The Canyon Ranch Institute (CRI) is a non-profit that works to bring health and wellness to the world. Home to Tucson, Arizona (30.3% Latino), the organization helps their community in various ways. Bringing a Healthy Community program pilot to the area back in 2014, the CRI Healthy Community program is now offered in partnership with Apollo Middle School and the Grow 2B Fit Foundation to bring wellness and health to the families in Apollo Middle School (98.1% Latino) . The start date for the CRI Healthy Community is set for this fall, October 24th, 2015. Participants can learn from cooking and nutrition classes, destress with physical activity and join together for healthy eating with the on site garden. The program focuses on participants with low income, high stress and high ...
What so great about beans? Grad student Kelly Atterberry and mentor Carol Miles have the answer in their new bean-based garden and nutrition curriculum for K-12 students in Washington. By encouraging kids to learn to garden and try nutritious pulse crops (beans, lentils, peas, etc.), they hope the curriculum can help combat obesity and diet-related health problems among children.
Why Beans?
Kelly Atterberry originally wanted to go nursing school. Then she learned about agriculture and growing healthy food while working on a farm and again later while working in the Agriculture Research Station at Washington State University (WSU) in Mount Vernon, Wash. (33.7 % Latino). So she switched her career course. As a grad student at WSU, she studied agriculture, which united her ...
Every year San Antonio's Siclovia, put on by the YMCA helps turn major city streets into safe spaces for active exercise and play for the community. This years event on September 27th, 2015, will again encourage families to run, ride bikes, and enjoy free exercise classes in the streets, but one thing will be different, families will enjoy free water too. San Antonio Water System (SAWS) will be providing a healthy alternative to sugary beverages, with a 5,000-gallon water truck, encouraging families in attendance to drink up and stay fit. Also attending will be San Antonio's Healthy Beverage coalition, encouraging people to drink more water, and educate them with their Sugar-Packed campaign. Combining fitness, water consumption and education on sugary-drinks, is a healthy ...
Farms, gardens, and schools are connecting in northeastern Pennsylvania. Working to incorporate more fresh vegetables and healthy food access to the area, schools are partnering with local farms and applying for Farm-to-School Grants. Lehigh Valley Chapter of Buy Fresh Buy Local (BFBFLGLV) works with schools and farmers to improve children's diets. Many free summer lunch programs were not able to offer more than a slice of tomato and lettuce for a sandwich. Knowing this, the organization started making connections with school administrators, farmers, and local activists. Bringing in samples of fresh vegetables to classes, farmers invited kids to try new vegetables and informed the kids about the life of a farmer. Show and tell didn't stop there, as farmers and teachers then worked ...
“If Iowa can do it, I believe that other states can as well,” said Teresa Wiemerslage in a recent article. Wiemerslage is the Program Coordinator with Iowa State University (ISU) Extension and Outreach. For over 7 years the Northeast Iowa Food and Fitness initiative has helped local school systems focus on wellness, activity and local food. However, with new federal government nutritional requirements and funding from the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at (ISU), the initiative has come up with a local menu for six school districts. The grant has allowed the initiative to create and implement seasonal menus to help schools incorporate various locally grown fruits and vegetables including, watermelon, cabbage, summer and winter squashes, just to name a few. Foods like ...
Growing gardens in schools shows impressive results, reports a recent NPR article. Students in Texas, Washington, Maryland and Virginia, are part of REAL School Gardens, a non-profit that proves their efforts through REAL numbers of changes made through their efforts of planting learning gardens in schools. Many of the schools are in low-income areas, or urban areas considered "food deserts". The organization reveals on their website that school who had "learning gardens" had increased test scores, and were more equipped in science and math. The Learning Gardens encourage students to have a hands on learning approach to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) all while promoting healthy foods. Helping kids to be active in the garden is proving itself for ...
The end of the summer is near, and as school lunches must be packed, parents are wondering what to put in their kid's lunch. Will what a student eats, make him or her achieve better results in school? A recent article states that hydration, nutrition and sleep are key areas to help kids succeed in school. In fact, Mary Pat Turon-Findley MS, RD, LD, a clinical dietitian in the Division of Nutrition Therapy at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, encourages parents to start prepping kids with healthy meals, plenty of rest and sleep one week before school starts. Some Tips for a fresh start to the new school year are as follows: Start with a healthy morning meal ( fresh eggs, fruit, whole grains, low-fat dairy products)
Make sure students have a healthy ...
This week, August 2nd through the 8th marks the 16th annual national farmers market week, according to an article from the USDA. Secretary Vilsack signed the proclamation, promoting and celebrating all local farmers markets, farmers, and community supporters for local markets. In the article, secretary Vilsack stated, "Farmers markets play a key role in developing local and regional food systems that support farmers and help grow rural economies. They bring communities together, connecting cities with the farms and providing Americans with fresh, healthy food." Festivities to kick-off celebrations will begin in Santa Fe New Mexico and continue throughout the nation. Building awareness and celebrations about fresh local farmers markets, may help Latinos to benefit from the ...
Looking for the next best fresh farm produce for your school? Check out the new tool through Food hub to find resources and access to local farmers in your area, watch the video below to learn ...
