The push for statewide healthier vending options has now grown to be a focus within the state's legislation. A new bill called the "Maryland Healthy Vending Act" is being proposed during the 2016 Maryland State Legislative Session. Sugar Free Kids Maryland will propose the bill to encourage healthier food and beverage options with certain guidelines for all vending machines statewide. The plan is to have 75 percent of all vending machines on state property to: Meet healthy food and drink standards
Have bottled water sold in every vending machine on state property
Meet trans fat and sodium standards
Display healthier options in a noticeable way for the highest selling potential
Require calorie labels on or around machines In 2015, a healthy vending initiative was passed, ...
The Tennessee Clean Water Network (TCWN) is working on goals to help enforce state and federal anti-pollution laws towards clean water, but also encouraging the state to drink less sugary beverages and instead opt for free, clean tap water. The state is currently dealing with high rates of obesity, at 31.2%, according to a 2014 report, with Latinos at a high rate of obesity at 31.7%. The movement towards drinking more tap water will also help reduce large numbers of plastic beverage bottles being disposed of in the state's landfills, explains a recent article. Efforts have been taken by TCWN to install water fountains in local community areas with messages, such as "Water first for thirst' and decorations of local art on the fountains. The drive to encourage the community to ...
Chef Ann Cooper founder of the Chef Ann Foundation (CAF) has created an online resource called The Lunch Box, to help support schools who want to change their food environment. In a recent interview Emily Miller, from CAF told Food Tank that they want to help create a healthier food system for kids in today's world, where kids can learn the importance of nourishing their bodies and where their food comes from. Miller explains that the best way to teach kids about healthier foods is through school, where kids are already in a learning environment. The Lunch Box resource is an in-depth school food resource, where school food professionals can use free tools to help transition from processed foods to scratch-made plates, that are sustainable. Including over 200 recipes that are ...
New funding has been awarded to train school staff to prepare and procure fresh farm foods for school districts across New York state. Funding from farm-to-school program grants helps develop and strengthen connections between local farms and schools. This in turns helps increase access to fresh fruits and vegetables for students through various programming like student gardens, farm field trips, or even hands-on cooking lessons. The communities receiving funding are Buffalo School District, Cooperative Extension in Schoharie and Otsego Counties, Rensselaer County schools, Saranac Lake schools, Seneca County Cooperative Extension and Broome-Delaware-Tioga BOCES. Daily consuming fresh fruits and vegetables are a great way to sustain a healthy diet for kids in ...
The first comprehensive map of urban agriculture in San Antonio is here. Created by the Food Policy Council of San Antonio's Urban Agriculture workgroup, the map helps connect potential farmers to resources for business planning. The San Antonio's Urban Agriculture workgroup hopes to connect the farmers with access to business plan writing, microloans, sales outlets, and affordable land options. Seeing where gardens already are is a first step to determining if a new urban farm will be a successful business. This is important for farmers, especially in low-income areas where access to healthier foods is a need. According to a recent article, many community gardens can be found in areas of San Antonio with less than $33,000 as the median household income. The Green Spaces Alliance ...
This is part of our Food and Latino Kids: A Research Review »
Future Research Needs
This review of the evidence indicates that researchers should conduct additional and more rigorously designed studies, such as experimental or quasi-experimental studies with less reliance on self-reported data whenever possible. Future research should examine the degree to which increased access to local healthy foods impacts dietary habits and obesity in Latino communities. Researchers also should: Identify other multilevel factors (for individuals, at homes, in neighborhoods, counties and cities), that contribute to obesity and health outcomes. Such factors include stressors, lack of time or interest in preparing healthy foods, prices for healthy foods that far exceed those for unhealthy ...
This is part of our Food and Latino Kids: A Research Review » Increased access to healthy foods in low income neighborhoods does not necessarily ensure that it will lead to improvements in residents’ diets.
Some studies some no affect on dietary improvement
Two studies of low-income neighborhoods that have reported findings without racial sub-analyses have shown that increased access to healthy foods does not affect diet quality in low-income neighborhoods. A national study using longitudinal data observed that proximity to a supermarket was not related to diet quality in low-income young to middle-aged adult populations.27 In addition, the first controlled (one intervention neighborhood and one comparison neighborhood), longitudinal study of a PFFFI-funded project found that ...
This is part of our Food and Latino Kids: A Research Review »
More access to supermarkets results in less obesity risk
Greater neighborhood access to supermarkets catering to underserved populations is linked to a lower prevalence of obesity in adults and children. Evidence from systematic reviews, longitudinal and cross-sectional studies collectively show the relationship between greater access to supermarkets and lower prevalence of obesity. Only two studies have analyzed the relationship between lack of local supermarket access and obesity over a period of time (2 years and 4 years). The data from these studies show mixed evidence in adults and children. One study reported that an increase in accessible supermarkets was associated with decreased BMI for adults who moved ...
This is part of our Food and Latino Kids: A Research Review »
Access to farmers markets is lacking among Latinos
In the past decade, the number of farmers’ markets in the United States has more than doubled.51 However, many of these markets had not previously been accessible to underserved and Latino populations.
Efforts to increase number of farmers markets
A number of food financing initiatives have increased the number of farmers’ markets operating in underserved communities.52 For example, through the activities of community groups, there are nearly a dozen farmers’ markets in underserved neighborhoods in Oakland, California. Latinos comprise 25 percent of these communities.53 Similarly, the Y USA’s Pioneering Healthier Communities initiative prompted the ...
