Aiming to follow the lead in healthcare with recent changes to Allina Health hospitals, District One Hospital in Faribault, Minn. is removing all sugary sweet beverages from their facilities. Working with a collaboration of 250 organizations within the Healthcare Without Harm coalition, District One Hospital plans to continue moving towards a healthier food environment for all employees, patients and visitors. In part of the movement towards healthier foods and beverages, removal of sugary beverages and healthier foods will also be reflected in the hospital's vending machines, gift shop, and the pharmacy. Healthy food and beverage signage will also be added to the cafeteria to bring awareness towards healthier foods. A new ice and water machine will be placed in the cafeteria for ...
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 ...
The Barriers and Contributions to Breastfeeding in WIC Mothers: A Social Ecological Perspective study used the social ecological model to assess positive and negative factors that influence breastfeeding initiation and duration in Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) participants in New Hampshire. Previous research has shown that Latino mothers have lower breastfeeding initiation and duration rates. In order to increase Latino mothers initiation rates and reduce Latino childhood obesity, it is important to understand interpersonal, social, and environmental factors that influence mother's breastfeeding initiation and duration, especially in programs that focus on mother and infant nutrition. Access this article here. Share on ...
Which places around the world are working towards fizzing out high soda consumption? Mexico, St. Helena, Chile, Barbados, France, Dominica, Norway, Hungary, and more. The world has taken notice of the health risks associated with sugary drinks for years, as various research studies have proven a link between sugary beverage consumption and health risks like diabetes, tooth decay and obesity. More and more countries are recognizing the health risks associated with sugary beverages and are implementing soda taxes or other initiatives and policies to ensure a healthy future for their people. Today's 16 million Latino children and youth—92 percent of whom are U.S. citizens—thus represent a crucial segment of the United States' future, according to an article from the Population ...
Jay Schenirer, city councilman and founder of WayUp, a non-profit that works to create a healthier and more vibrant Sacramento (22.5% Latino), is looking to change the food environment for people living in the Mangan Park neighborhood. Working towards a new vision for the area, he is planning on re-igniting the community by building six urban farms on a 6-acre lot. These urban farms are planned to help provide jobs, fresh produce, and hopeful new farmers markets. Schenirer hopes through this new endeavor that city schools will also participate in having access to the farms for fresh fruits and vegetables for the school's cafeteria. The new farms would also be a place of education as Schenirer plans to have groups provide classes on how to make healthy eating a habit. A recent ...
Chapter 2: The WIC Participant Experience, in the second in a series of three reports on the Review of WIC Food Packages, summarizes evidence of complex behavioral and environmental factors that influence participation in Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), and redemption of WIC foods. Research suggests cultural variation in infant and child feeding practices, which may affect participation in WIC and redemption of WIC benefits. For example, Latinos have lower breastfeeding prevalence than Whites and Asians. Additionally, one study in Maryland found that Latinos preferred beans over peanut butter and they disliked frozen and canned vegetables. Cultural variations, like these, as well as administrative barriers, affect Latino mother's and ...
Studies have shown that Latino kids consume more sugary sweet beverages than their non-white peers and over-consumption of sugary beverages has also been linked to health risks like diabetes and obesity. When obesity rates are rising and more than one in three Latino kids are predicted to have diabetes in the near future, healthier options are a must for kids menu's. Helping to assist parents and kids on making the easy choice the healthy choice when dining out, DineEquity, owner of Applebee's and IHOP restaurants have decided to completely remove the option of soda on their kids' menus. This is the first family-dining restaurant to promote and incorporate this change throughout their national chain of restaurants. Organizations like Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), ...
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 ...
