In March of 2012, Austin’s Sustainable Food Center opened the Farmers' Market East, offering the first Double Dollar Incentive Program that matches food assistance in the state of Texas. Funded by local and federal government as well as private groups, the Double Dollar Incentive Program doubles the amount of money a person can spend when they use their federal assistance money, like WIC or SNAP, on fresh food at the farmers’ market. Austin’s East side has been referred to as a food desert, where fresh food and produce is not easy to find. The new farmers’ market, along with the incentive program, are creative ways to ensure that communities have access to healthy ...
Since December 2010, the UK and USA have been sharing examples of policy and practices in promoting healthy eating in schools. With similar challenges and successes on both sides of the Atlantic, both wanted to find a way to raise awareness of the importance of good nutrition among children and foster healthy eating habits both at home and at school – and so, International School Meals Day emerged. Overall, the theme of International School Meals Day is to: Raise awareness of the importance of the nutritional quality of school meal programs worldwide.
Emphasize the connection between healthy eating, education and better learning.
Connect children around the world to foster healthy eating habits and promote well-being in schools.
Share success stories of school food programs ...
New Mexico's legislators introduced a bill in 2013 that would set standards for the nutritional value of foods served in New Mexico schools, as well as encourage schools to feature New Mexico-grown fresh fruits and vegetables in all school lunch programs. The bill would also require that food served in school lunch programs be purchased from New Mexico vendors when ...
Feeding kids in Texas schools is no easy task, but policies at the local, state and national level make it easier for schools to give kids the nutrition they need so they can focus on doing their best in the classroom. The National School Lunch Program outlines national standards school meals must meet, but Texas has done its part to go above and beyond the requirement, ensuring that growing Texas minds get all the nutrition they ...
A town hall meeting is a great way to make your voice heard in local government. Typically open to everybody in the community, attendees get the chance to voice their opinions and ask questions of the public figures, elected officials, and each other. If there’s an issue in your community that needs to be addressed, a town hall meeting is a great place to start. But let’s be honest, getting a bunch of concerned neighbors together in one room can be a challenge. Demanding jobs and busy kids leave little time to meet in a room with folks to discuss food access issues. Knowing all this, a group in Detroit got creative. Fair Food Network’s Strengthening Detroit Voices, a nonprofit dedicated to building a more just and sustainable food system, hosted a Telephone Town Hall on December ...
When it comes to getting healthier food into your neighborhood, you have to get the word out first. On March 6, the League of Women Voters of Dane County hosted a forum on food desert issues in Dane County.The forum discussed limitations of Madison’s food system and what local government and businesses are doing to address related problems. “Poverty is not unique in Wisconsin,” said Carrie Edgar, department head and community food systems educator for Dane County UW-Extension. Dane County’s Food Share participants more than tripled from 2000 to 2010. Among those suffering from poverty, children outnumber the elderly two to one. Edgar encouraged the community to address the food insecurity by promoting and establishing food access points, such as farmer markets, that are ...
Health advocates and medical professionals are getting together and thinking outside the box about ways to reduce childhood obesity. Nonprofits, like Wholesome Wave and DC Greens, which runs several food access and urban agriculture projects in our nation’s capital, are connecting physicians who are already dedicated to preventative wellness and nutrition, like those at Unity Health Clinic (Unity) in Washington, D.C., to fresh produce. Physicians, like Dr. Jessica Wallace at Unity, are writing prescriptions for locally grown fruits and vegetables that their low-income patients can then take to five D.C. farmers’ markets, Columbia Heights Community Marketplace, Mount Pleasant, 14th and U St., Bloomingdale, and Glover Park-Burleith. “We know nationwide that poor minority communities ...
Farmers' markets around the country have tougher rules and regulations than your average supermarket. Many farmers and vendors who sell at farmers' markets have to pay for permits multiple times at year at every location they sell at, regardless of if they are in the same city or not. H.B. 910, sponsored by Texas State Representative Lois Kolkhorst would ensure that the permit fees that could be imposed on farmers and farmers’ market vendors could not exceed $50 per year per county or city. Read news about the bill here! Check on the current status of the bill ...
Despite rules, regulations, and policies, junk food marketing can make it's way into schools. This issue became an problem in Maine when a study found that the marketing restrictions were not being completely followed. Maine's law prohibits "brand-specific advertising of certain unhealthy foods and beverages in schools," specifically foods that are not allowed to be sold in school. By doing this Maine hopes to keep unhealthy food or junk food brands out of sight of students, since they are already not allowed to purchase these foods during the school day. The foods not allowed to be served during the school day are considered "Foods of Minimum Nutritional Value," including soda, water ices, chewing gum, candies, and any food containing less than five percent of the Reference Daily ...
