Mayor Lee Leffingwell of Austin, Texas organized and participated in a 1.5 mile walk/run to encourage a healthy work environment among city employees. The walk which took place Wednesday, January 15, 2014 at noon was not just for city employees, but was also open to the public. According to a press release from the city of Austin's website, mayor Leffingwell said: "We are constantly striving to achieve healthy workplaces throughout our community." He also recognized that leading a healthy and active lifestyle could help offset some of the community's overall health care costs. In 2013, the city of Austin was recognized as the "Healthiest Employer of Central Texas," largely in part due to its HealthyConnections program that offers employees weekly fitness activities. The year ...
According to architectural engineer and CEO of HemisFair Park Andres Andujar, every great city should have a great park. Now with support from San Antonio's leadership and the Hemisfair Park Area Redevelopment Corporation (HPARC), the city will transform Hemisfair Park into Hemisfair, a place where people could eat, work, play, and live. To learn more about Hemisfair and the coming changes to San Antonio's downtown area watch the video below entitled Meet Hemisfair. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuxOJRuT8Kk Learn more about this project which is scheduled to be complete in 2020 by visiting the Hemisfair ...
Farmers' Markets are a great way to bring fresh, local produce into a community. To make sure this healthy fare is available to all, many markets purchase machines that allow them to accept Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formally known as food stamps) benefits. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently contracted with the National Association of Farmers Market Nutrition Programs (NAFMNP) to create MarketLink, a new way for farmers’ markets and direct-marketing farmers to get authorized as SNAP vendors and get the equipment they need to accept SNAP benefits. Click here to access MarketLink and to get authorized to be a SNAP vendor. Before MarketLink, each new SNAP vendor had to search out an equipment provider, select a wireless plan, ...
Schools and parents in Miami Shores are joining the movement to make biking and walking to school easier for local students. This year students from three schools in Miami Shores---Doctors Charter School of Miami Shores, Miami Shores Community Church School, and St. Rose of Lima Parish---all joined in on the excitement of National Bike to School day. In this video, parent Patrice Gilspie-Smith speaks of a survey she is conducting to find out how parents feel about their kids walking to school. According to Gilspie-Smith, parents would love for their kids to walk to school, but they feel that the high traffic in the area is intimidating. Find out what other schools across the nation participated in Bike to School Day 2013 and learn how to get your local school involved, by visiting ...
According to a San Antonio Express- News article, local residents can now enjoy several options for staying active through free programming offered by the city's Parks and Recreation Department. Because fitness programming and gym memberships are often expensive, cities like San Antonio, TX are often looking for alternative ways to keep residents active. After participating in classes for a brief time, some program participants, like Gabrielle Gullete, say they have already noticed improvements in their health. “I think more people need to know about what the city offers,” Gullette said. “I had no idea what my options were.” Gullete also added that since joining the free fitness classes, four months prior, she lost 25 pounds. According to the San Antonio ...
Thanks to a partnership between Children and Neighbors Defeat Obesity (CAN DO) Houston, the Houston Parks and Recreation Department (HPARD), and the Houston Independent School District (HISD), students at Briscoe Elementary School in Houston now have new opportunities for the active play they need to ensure health and prevent childhood obesity. Before the collaboration, parents identified a lack of physical activity as a primary health concern; now thanks to an after school busing program, students can attend after-school activities at a nearby park for free.
EMERGENCE
Awareness: In 2005, the 44% Latino city of Houston was named America’s fattest city by Men’s Fitness magazine, prompting the formation of the Mayor’s Wellness Council (MWC) and later the Houston Wellness Association ...
Catawba county is a small county in central North Carolina where Latinos are the largest minority group. Many folks living in the county don't have access to regular nutritious food. One college student has inspired her community to take action to get better food into areas that need it. Kayla Earley, a junior at Lenoir-Rhyne University, is developing a research project to learn more about the specific needs of visitors to Catawba County soup kitchens, with the goal of using her research reduce food insecurity in Catawba County 10 percent by 2016. Earley's work has called attention to food access issues in Catawa County. Catawba County Health Partners, a nonprofit that fosters coalitions to improve health countywide, has used USDA data to identify six “food deserts” in ...
Rainer Valley is one of Seattle's most diverse neighborhoods. In 2012, residents of this community joined efforts to help make the streets of Seattle more walkable and bikeable by planning for greenways in their neighborhood. Greenways---paths that provide infrastructure to encourage walking and biking in residential neighborhoods---are one way to create healthy streets. Recently, members of the Rainier Valley Greenways Builds Coalition for Safe Healthy Streets (Rainer Valley Greenways) have begun planning and reaching out to neighbors, to hear what they have to say about street improvements. Members of the coalition mapped out significant places in the community like schools and parks, and drafted a Greenways timeline. To view the map, timeline, and other documents related to the ...
Pennsylvania residents will soon have increased opportunities to bike and walk thanks to a law which will make up to $2.4 billion in transportation funds available towards pedestrian and bicycle oriented projects. According to Streetsblog and PreventObesity.net, the bill enacted in November 2013 will: provide at least $2 million towards pedestrian and bicyclist projects annually;
increase the state's multi-modal fund from a total of $33 million to $144 million over the next five years (pedestrian and bicycle projects will be eligible);
allow for the use of transportation funds in lighting pedestrian projects; and
include pedestrian and bicycle facilities as part of the state's comprehensive transportation system. In April 2013, this policy was in development. At the time, a ...
