The Center for Science in the Public Interest has created a comprehensive list of healthy school party ideas. Classroom parties can often involve candy, cake, snacks, and sweets; which are high in fat and sugar. These foods in excess lead to issues like obesity and obesity related diseases in children. But teachers and students can celebrate birthdays, accomplishments, and holidays in healthy ways! Non-food ideas involve having dance parties, extra recess, reading time, creative crafts, and party games. You can find the guide here and learn how to provide healthy celebrations for all ...
As summer approaches, farmers' markets begin kicking into high gear. Phat Beats Produce, a group of passionate food activists in Oakland, CA, are working to upgrade their Saturday farmers' market to have it serve more low-income families, farmers of color (many of which are Latino), and the whole North Oakland neighborhood. Since 2010, the Saturday market has been a forum for small farmers of color to connect with urban dwellers, while keeping the prices of their organically-grown produce affordable and accessible. It is a space that hosts grassroots economic initiatives that assist low-income residents such as the Phat Beets Kitchen Incubator Program and the Phat Beetz Youth Pickle Company. Through free Food n' Justice Workshops, monthly crop swaps and free ...
Action for Healthy Kids' (AFHK) Nancy Frank, M.P.H., AFHK State Coordinator, in California explains how one school nutritionist stepped up to provide healthy food for all students and kids in her community. When Sally Spero arrived at San Diego’s Lemon Crest Elementary School as child nutrition director in the winter of 2012, she quickly realized that the summer meal program – which served children in the community as well as those attending the school’s various summer programs – had only reached 60 kids the previous summer and offered foods that didn’t meet emerging nutrition standards. So she did something about it.
With the support of the district superintendent and the school board, Spero applied for and received a grant from Action for Healthy Kids, funded by ...
Farmers' markets are great places to buy healthy fresh fruits and vegetables. But many folks who receive food assistance benefits (Latinos make up 41% of WIC participants and 15% of SNAP participants) can't use those benefits at the market. Farmers' markets across the country are trying to change this, equipping their markets with machines that can turn the food assistance benefits into currency farmers can accept in exchange for fresh food. In Alaska, a handful of markets in the state introduced debit card readers, a small change put in place to give Alaskans who use Quest cards, the delivery system for SNAP funds, the ability to purchase fruits, vegetables and even plant starters. When the first two machines were installed in 2011, revenue for the two pilot ...
In a recent San Antonio Express News Op-Ed, Councilwoman Shirley Gonzalez shared some thoughts on why San Antonio should make its streets friendlier to pedestrians & cyclists.
She discusses how 8 pedestrians from her district alone were killed due to motor vehicle accidents, during her first 8 months of office. Gonzalez also goes on to talk about the city's SA 2020 vision and about the city's 2010 Comprehensive Master Plan, which will soon be updated.
"Achieving and exceeding the SA2020 goals, and ensuring a better San Antonio for our children, requires a plan addressing these issues jointly," Gonzalez said in the news column. "Achieving these goals means deliberately planning, and implementing projects, to reduce automobile use while making walking, cycling and use of public ...
By 2005, increased rates in childhood obesity and a lack of green space were becoming a concern for the residents of Baldwin Park (80% Latino). The city seemed to lack parks and places of recreation, so the community came together to develop a Parks and Recreation Master Plan. One strategy mentioned in the plan was the shared use of land between schools and the city, as a cost effective method to increase active spaces. When Parks and Rec. officials learned of a community development grant which could provide funding for shared use projects, they entered discussions with Baldwin Park Unified School District (BUSD), to see about developing a shared use agreement, to keep school property open during after-school hours. Plans for the 2010 shared use agreement were approved by the ...
El Monte City School District lies about 20 miles east of the heart of Los Angeles, California. Many of its children are first-generation Mexican Americans, and 91 percent of the children participate in the free- and reduced- price lunch program. This Alliance for a Healthier Generation school has been making some big changes to the snacks it offers students in the after-school program. Many of El Monte’s students also stay at their schools until after 5 pm, participating in after school activities and athletic programs. The district offered a small after school snack of milk and fruit, but with children playing rigorous sports and expending a lot of energy, the snack wasn’t enough. Instead of getting rid of the program due to low participation, El Monte strengthened it. ...
Parks, plazas, and bike racks are all a part of the City of Los Angeles' new People St initiative---a program created to get the community's input on affordable ways to improve the built environment. Launched earlier this year as a way to involve the community in designing healthy public spaces, People St allows residents to submit proposals for three project types: Parklets;
Bike Corrals; and
Plazas. In a statement on the People St webpage, Mayor Garcetti said: "Fundamental to People St is its bottom-up, community-based approach." Community groups like neighborhood associations and business districts are eligible to submit their proposals to LA DOT after getting support for a project. However, the projects must be located in areas with high pedestrian traffic to be ...
CA4Health works in rural and small California counties to reduce chronic disease and illness by helping bring about changes in the community that make it easier for people to make healthier choices in their daily lives. Many of these communities have a high Latino population. In Humboldt County, the local health department partnered with students and staff at Eureka High School to implement Hydration Nation, an effort that increased the access and appeal of fresh drinking water as a healthy alternative to the sugary beverages that are helping fuel the nation’s obesity epidemic. At Eureka High School, there were 11 older-style water fountains available to the 1,200 students and 80 staff members, none of which allowed easy filling of the reusable water bottles which were gaining ...
