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 ...
New Mexico hoped to develop and promote more farmers' markets in the state with H.B. 100. State Rep. Don L. Tripp introduced the bill, and many food activists in New Mexico saw it as an opportunity to get more farmers' markets to underserved areas around the state, bringing healthier food along with them. On April 15, 2013, the bill was signed into ...
The City of Austin, TX is thinking about helping to create a permanent farmers' market that would operate seven days a week. It was the first recommendation in a recent report produced for the city by Texas Perspectives, a local economic analysis and consulting firm. Having a year-round farmers' market open every day would make farm fresh fruits and vegetables more accessible to Austin residents and visitors alike. Listen to the radio story or read more about ...
Schools in Wenatchee School District, Wa., will be seeing healthier meals in their lunch rooms and an improved effort to change the way food is used throughout the school day. The District's food service director, Kent Getzin, is focusing on encouraging students to try new foods, showing students where foods come from, and changing the way food is used in the school as reward or fund raising opportunities. “It comes back to our philosophy about our kids being healthy, and eating well, and the impact that has on learning,” said Superintendent Brian Flones, in The Wenatchee World article , “Like any other life skill, kids need to learn early what’s going to be best for them. And if we’re not modeling it with what we do at school, they’re going to probably leave with a lot ...
Students in Mason County, West Virginia, are able to begin their school day with a healthy, nutritious breakfast. They eat with their fellow classmates and prepare their brains for a day of learning. The success of school breakfasts for all students in Mason County has lead to the passing of a bill that will require all schools in West Virginia to provide a school breakfast to every student before the day's lesson's begin. The goal of this program is to improve achievement in the state and reduce childhood obesity, which is extremely important in this state with 29% of high school students being obese. Along with requiring breakfast, this bill requires every county to set up a fund to collect private donations that will go toward other healthy initiatives like buying more fresh produce ...
