#SaludTues Tweetchat 3/17/15: “How to Get Closer to My Grocer”


healthy food

Unhealthy diets can contribute to obesity. But in many neighborhoods, there are more fast-food restaurants than grocery stores and farmers’ markets, which can offer affordable fresh fruits and vegetables, whole-grain products, low-fat milk, and other healthy options. Let’s use #SaludTues on March 17, 2015, to tweet and discuss strategies on how to bring families closer to grocery stores and healthy foods in their neighborhoods: WHAT: #SaludTues Tweetchat: “How to Get Closer to My Grocer” DATE: Tuesday, March 17, 2015 TIME: 1-2 p.m. ET (Noon-1 p.m. CT) WHERE: On Twitter with hashtag #SaludTues HOST: @SaludAmerica CO-HOSTS: The American Heart Association Voices for Healthy Kids Texas Campaign Team, The Food Trust (@thefoodtrust), and Voices for Healthy Kids ...

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Alexander Castillo: Student Helps Bring a Salad Bar to His High School in San Antonio, Texas



Alexander Castillo was looking to make some healthy changes in his own life when he came to the realization that his school lacked tasty, nutritious lunch options. Why couldn’t his school have a salad bar? After joining the Mayor’s Fitness Council Student Ambassador program, developing a plan with his mentor, and reaching out to his district’s food services department, Alexander was able to secure a salad bar for his high school. The new salad bar led to an increase in salad purchases and a new outlook on eating fresh fruit and vegetables at his school. The Need for Healthy School Food Awareness: Alexander Castillo, a student at Southwest Academy (a non-traditional alternative high school in the mostly Latino city of San Antonio, Texas) set a goal to pursue his passion for ...

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Dignowity Hill Farmer’s Market



Farmers’ markets are a great place to find fresh fruits and vegetables when your local grocery store doesn’t sell them. But when your neighborhood doesn’t have a farmers’ market OR a local grocery store with fresh fruits and vegetables—are you just out of luck? Find out how Michelle Griego, a school teacher-turned healthy food leader, was inspired by her friend to start a farmers’ market in her neighborhood in San Antonio, Texas, so neighbors could not only have better access to fresh fruits and vegetables, but learn how to cook tasty dishes that make healthy eating a delicious way of life. No Farmer's Market in Your Town? Awareness: As a computer teacher at an elementary school in San Antonio, Texas, Michelle Griego watches kids choose chips over carrots ...

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Schools in Blount County Experiment with Growing their Lunch


healthier school snacks

Schools across the country are revamping their lunch menus to better reflect the updated national nutrition standards. Some schools are going above and beyond the standards and making huge strides to serve healthy, delicious food to students. In Blount County, Tennessee, schools are experimenting with growing their own fresh produce for school lunch. Agriculture teacher Mike Whitehead’s classes piloted the program last year at William Blount High School and William Blount Ninth Grade Academy. Since the program started, the cafeteria has gradually increased its produce orders to meet student demand, said manager Yvonne Buchanan in a news article. Currently, students grow fresh produce for six cafeterias: Mary Blount Elementary School, Friendsville Elementary School, Union Grove ...

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New TV Series: ‘Making Awesome Changes’ in San Antonio to Fight Obesity


making awesome changes

Childhood obesity is a big problem in San Antonio. That's why Salud America! and KSAT-TV are teaming up for a new series, "Making Awesome Changes," which will regularly feature local Salud America! Salud Heroes—people and groups who are pushing for healthy changes—on the evening news. Salud America!, a childhood obesity research and communication network supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and directed by Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez of the Institute for Health Promotion Research at UT Health San Antonio, uses research, stories, and resources to help people drive healthy change in their own communities. Salud America! tells the stories of many youth, parents, teachers and other community members are working to improve physical activity and nutrition to help reduce ...

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Tell Kellogg: Stop Marketing High-Sugar Recipes to Families


BerkeleyPasses Ban Junk Food in Store Checkout Aisles

Moms often have final say over family meals. Marketers know this. Kellogg Co., the name behind brands like Fruit Loops, Pop-Tarts, and Eggo Waffles, has a new digital marketing campaign, Días Grandiosos, that targets Spanish-speaking moms online and on social media like Facebook and Pinterest with recipes they tout as saludable (healthy). But many of their meals are high in sugar and salt. In other words, NOT saludable. Tell Kellogg to stop pushing moms to give their kids unhealthy, sugary foods, and instead add more healthy options! Almost all the campaign’s recipes—19 of the 29 recipes on its website—qualify as desserts based on their high sugar content, according to an independent nutritionist. Like: Five recipes using Rice Krispies and marshmallows; ...

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Marketing Campaign Urges San Antonio Residents to “Veg Out”



Science backs up your mom’s old adage: “Eat your fruits and vegetables if you want to be healthy and strong!” Unfortunately, this message is often lost or unheeded, buried beneath junk food ads relentlessly targeting kids. Leaders in San Antonio, Texas decided to combat the city’s troubling obesity rate with a campaign designed to get kids (and their parents!) to eat more fruits and veggies. The “Veg Out” campaign, backed by science and a coalition of public health, school, city, and other officials, aims to have a lasting impact on the health of families in San Antonio. Marketing Usually Promotes Unhealthy Food Options Awareness: San Antonio is a unique, mostly Latino city known for its rich history and traditions. However, some traditions, like the consumption of ...

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#SaludTues Tweetchat 2/3/15: Family Dinner: Why it Matters & What to Make


INGRID hoffman dinner

Eating dinner as a family is linked to all sorts of benefits for both kids and adults: higher grades, better self-esteem, less depression and more. But between after-school activities and other time commitments, it can be hard to get everyone to sit down for a family meal, not to mention a healthy family meal. It only takes a few tweaks to make family dinners happen regularly that are both healthy AND delicious. Join us and our co-host celebrity chef Ingrid Hoffman as we tweet about weeknight family dinner and how to make it healthier at the next #SaludTues Tweetchat. WHAT: #SaludTues Tweetchat: “Family Dinner: Why it Matters & What to Make” DATE: Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2015 TIME: Noon CST (1:00 PM ET) WHERE: On Twitter with hashtag #SaludTues Co-HOSTS: ...

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Digital and Video Nutrition Education for Kids in Class and Out



School lunches and snacks are becoming more nutritious thanks to improved federal nutrition regulations—but this is only part of the school food solution. Nutrition education for kids is a critical component. Natasha Lance Rogoff, a seasoned children’s TV producer, who witnessed the childhood obesity epidemic as she raised her own kids, had an idea to use new technology to engage kids in learning about healthy living. Because of Rogoff, thousands of kids in Massachusetts, New York, and Florida have begun learning through KickinNutrition.TV, a digital platform for teachers to use to instruct students on healthy eating habits and exercise through videos, online gaming, and engagement designed for elementary- and middle-schoolers. The Need for Nutrition for ...

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