Low-Income California Residents to Have More Access to Fresh Foods



California is full of food, unfortunately, many of the low-income areas are full of unhealthy options like fast food or foods highly processed and high in sodium or fats. The state has four million people with inadequate access to healthy and affordable fresh foods, but the future looks good. This October marked a change for low-income Californian's as a new bill was introduced to help allow low-income shoppers match their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits dollar for dollar at local farmer's markets. The California Nutrition Incentives Act (AB1231), could create the nutrition matching incentive program within the state's Office of Farm to Fork, where individual consumers, and school districts directly connect with California's farmers, ranchers, and resources ...

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Tampa Bay Buccaneers Plant Learning Gardens to Grow Healthy Food Options


Florida elementary school students pose with Tampa Bay Buccaneers cheerleaders and players as they launch a school garden. (Source: Courtney Johnson/UnitedHealthcare)

In Florida, access to healthy food may be greater than 10 miles for some families. In addition to not getting healthy options at home, many at-risk kids do not get the opportunity to learn about where fresh food comes from or how it is grown. Hoping to help to fight hunger and obesity through educating kids about the value of eating fruits and vegetables, local UnitedHealthcare employee volunteers teamed up with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers NFL football team to build and donate learning gardens to local Florida schools. Healthy Food Access in Tampa, Florida The population of Tampa, Fla., (23.1% Latino) and its county seat, Hillsborough County, Fla., (26% Latino) have had an influx of Latino families moving to the area since 2013, according to Tampa General Hospital’s 2013 Community ...

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New Study Reveals the Importance of a Healthy Breakfast



You may have heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but new research from Cardiff University finds a direct link between kids who eat a quality breakfast and their educational attainment. The landmark study reveals that students who ate breakfast were twice as likely to have higher academic outcomes. The study looked at 5000 students ages 9 to 11 years of age from more than 100 primary schools.  Researchers examined the longitudinal effects of the link between breakfast consumption and educational outcomes. The study also showed significant differences of educational performance between students who ate sweets or crisps versus students who ate fruit and vegetables, revealing that eating sweets for breakfast had no positive impact on educational ...

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CDC’s Tools To Help Parents Achieve Healthier Schools



Did you know that only six percent of schools sell fruits and vegetables in vending machines, school stores or snack bars? The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has produced new tips for parents to get more involved in their child's school health initiatives. These set of resources, called, Parents for Healthy Schools, helps schools and school group associations, engage parents in creating and sustaining healthy school environments. The resources within CDC's toolkit give helpful ideas and tips for parents to see how to get active in schools by helping kids have: Healthier School Snacks Healthy School Fundraisers Available Drinking Water Healthy Student Rewards More facts are also available on the site, showing parents that 74% of schools sell soft drinks ...

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2015 Built Environment Conference in San Antonio



What does a healthier environment look like? That is what the community of San Antonio, Texas is asking as they bringing together ideas to leverage a healthier San Antonio. The City of San Antonio's Metropolitan Health District will hold a conference on the Health and the Built Environment at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center on Friday, November 13th. The theme for the conference is "Leveraging a More Livable SA", where ideas will be discussed by designers, architects, community health workers and public health advocates all working together for a more livable and healthier community. Speakers will talk on various topics including, Planning for a Healthy Tomorrow, Food, Affordable Neighborhoods, Economics of Health, Real Estate Development and more. To find out more ...

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Neighborhood Renovates Park & Soccer Field in Latino Community in Chicago



In the past 10 years, the Thomas Kelly High School girls’ soccer team has been one of the winningest teams in Chicago but they don’t even have their own field to practice or play on. The school is in Southwest Chicago’s Brighton Park Neighborhood (83% Latino), an area that is burdened by high rates of obesity and physical inactivity due to less access to safe and quality recreational facilities than other parts of Chicago. The Brighton Park Neighborhood Council (BPNC) organized a campaign to renovate Kelly Park, the park adjacent to Kelly High School, to build a turf football/soccer field to make the park safer for students and families. EMERGENCE Awareness: Patrick Brosnan, Sara Reschly, and other Brighton Park residents saw how environmental injustice negatively affected the ...

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Can Fast Food Restaurants Fill The Gap In Food Deserts?



Popular chef Daniel Patterson believes his new fast-food chain, loco'l, set to open in Tenderloin, Calif. in 2015, will help address the issue of food deserts in urban areas. The low-cost menu in his new chain will cater to low-income households where items will range from two to six dollars and compete with large chains, like McDonalds and Taco Bell's dollar menus. Items on the menu will include healthier made Burgers will be considered healthier as they will be partially made with tofu and grain. Veggie bowls, falafel, tacos, salads and rice bowls will all be part of the menu with fresh seasonal ingredients. Patterson decided to open his first restaurant in Tenderloin, where his charity, The Cooking Project is located. The Cooking Project is a non-profit, community-based ...

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Baltimore Families Now Have Access to “Healthy Vending”



Mayor Stephanie Rawlings began a movement toward healthier vending machines in city-owned facilities back in 2013 when she announced a Healthy Vending pilot project with a full commitment of implementation by 2015. On October 23, 2015, the city officially launched their Healthy Vending in all vending machines across the city. Now hundreds of public vending machines in libraries, community centers, parks, pools, museums, and skate rinks are full of healthier options including fifty percent of foods that are: Low fat: not more than 35% of total calories from fat and not more than 10% of calories from saturated fat. Low sugar: not more than 35% total weight from sugars and caloric sweeteners. Low calorie: no more than 200 calories per label serving. Beverages also must have ...

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Edible School Gardens Grow & Share Information Across The Nation



School gardens are not new, according to researcher Suzanne Teghtmeyer. School gardening within the United States started as early as the 19th century and is still thriving today. But how are school gardens growing and changing students' health and education today? Helping school gardens grow through network opportunities, online tools, and resources, is a new network called The Edible Schoolyard Project. Founded by Alice Walters, their mission is to create and build a national edible education curriculum that runs from pre-k education through high school. Thier efforts support a network of current school gardens with a map showing all the new school gardens growing around the nation and the world. They also provide stories and  resources like math and science ...

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