SNAP 2 it! is copying similar programs from around the country, where recipients of the the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, can get each dollar spent on these fresh foods matched. A recent article, talks about the local farmer's markets involved in the program: Schlafly’s Bottleworks, Webster Groves Farmers Market, Cherokee Street Farmers Market, International Institute of St. Louis Global Farms, North City Farmers Market, and Tower Grove Farmers Market, as well as the Earth Dance booth at the Ferguson Farmers Market. By making the food more affordable and multiplying the dollar-for-dollar model, they hope to bring in a more diverse population for customers using EBT and other similar payment ...
WIC, Texas Agriculture Department and The Food Bank-RVG, are teaming up to make fresh farmers' market foods available to local Latino moms. The local valley news has stated that the Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program and has been successfully engaging WIC clients and changing their eating habits. “I love the idea of being able to get freshly picked vegetables with these vouchers,” Maria Calvo, a WIC participant from Raymondville, said. “It’s important for my children to eat healthy at a young age.” To see all the states where this program is active, check out the WIC Farmers' Market Program. The active Farmers' Markets in the valley are: Pharrmers Market, at the Food Bank RGV, Weslaco, McAllen Farmers Market at the McAllen Public Library, and Brownsville Farmers ...
Some say the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act passed in 2010 hasn't been effective, but data from USDA and academics show that most schools across the country are actually serving healthier food and kids are eating it. This is good news for Latino students, who are more likely to eat school-provided lunch than their White peers. Since the Act, school lunches have gotten makeovers across the country. These days, 95% of school districts are serving healthier school lunches. School lunches are not only healthier, but are looking and tasting better than ever in most schools. Yet, some law makers want to roll back these healthy standards. Congress will debate whether to re-authorize the law this year. If you support the new school food standards, the American Heart Association has a ...
Farmers' markets are a great place to buy fresh, often locally-grown healthy produce. However, farmers' markets sometimes have a reputation for being pricey and not welcoming to low-income folks. Programs across the country are changing this by allowing SNAP participants to use their food benefits at markets and some markets are gaining the capability to double SNAP participants' dollars when they buy fresh, healthy produce. The Montclair Farmers' Market in New Jersey is the latest market to offer better access to healthy foods. In addition to accepting SNAP payments through the area agencies Partners for Health and City Green, the market will match all purchases made with the supplemental food programs via its "Double Bucks" initiative up to $10, meaning that an individual ...
San Antonio student Michaelie Love knows that, for many high school students, the hour before school begins is spent socializing or cramming for tests—not in the cafeteria eating a healthy breakfast. Breakfast is included in the federal school nutrition program and is free or reduced-price for students who qualify. Latinos represent more than one-fifth of students participating in this federal program, but are they showing up for breakfast? Health professionals say skipping breakfast before school can lead to poor academic performance and unhealthy over-eating later in the day. Love wanted to make eating breakfast at school easy, healthy, and cool.
Breakfast Habits among Youth
The North East Independent School District (NEISD) is the second-largest school district in San ...
The zoo isn’t exactly a place of health (for humans), with typical fare like popcorn, ice cream, cotton candy, and sugary drinks. However, in El Paso, TX, kids and visitors of all ages are learning fun facts about how they can be healthy by copying habits, like eating fruits and vegetables, from animals. In 2012, the El Paso Zoo installed new signs and healthy menu items to promote good health for its record-breaking 354,130 visitors, and they continue to work with city public health officials to make a healthy lifestyle second nature to the community. EMERGENCE
Awareness: In 2010, El Paso, Texas, a vibrant a city with a rich culture at the west-most point of the state, was named the “third-fattest city” in the U.S. Sue Beatty, a health education and training manager ...
El Paso, Texas has come a long way since ranked as the third-fattest U.S. city in 2012. A renewed focus on eating healthy and moving more is paying off; obesity rates in the area are dropping. In addition to local health departments and community organizations, schools are playing a big role in these changes by addressing health, culture and community all at once. At Bowie High School, students are getting exposed not only to gardening, nutrition education and business skills, they are reconnecting with cultural traditions that favor fresh and flavorful over processed and sugary.
EMERGENCE
Awareness/Learn: The city of El Paso, Texas, shares its border with Mexico. This creates an interesting cultural dynamic where some students cross the border daily from Mexico to go to Bowie ...
From PowerPoint presentations to outlines to thick textbooks, there are many ways students learn about the world while at school. Rarely do they get the chance to learn by actually solving real-world problems—let alone problems that directly affect their lives. Learn how a high school teacher merged academics with activism and rallied his students to bring healthy, affordable fruits and vegetables into their underserved neighborhood.
EMERGENCE
Awareness: While listening to the radio one day, San Antonio resident and high school teacher Rick Treviño got an idea. He was listening to a news story about how a group in Michigan started a Double Up Food Bucks program at local farmers’ market as a way to allow low-income folks to put their federal food assistance toward healthy ...
In a heavily Latino part of Kansas that struggled with obesity, one coalition stepped up to find new ways to help the Latino community make healthier food choices. How’d they try to do it? They started to change the local food environment by increasing the availability and marketing of healthy foods in local stores—and it worked. EMERGENCE Awareness: Wyandotte County, Kan., which is 27.1% Hispanic and is home to Kansas City, had a growing problem of obesity, with 41% of school children listed as overweight or obese. Officials with the Latino Health for All Coalition (funded in 2008 by the National Center for Minority Health and Health Disparities), were increasingly aware that many residents shop at corner stores or small grocery stores, which do not always offer fresh ...
