Burger King has joined fellow fast-food restaurants McDonald's and Wendy's in ensuring kids' have healthy drink options. Burger King has agreed to remove sugary soda from its kids' meals and menus. Additionally, the company will not market soda as part of its kids’ meals at all. All the changes have been made at headquarters, and individual franchises are in the process of making the switch. Burger King made the change, "as part of our ongoing effort to offer our guests options that match lifestyle needs," said Alex Macedo, president of Burger King North America, in an e-mailed statement to USA TODAY. Instead of soft drinks, the Burger King menu for kids will offer fat-free milk, 100% apple juice and low-fat chocolate milk. Health advocacy groups like CSPI and Mom'sRising ...
Alexander Castillo was looking to make some healthy changes in his own life when he came to the realization that his school lacked tasty, nutritious lunch options. Why couldn’t his school have a salad bar? After joining the Mayor’s Fitness Council Student Ambassador program, developing a plan with his mentor, and reaching out to his district’s food services department, Alexander was able to secure a salad bar for his high school. The new salad bar led to an increase in salad purchases and a new outlook on eating fresh fruit and vegetables at his school.
The Need for Healthy School Food
Awareness: Alexander Castillo, a student at Southwest Academy (a non-traditional alternative high school in the mostly Latino city of San Antonio, Texas) set a goal to pursue his passion for ...
Farmers’ markets are a great place to find fresh fruits and vegetables when your local grocery store doesn’t sell them. But when your neighborhood doesn’t have a farmers’ market OR a local grocery store with fresh fruits and vegetables—are you just out of luck? Find out how Michelle Griego, a school teacher-turned healthy food leader, was inspired by her friend to start a farmers’ market in her neighborhood in San Antonio, Texas, so neighbors could not only have better access to fresh fruits and vegetables, but learn how to cook tasty dishes that make healthy eating a delicious way of life.
No Farmer's Market in Your Town?
Awareness: As a computer teacher at an elementary school in San Antonio, Texas, Michelle Griego watches kids choose chips over carrots ...
Schools across the country are revamping their lunch menus to better reflect the updated national nutrition standards. Some schools are going above and beyond the standards and making huge strides to serve healthy, delicious food to students. In Blount County, Tennessee, schools are experimenting with growing their own fresh produce for school lunch. Agriculture teacher Mike Whitehead’s classes piloted the program last year at William Blount High School and William Blount Ninth Grade Academy. Since the program started, the cafeteria has gradually increased its produce orders to meet student demand, said manager Yvonne Buchanan in a news article. Currently, students grow fresh produce for six cafeterias: Mary Blount Elementary School, Friendsville Elementary School, Union Grove ...
Childhood obesity is a big problem in San Antonio. That's why Salud America! and KSAT-TV are teaming up for a new series, "Making Awesome Changes," which will regularly feature local Salud America! Salud Heroes—people and groups who are pushing for healthy changes—on the evening news. Salud America!, a childhood obesity research and communication network supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and directed by Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez of the Institute for Health Promotion Research at UT Health San Antonio, uses research, stories, and resources to help people drive healthy change in their own communities. Salud America! tells the stories of many youth, parents, teachers and other community members are working to improve physical activity and nutrition to help reduce ...
Moms often have final say over family meals. Marketers know this. Kellogg Co., the name behind brands like Fruit Loops, Pop-Tarts, and Eggo Waffles, has a new digital marketing campaign, Días Grandiosos, that targets Spanish-speaking moms online and on social media like Facebook and Pinterest with recipes they tout as saludable (healthy). But many of their meals are high in sugar and salt. In other words, NOT saludable. Tell Kellogg to stop pushing moms to give their kids unhealthy, sugary foods, and instead add more healthy options! Almost all the campaign’s recipes—19 of the 29 recipes on its website—qualify as desserts based on their high sugar content, according to an independent nutritionist. Like: Five recipes using Rice Krispies and marshmallows;
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Science backs up your mom’s old adage: “Eat your fruits and vegetables if you want to be healthy and strong!” Unfortunately, this message is often lost or unheeded, buried beneath junk food ads relentlessly targeting kids. Leaders in San Antonio, Texas decided to combat the city’s troubling obesity rate with a campaign designed to get kids (and their parents!) to eat more fruits and veggies. The “Veg Out” campaign, backed by science and a coalition of public health, school, city, and other officials, aims to have a lasting impact on the health of families in San Antonio.
Marketing Usually Promotes Unhealthy Food Options
Awareness: San Antonio is a unique, mostly Latino city known for its rich history and traditions. However, some traditions, like the consumption of ...
Moms often have final say over family meals. Let’s use #SaludTues on Feb. 24, 2015, to help moms fight back against unhealthy food advertising by tweeting resources and strategies: WHAT: #SaludTues Tweetchat: “How Moms Can Fight Junk Food Marketing”
DATE: Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2015
TIME: 1-2 p.m. ET (Noon-1 p.m. CT)
WHERE: On Twitter with hashtag #SaludTues
HOST: @SaludAmerica
CO-HOSTS: The Center for Science in the Public Interest (@CSPI), Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity (@UConnRuddCenter), and MomsRising (@MomsRising) Be sure to use the hashtag #SaludTues to follow the conversation on Twitter/X and share your stories and resources. #SaludTues is a Tweetchat on Twitter/X that focuses on a variety of different health issues. From September 2014 to ...
The Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC) was ready to step up the fight to improve health in the face of rising obesity problems. So the BPHC developed a bilingual public health campaign against sugary drinks to help residents make healthier choices.
The Issue of Sugary Drinks and Obesity
Awareness/Learn: Obesity is a big problem. In 2011, the Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC) tried to get ahead of the curve and target sugar reduction with a bilingual campaign called “Azucar Sabia (Sugar Smarts).” This campaign went up in communities around Boston, educating parents about how sugar-sweetened beverages can cause harm to their children through obesity, diabetes, and tooth decay. This campaign was well received but did not make a major impact on the community, health ...
