad campaign created as a collaborative effort of First 5 Contra Costa and Healthy and Active Before 5, depicts soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages with sharp, scary teeth. Sugar Bites is a social marketing campaign that aims to encourage parents to provide their children with healthier beverages. The ads are featured in both English and Spanish, in order to reach as many people as possible. Advertisements like these can help educate people and use the same tactics large corporations use to advertise unhealthy drinks and snacks. It is hoped that these memorable ads will stick with people, to lower the amount of soda intake in Contra Costa, Ca., which currently greatly affects the amount of tooth decay, obesity, and type II diabetes in children. Sugar Bites was posted ...
Read MoreSafe Crossway and Farmers’ Market Arrive in Kettleman City
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 ...
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