Are bike and pedestrian projects a worthwhile investment for your community? According to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and StreetsblogUSA, there are numerous benefits tied to these types of investments. In a recent evaluation of four communities across the nation, the FHA reported several economic, health, safety and environmental benefits of such projects. The four communities that took part in the initiative known as the Nonmotorized Transportation Pilot Program (NTPP), were: Marin County, California (15. 5% Latino)
Minneapolis, Minnesota (10.5% Latino)
Columbus, Missouri (3.4% Latino)
Sheboygan County, Wisconsin (3.4% Latino) As part of the project, each community was awarded $25 million to spend on bicycle/pedestrian infrastructure and nonmotorized ...
In Peoria, IL, which has a small but growing Latino population, a closed grocery store meant folks in one neighborhood had no where to turn for fresh fruits and vegetables The closest store---a corner store--- had high prices and no fresh produce at all. A coalition of community groups are stepping up to help residents in need. They've joined with a local council woman to attempt to get City funds to bring healthy produce grown in urban gardens to folks in the grocery store-less neighborhood and other underserved areas. “This speaks to the physical health of individuals in low-income neighborhoods who, because they can’t obtain those kind of things, are negatively impacted physically and mentally,” 1st District City Councilwoman Denise Moore said in a ...
Counselors at New Britain High School were concerned about the future of Latina teens who were not passing PE and risked not graduating. Fortunately, a local nonprofit taught a group of Latina teens how to take photos and use them to inspire action—a technique called photovoice. Their efforts helped unite the nonprofit, the New Britain YWCA, and New Britain High School, who together pushed to establish an after-school PE credit recovery program. Now, Latina girls are getting the physical education they need to lead a healthy lifestyle, and the ongoing collaboration between community organizations has led to the development of a new hub for health called The House of Teens (HOT).
EMERGENCE
Awareness/Learn: The 37% Latino town of New Britain, Conn., was struggling with obesity in 2007. ...
More programs that double Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits at local farmers' markets are coming to communities everywhere. In New York, where almost 20% of residents are Latino, a Double Up Food Bucks program is spreading across the western half of the state. The idea is simple. When a SNAP recipient swipes their card at the farmers' market EBT machine, they are given tokens worth double their dollar amount for folks to use on fresh, healthy foods. Double Up Food Bucks are limited to fruits and vegetables sold by participating farmers at designated farm markets, said Lisa Tucker, co-founder and executive director of the Field & Fork Network and food systems educator with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Niagara County.
“We’re hoping that ...
In efforts to preserve The San Gabriel Mountains and expand recreational opportunities for residents of Southern California, lawmakers are seeking to designate the state's San Gabriel Mountains as a National Recreation Area (NRA). According to a blog post from The City Project, Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA 27) said, “This has been a community effort from the very beginning. The vision of this NRA began with the community and it will be realized by the community.” For more than a decade, local governments, environmental groups, and non-profit organizations, have sought to preserve the land. In January of 2003, then Congresswoman Hilda Solis introduced a bill that required the National Park Service (NPS) to conduct a study to determine whether the region should be designated as a ...
A handful of lawmakers have proposed banning the purchase of sugary drinks with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. Although these attempts have yet to be successful, advocates say a ban like this would reduce chronic disease cause by obesity and excess sugar consumption. A study published in the June 2014 volume of Health Affairs tested this hypothesis. Researchers examined the impact of two proposed policies: a ban on using SNAP dollars to buy sugar-sweetened beverages; and a subsidy in which for every SNAP dollar spent on fruit and vegetables, thirty cents is credited back to participants’ SNAP benefit cards. Using nationally representative data and models describing obesity, type 2 diabetes, and determinants of food consumption among a sample of ...
Latinos make up over 60% of residents in Tulare County, many of them working for little pay on large farms in California’s fertile Central Valley. Some of these families aren’t getting proper nutrition, leading to diet-related conditions, like obesity and diabetes. When the local food bank revamped their nutrition policy to encourage more fresh produce donations, a local health advocate used her hard-earned knowledge and passion to support that policy, and implemented a creative way to get the valley’s extra fruits and veggies into the hands of those who need them.
EMERGENCE
Awareness: In Tulare County in California’s fertile Central Valley, fresh produce grows all over the place. But for many area residents, this healthy produce doesn’t end up on their plates. "Here we ...
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 ...
How can YOU... ...make "active play" essential? (Page 1) ...start a community garden? (Page 3) ...make your county healthier? (Page 5) ...teach kids to eat better? (Page 6) Find out in the latest Salud America! E-newsletter. Salud America! The RWJF Research Network to Prevent Obesity Among Latino Children is a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The program aims to unite and increase the number of Latino stakeholders engaged in community change and research on environmental and policy solutions to the epidemic. The network is directed by the Institute for Health Promotion Research at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio. Don’t forget to share your stories at our new Salud America! Growing Healthy Change website. We can help you get a ...
