Healthy food is important to health for all people. Yet fast food and corner stores outnumber supermarkets and farmers’ markets in many neighborhoods, including Latino neighborhoods. This results in overconsumption of unhealthy foods, and more risk of obesity. Fortunately, healthy food financing initiatives can boost access to healthy, affordable foods. This happens when supermarkets and farmers’ markets get certain incentives to develop their businesses in certain areas. Groups also can help corner stores to expand their inventory of healthy, affordable foods. Also, more marketing of healthy foods, and less of junk foods, can help spur desirability. See the Full Research Review with references (PDF)
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A controversy is growing over sugary drinks and their impact on health in San Antonio, Texas. Sugary drinks recently surged into the national spotlight with emerging research on the link between too much dietary sugar and health issues like diabetes and obesity, and the growth of sugary drink pricing initiatives by cities to cut consumption and increase revenue for health promotion programs. These issues have prompted push-back by the beverage industry. That push-back reached San Antonio, where beverage industry reps and health leaders sparred over local health, fueled by research by Salud America!, the childhood obesity prevention network. Obesity and diabetes are grave local and national health concerns with no single cause, and no single cure. “But you simply cannot ...
The company behind Oreos, Ritz Crackers, and Cadbury chocolate, Modelēz, have announced to join the Council of Better Business Bureau (CFBAI). Joining CFBAI commits Modelēz to not advertise products directly to children under age 12, and to apply nutrition standards to all products marketed toward kids. The Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility has helped drive the change for Modelēz, dialoguing with the company to set stricter policies for kids ages 6-11 years old for nutritional reasons. According to recent studies, some kids see more unhealthy ads compared to their peers, and nearly 40 percent of Latino youths in the U.S. ages 2-19 are overweight or obese. Only 1 percent of food ads on Spanish television show water, fruits, or vegetables and 70% show unhealthy sugary ...
You may have heard the saying: “an apple a day keeps the doctor away,” but what if your doctor actually prescribed fruits and vegetables for what ails you? In Forest Grove, Ore., a health clinic and farmers market teamed up to help prevent obesity and fight disease by providing patients with prescriptions for healthy foods. Fruits and vegetables are what the doctor ordered, as Forest Grove families visit their local healthcare providers to eat their way to healthier futures.
Healthy Food Options in Local Neighborhoods
Awareness: Kaely Summers, nutrition, and market access coordinator of Adelante Mujeres, a nonprofit that organizes a farmers’ market in Forest Grove, Ore. (23.1% Latino), was well aware of the dietary health issues faced by community residents. U.S. Latinos ...
Fresh produce can be a rare commodity in Nogales, Ariz., where 17% of children are food insecure. Yolanda Soto saw the need for families all across Arizona to have fresh produce to improve nutrition and fight obesity. When Soto saw still-edible fresh produce being dumped into landfills every day, she had an idea for a fresh produce distribution program that rescues this food and provides it to food, insecure families. The program, Produce on Wheels - With Out Waste (P.O.W.W.O.W), now gives families, churches, communities and schools more access to fresh, nutritious fruits and vegetables that would otherwise be considered garbage.
Food a Crisis in Nogales
Yolanda Soto started helping families in food-insecure areas of Nogales, Ariz. (95% Latino) since January 1996, when she ...
California teen Elena Dennis wanted to help kids have healthy diets. What better way than to encourage them to learn how to make fresh foods? Dennis, while a high school senior, cooked up an idea for a camp that helps kids discover the fun of learning how to cook, and how to prepare and eat healthy foods from scratch. Bringing kids awareness of healthy foods, she also took the camp on local field trips to farms and farmers’ markets.
The Need for Fresh Foods Locally
Awareness: At the young age of 12, Elena Dennis of Novato, Calif. (23.1 % Latino), started developing a passion for cooking thanks to her father’s home-cooked meals and her attendance at Operation C.H.E.F., a nutrition-based cooking summer camp for kids and teens. “I’ve always been a believer in home-cooked ...
Did you know Applebees and IHOP restaurants have taken soda off kids menus and New York City Restaurants now show consumers which items are high in sodium? Choosing the healthier option when eating out can sometimes be confusing as most restaurant foods have high levels of either fat, sugar or sodium. MomsRising.org and Center for Science in the Public Interest are holding a #FoodFri Tweet Chat, Friday, December 18th, 10-11am PT/1-2pm ET to discuss how to eat healthfully while eating out. Participants will offer helpful suggestions for eating out, discuss efforts to improve restaurant kids' menus, and highlight ways to support access to healthier options in the community. To join this discussion, follow #FoodFri on ...
Many people, including Latinos, live in areas with poor access to supermarkets and easy access to corner stores, also called tiendas or bodegas. Research indicates that when corner stores offer a wider selection of healthy foods and promote them, people are more likely to buy them and eat healthier, according to our new infographic on tiendas/bodegas, which is part of the new Salud America! Better Food in the Neighborhood research package on the latest science and recommendations on healthy food options. Share this infographic ...
Many news media outlets covered the release of the new Salud America! Better Food in the Neighborhood research package on Dec. 8, 2015. The new research package offers an in-depth review of the latest science on the U.S. food environment and recommendations. KSAT-TV in San Antonio covered the research as part of its Making Awesome Changes series, which partners with Salud America! to feature people who are driving healthy changes to benefit the health of children and families. Here are a few other top stories: NBC News: Latino Neighborhoods Have Fewer Supermarkets, Less Healthy Options
Latina Lista: Research: Latino Families Have Worse Access to Healthy Food
Medical News Today: Research: Latino families struggle to access to healthy food See all the research ...
