Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is the second-largest district in the United States, serving breakfast and lunch in more than 1,200 schools daily. Since the early 2000s they have been creating a healthy food culture that teaches students about healthy eating and introduces them to many new foods, while embracing federal nutritional standards as they improve over time. LAUSD has banned soda and junk food from campus, removed flavored milks, and brought healthy breakfasts to the classroom. A recent accomplishment, pushed by LAUSD Director of Food Services David Binkle and other school leaders, is removing what they call “kid food” from their cafeterias—instead serving healthy meals with flavors and ingredients from a variety of cultures and backgrounds—including ...
Latinos comprise 41% of Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and 15% of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants. Changes in these types of food assistance programs that allow healthier food purchases have been proven to increase consumption of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat milk by children. In Missouri, some law-makers are hoping these types of healthy changes will be put into legislation. A State House panel heard testimony in late February 2014 on legislation that would give bonus dollars to food assistance participants who buy fruits and vegetables at farmers' markets. Supporters say the measure would cut down on obesity in low-income households and reduce costs for obesity-related illnesses. Under the bill, the state would set up a ...
About 9 million low-income women and young children receive federal food assistance under the U.S. government's Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program, and Latino mothers and their kids make-up over 40% of participants. Soon these families will have greater access to fruits, vegetables, and whole grains under changes to the program unveiled on February 28, 2014. In its final form, the overhaul will boost by 30%, or $2 per month, the allowance for each child's fruit and vegetable purchases, and permit fresh produce in lieu of jarred infant food for babies, if their parents prefer. The update also expands whole grain options available to recipients and allows yogurt as a partial milk substitute, adding to the soy-based ...
The Alliance for a Healthier Generation has launched it's Smart Snacks Product Calculator. This tool makes it easy for individuals or schools to evaluate products based on the new USDA Smart Snacks in School Guidelines. The user can simply enter the product information, answer a few questions, and the calculator will determine whether your snack, side or entrée item meets the new USDA Smart Snacks in School Guidelines. Results from this calculator have been approved and determined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to be an accurate product assessment for it's compliance with the federal requirements for Smart Snacks in School. In addition to the calculator, the Alliance Product Navigator now features snack, side, entrée and beverage products that meet the USDA ...
School Bites, a blog about bringing more healthy food into the school system, provides tips on having less junk food in the classroom on Valentines Day. Together the two healthy Valentine's Day posts include 27 unique ideas of how to incorporate healthier foods like fruits, vegetables, smoothies, and water into the classroom parties. There are also suggestions for active games to play during the day, like Musical Hearts or Valentine's Hopscotch. These activites can get kids moving, having fun, and thinking less about the sugary snacks that traditionally provided during classroom parties. These ideas are complied from her network of school-health blogs and ideas from other concerned parents. See the 2014 guide 12 Naturally Sweet Ideas for a Healthy School Valentine’s Day ...
Supported by the Horizon Foundation, Howard County Unsweetened has tools, resources, news, and more on how parents and their kids can swap sugary drinks for healthier alternatives. Their latest video campaign suggests that big soda companies should focus on promoting healthier beverages, like water, and not high-sugar drinks. The campaign challenges folks to rethink what marketing beverages to children should look like. Check out their latest video here! Howard County Unsweetened hosted a contest inviting high-schoolers to submit short documentaries about the problem of sugary drink consumption, and creative new ways to deal with it. They announced the winner in February 2014---watch the ...
If you could wave a magic wand, what would you do to fix school lunches? If money was no option, what would you do to bring healthier foods into schools? These are the kinds of questions students at Sunset High School in Del Norte County, California asked while dreaming-up big solutions to their less-than-great school food. Fed up with the pre-packaged lunches and unhealthy options, the youth organized and advocated for change, building partnerships and leadership skills—using the PICO community organizing model—that will last a lifetime. Del Norte County and Adjacent Tribal Lands (DNATL) is one of the 14 communities selected to participate in the Building Healthy Communities (BHC) program. Funded by The California Endowment, BHC is a ten-year, comprehensive community initiative ...
Farmers' Markets are a great way to bring fresh, local produce into a community. To make sure this healthy fare is available to all, many markets purchase machines that allow them to accept Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formally known as food stamps) benefits. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently contracted with the National Association of Farmers Market Nutrition Programs (NAFMNP) to create MarketLink, a new way for farmers’ markets and direct-marketing farmers to get authorized as SNAP vendors and get the equipment they need to accept SNAP benefits. Click here to access MarketLink and to get authorized to be a SNAP vendor. Before MarketLink, each new SNAP vendor had to search out an equipment provider, select a wireless plan, ...
Latino neighborhoods tend to have less access to fresh fruits and veggies. In Santa Ana, Calif., a high school that serves at-risk youth, offers a first-period gardening class. It started as a campus beautification project but ended in students growing healthy, nutritious food for their community in a unique, sustainable way using fish, called “aquaponics.”
The problem of 'spicy hot Cheetos'
The Academy, created by California philanthropists Susan Samueli and Sandi Jackson, is a unique high school for underserved teens in Santa Ana, Calif. The school opened in 2013 to maximize individual student attention and offers work-based and project-based learning, college readiness, and new technology. More than 80% of its students are Latino. When it comes to students diets, ...
