Sugary drink taxes are bubbling up across the nation. From Philadelphia to Berkeley, Calif., these sugary drink taxes are having an intended benefit—reducing consumption of bad-for-health sugary drinks and driving up water sales. But where is the tax money going? Let's look at Washington, D.C. (11.3% Latino), which recently added a sugary drink tax and is already considering a stronger one, and whether the revenue is benefiting health.
New Sugary Drink Sales Tax in D.C.
D.C. leaders recently bumped up the local sales tax from 6% to 8% on drinks with natural or artificial sweeteners that contain less than 100% juice or at least 50% milk bought in stores. City council member Mary Cheh pushed for the tax. She moved to insert this tax in the city’s $15.5 billion 2020 ...
Amid an obesity crisis and a coronavirus pandemic, Latinos and all people need more water, and less sugar. Do you agree? Speak up! Submit a model comment below to urge the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans to add water to the MyPlate/MiPlato graphic, reduce the amount of added sugars, and make healthier diets equitable for all people! Update 6/11/20: Over 55,000 people submitted comments!
Submit a Comment for Dietary Equity!
Nearly two of every three people in the United States live with at least one chronic disease like obesity and heart disease, according to the CDC. These are caused in part by poor diets. Unhealthy eating is now the top cause of premature death in the nation (https://salud.to/unhealthy-eating-death). Communities of color and low-income families ...
U.S. Latinos face high levels of poverty, food swamps, and food insecurity—living without reliable access to enough affordable, nutritious food. In Texas, the food insecurity rate is 14.3%. That’s why Texas State Representative Diego Bernal championed legislation that would allow schools to set up school food pantries. Because of this law, schools are helping those who are hungry and food insecure as well as reducing food waste. The law has also inspired others to create change and do good for the community, like Jenny Arredondo, Samantha Almaraz, and Pablo Ramirez.
Diego Bernal & School Food Pantries
Bernal was heartbroken after touring Texas schools and seeing students go hungry, even as "perfectly edible food" was being thrown away in cafeterias. He wanted to ...
High-schoolers Samantha Almaraz and Pablo Ramirez see many classmates who struggle with hunger and poverty in the 85% Latino border town of McAllen, Texas. They wanted to help. So Samantha and Pablo, 10th-graders at Lamar Academy, started a school food pantry by working with their parents, school leaders, and using the Salud America! “School Food Pantry Action Pack” as a guide for their efforts. With their pantry, called the Energy Bar, they store leftover food from the cafeteria and distribute it to hungry students. "We're surrounded by people who are hungry and that don't get food,” said Samantha, who with Pablo is in the International Baccalaureate program at Lamar in McAllen ISD. "They tell us, ‘I don't have food waiting for me at home.’” The Energy Bar ...
Days after Salud America! members helped flood USDA with comments to protect the SNAP food assistance program, the comment period has reopened after a controversial new report. Comments now can be submitted until Nov. 1, 2019. The reopened comment period comes after a surprise release of USDA data that advocates say underscores the deep harm of its proposed rule to limit access to the SNAP. The change would eliminate food assistance for 3.1 million people and jeopardize free school meals for nearly 1 million kids, according to the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC). “Even for those who remain eligible, forcing low-income families to navigate the burdensome paperwork will inevitably lead to eligible children losing access to a critical source of daily nutrition,” said ...
SNAP is in danger of getting cut, again! In its third proposed cut in 10 months, the Trump Administration wants to change how USDA calculates heating and cooling costs when it comes to SNAP benfits. This would cut program benefits by $4.5 billion over five years, and trim monthly benefits by as much as $75 for 1 in 5 families on SNAP. Almost 8,000 households would lose SNAP benefits entirely, according to The New York Times. “If the three proposals become final and are implemented, millions of SNAP participants will have their benefits reduced or cut altogether — particularly seniors, people with disabilities and working families — and 500,000 children will lose access to school meals,” Kate Leone, of advocacy group Feeding America, told The Times. The USDA is asking ...
Your health depends on the social conditions where you live—like stable housing, safe transportation, and health food. But the health care system often overlooks these social conditions in favor of medical interventions. To improve the nation's health, health care leaders should integrate social care into health care delivery. “Integrating social care into health care delivery holds the potential to achieve better health outcomes for the nation and address major challenges facing the U.S. health care system,” according to a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM). Policymakers, health system leaders, and other stakeholders can achieve this integration through 10 key actions.
5 Goals to Integrate Social Needs into Health ...
A culture of health is where everyone has a fair, just opportunity to be as healthy as possible. Is your community creating a Culture of Health? If so, apply for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Culture of Health Prize! The contest provides $25,000 to communities that unite neighborhood, school, and business partners to improve health for all residents.
Read about 2018 Winners
In 2018, two majority-Latino communities earned two of the four prize winners. RWJF chose San Antonio, Texas (63.6% Latino) and Cicero, Ill. (88.8% Latino) from about 200 applicants. Eatonville, Fla., and Klamath County, Ore., also won. Salud America!, our national network to promote Latino health equity and healthy change led by Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, is excited to be stationed at UT Health ...
The attack on SNAP food aid is far from over. After staving off cuts to SNAP in 2018 and 2019, the Trump administration now wants to change the way states determine who qualifies for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The change could take away food from 3 million people, according to health experts. "This rule would take food away from families, prevent children from getting school meals, and make it harder for states to administer food assistance," Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan and the Senate Agriculture Committee told NPR. USDA is asking for public comments on SNAP until Sept. 23, 2019.
How to Make a Comment to Save SNAP!
1. Copy one of our Salud America! model comments. Tweak the parts in green:
SNAP HAS WORTH
I am a NAMEOFPROFESSION in NAMEOFPLACE. ...
