This is part of our Food and Latino Kids: A Research Review »
Latinos face economic barriers to healthy eating
Focus groups of Latino mothers have revealed that the most significant barrier to establishing healthy eating habits for their children is economic constraint.82 Many Latino families experience intermittent or chronic food insecurity; however, food is usually given the highest priority. Because of financial constraints, lower-income Latino mothers’ food purchases are driven almost exclusively by price.83 Mothers have expressed that they commonly travel to several different locations to purchase specific items at the lowest prices available.82 These practices demonstrate that Latino mothers’ desire to provide healthy meals for their families and protect their ...
Join millions of Americans who are skipping the Black Friday frenzy and going outside, for #OptOutside. REI started this healthy trend in 2015 by closing their stores and paying their employees not to work on Black Friday. Several state and national parks are joining the #OptOutside trend and waiving their fees on Black Friday, such as Arizona, New York, Minnesota, Indiana, Colorado, Kansas, Michigan, New Mexico, and Washington. Many other businesses are also closing and encouraging their employees and families to spend Black Friday outside. The holidays can be a time of sedentary overindulgence, often in the name of tradition. It is important to provide access to healthy alternatives, like walking and hiking, to cultivate healthier traditions. Additionally, spending time in ...
A study by Emory University has found that Latinos are more likely to say that doctors are unconcerned about their health and do not see them as equals. The study, entitled “Disaggregating Ethnoracial Disparities in Physician Trust,” found that individuals of a particular race (such as Latinos) tend to have a similar point of view on physician trust. The study also found that this issue of trust had nothing to do with education level, income, or marital status. U.S. Latinos are less likely than whites to trust the interpersonal competence, technical judgment, and obligation to act ethically towards the best interest of the patient of their doctors. “By more closely measuring differences in physicians trust, we find key differences in how people in how people view their ...
Grants for school gardens are now being given for up $1,000 to $2,000 from the Nature Works Everywhere program. Accepting applications for garden grants for the 2015–16 school year, funds will be used to support schools needing assistance for garden building, amendment, or revitalization of their on-campus garden. Preference will be given to rain, pollinator, native habitat, and other natural infrastructure projects. For more information on guidelines, requirements, and eligibility, please check out the full description of the Garden grant ...
Sarah Cantril started the Huerto de la Familia program to focus on boosting health equity by helping Latino families live healthier lives in Eugene, Ore. In trying a new approach to bring health information to Latino families, Julia Ridgeway-Diaz and other officials with Huerto de la Familia decided to start an annual health fair, called Dia de Salud (Health Day). This free, culturally tailored annual health fair brings Latino families together to receive free eye exams, blood tests, and other health services that would normally be unavailable to their community.
What role do Latinos play in their health?
Huerto de la Familia has been assisting Latino immigrant and migrant families in Eugene, Ore. (7.8% Latino), since 1999, when Sarah Cantril formed the organization from a ...
Many Latino kids live in “recreation deserts,” which lack access to safe, affordable physical activity opportunities. Therefore, they often do not meet daily physical activity recommendations and are at increased risk for obesity. One way to reduce these barriers and increase physical activity among Latino children is to provide free, safe recreation facilities in their neighborhood with culturally relevant programming. Two community-driven initiatives in Multnomah County, Ore., have crossed paths in their efforts to reduce recreation deserts in disadvantaged neighborhoods by building and fixing soccer fields and futsal courts.
Soccer Loving Kids Live in Recreation Desert
Oregon residents Shawn Levy and Ricki Ruiz love soccer and know it is good for kids and adults. But each ...
Operation Pitch Invasion (OPI) wanted to build and repair soccer fields in recreation deserts in Portland. They began by gathering volunteers and supplies to fill holes, fix goals, paint goal posts, repaint lines and repair irrigation systems. Soccer is the most popular sport among Latinos. In 2014, through a coalition of grants, corporate sponsors and individual donations, OPI opened Bless Field, a 9,000 square foot artificial turf soccer field, in a neighborhood of nearly 1,200 kids from 22 countries that speak 11 different languages. Soccer may be considered a niche sport in America, but Shawn Levy of OPI said, "Not one parent of children from 22 countries doesn’t recognize soccer as a healthy activity. They grew up playing it wherever they grew up." Because 6 ...
Kids in the U.S are overweight and recess is being cut back in schools across the nation. In fact, a report from Vermont stated that in 2005 the overweight population had more than doubled in the last twenty years. A small-town teacher in Quechee, Vermont is taking a new approach for kids to have the much needed recess time in school. The innovative teacher, Eliza Minnucci, takes her classroom outside into the woods once a week for what she calls “Forest Monday”. Minnucci got her idea from a documentary in Switzerland where kids spend the whole school day outside. Minnucci keeps order of the classroom while visiting the woods with a few simple rules, however, she let’s them explore how to do and shape things, helping them become more resourceful in their ...
Preschools are moving outdoors. Erin Kenny at Cedar Song Nature Schools says, “children can’t bounce off the walls if we take away the walls.” In November 2014, Seattle voters approved a property tax to increase funding for high-quality preschools to low-income families. Tiny Trees is one of the startup preschools. It will open 6 preschools in 2016. However, Tiny Trees will open its doors to the outdoors because it is opening outdoor preschools. Elements Preschool, in urban Lower East Side of Manhattan, NY, is also opening an outdoor preschool. 41% of public school students in New York at Latino. Although health is not at the forefront of their child-led and nature-based philosophy, play is, and play is a critical component of child development and ...
