Purposed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture on March 29th, a new rule is setting the standard to try to help schools get on board with school meal nutrition standards. According to a recent article, any school food authority or school administration that is not following the standards set for child nutrition programs may be fined. Child nutrition programs include the National School Lunch Program, the Child and Adult Care Food Program, the School Breakfast Program, and the Summer Food Service Program and state administrative expense funds. In the first offense, schools would be fined one percent of meal reimbursements for the fiscal year for not correcting mismanagements of any program, or failing to correct repeated violations of program requirements. Schools can be penalized up ...
A new Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study shows that school lunches are getting healthier but there are still factors that limit healthy foods for Latino students, minority students and students from lower socioeconomic status. Fresh fruit and salad bar access increased from 16.4 percent to 31.5 percent, but mainly in the western area of the nation. Schools in the Northeast, Midwest, or South of the country were less likely to offer salad bars. Schools are where kids consume most of their daily calories, having healthy fresh fruit and vegetable options available may help decrease Latino students high risks for diet-related diseases like diabetes. To read the full study, click here. To see more of why it is important for Latino kids to have healthy school ...
Are you concerned about speeding cars in your neighborhood? Residents in San Antonio can request traffic calming measures, like speed humps, speed enforcement, signage, pavement markings and medians using the Traffic Calming Handbook. Developed by the City of San Antonio Department of Public Works, the Traffic Calming Handbook aims to improve street features to reduce the negative effect of speeding and cut through traffic. The Handbook is also available in Spanish. Improving street features to improve safety is critical to promote walking, physical activity, and overall health and wellbeing. This Handbook outlines the process a resident must go through to request a traffic calming measure. It begins by filling out a 2-page form. The first page requires information about ...
Getting kids to eat a healthy lunch at school isn't always easy, reports a recent article, however, a program by Cornell University, called 'Smarter Lunchrooms' may be helping kids get excited about healthier school lunches. Using wordplay like "awesome apple" in menus and marketing "grab n' go" meals might be helping kids choose the healthier option first as kids in Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) have often opted for the first food offered to them. The program is part of the Smarter Lunchrooms Movement, developed to help guide healthy research-based lunchrooms for kids that are sustainable and low cost. The program aims to provide low to no-cost solutions to help school lunches with managing portion sizes, increasing convenience, visibility, and taste expectations ...
The University of Southern California (USC) published some big results in 2016. They found that Latinas who eat processed meats, like lunch meat, bacon, and sausage, may have an increased risk for breast cancer; however, this association was not found among white women. According to Mariana Stern, senior author, director of graduate programs in molecular epidemiology, and an associate professor in the Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics at the Keck School of Medicine of USC: "Few studies look at breast cancer risk factors specific to Latinas. Our focus was to understand if meat consumption is associated with breast cancer and whether there are differences between Latinas and white women. To our knowledge, this is the first study that has looked at meat intake among ...
New cooking classes at Weymouth Middle School are helping kids think twice about how to make a pizza crust and how to eat at home with new ingredients in their recipes. John Mullaney, the health class teacher said this idea came up after brainstorming ideas, and he discussed the idea of creating new healthier recipes with the school district's dietitian, Kelsey Massis of Chartwells Food Service. He wanted to help kids come up with new ingredients that use less sugar and less flour with his student's recipes while cooking in class. Mullaney hoped that kids would be creative, and they were. Students like Brook Pelley used skim milk and low-fat cheese in her macaroni and cheese, and Brook Ferbert who used a salsa that had a variety of fresh vegetables. Other students used ...
Healthy cooking challenges are not just popular on TV, now schools in Fairfax Count, Va. are cooking up healthier meals in the Real Food For Kids (RFFK)'s Culinary Challenge and Wellness Expo to change school menus, offering kids the chance to cook up something different, healthy and tasty. To help change school menus to offer more healthy and tasty foods, the challenges gives kids the chance to cook up something different, healthy and tasty and help sprout new ideas into the school menu, all while staying in school budget limits. Twelve Fairfax County Schools competed for awards in three categories, including Smart snacks, Grab 'N Go, and Makeover Lunch Challenge. The challenge was to make a meal that would work within the schools nutrition, portion and cost standards. Judges ...
A new study from Yale University indicates that a school breakfast may help ensure a healthier weight range for kids. Latino kids who are more at risk for unhealthy weight ranges and at risk for higher chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease may benefit from this research as the study suggests that students who consumed breakfasts were more likely to have a healthy weight trajectory. Researchers reviewed over 580 middle school students from fifth grade to seventh grade, from 12 school districts in urban schools where free breakfast and lunches are served daily. Evaluating breakfast location patterns, and the link between breakfast patterns and weight of students over time, researchers looked at six patterns of eating, and the odds of being overweight or obese for ...
A recent report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that Americans don’t come even close to the recommended 7 to 13 servings of fruits. Research has proven that, when we add fruits to our daily diet, we significantly decrease our risk for chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and numerous cancers. Here are 2 "super fruits" that can positively influence your health:
Apples
I know you’ve heard this before, but according to research an apple a day does literally keep the doctor away. Apples are full of powerful antioxidants, which protect cell damage and significantly reduce the risk of cancer.
Blueberries
Blueberries are loaded with anthocyanins, which improve vision and brain functions. Blueberries have also been found to help lower the risk ...
