The zoo isn’t exactly a place of health (for humans), with typical fare like popcorn, ice cream, cotton candy, and sugary drinks. However, in El Paso, TX, kids and visitors of all ages are learning fun facts about how they can be healthy by copying habits, like eating fruits and vegetables, from animals. In 2012, the El Paso Zoo installed new signs and healthy menu items to promote good health for its record-breaking 354,130 visitors, and they continue to work with city public health officials to make a healthy lifestyle second nature to the community. EMERGENCE
Awareness: In 2010, El Paso, Texas, a vibrant a city with a rich culture at the west-most point of the state, was named the “third-fattest city” in the U.S. Sue Beatty, a health education and training manager ...
A coalition of over 25 local organizations and community advocates in the state of Iowa are celebrating a recent victory in shared-use policy. On March 23, 2015, the Iowa state legislature passed a bill which removes the burden of liability concerns from schools and community organizations, allowing them keep schoolyards open during non-school hours. Now the bill awaits signature from the state's governor Terry Branstad. Schoolyards are a widely untapped resource which can be used to provide communities with additional greenspace. When school playgrounds are left open to the community, research shows that 84% of kids are more likely to be physically active outside; yet in many communities school playgrounds are locked during non-school hours. Additional studies show that ...
In 2011, two years after Latino parents in Chicago began working to raise awareness of the need for recess in schools, Chicago Public Schools (CPS) finally announced they would be working to reincorporate recess back into the school day. According to a blog post from the Healthy Schools Campaign a group of parents from the Parents United For Healthy Schools organization gathered over 4,000 signatures as part of a petition in support of recess. This helped ultimately get the attention of the district's Office of Student Health and Wellness (OSHW), who's mission is to oversee the well being of students and the implementation of health promoting policies for the district. Research shows that schools with mostly Latino students are less likely to offer students at least 20 minutes ...
Latino kids need safe, easy-to-get-to places to play. That’s why Salud America! is presenting six new #SaludHeroes who helped give Latino kids new and improved places to run, jump, play and bike! WATCH and VOTE for your favorite “#SaludHeroes of Active Spaces” by March 25, 2015, and be entered in a random drawing to win a FREE T-shirt and jump rope! #SaludHeroes of Active Spaces are: Run, Chicago, Run. Alicia Gonzalez, a big-hearted Latina, wanted to get Latino kids active—so she got more than 13,000 kids moving as part of Chicago Run.
Moms Heart Parks. Irma Rivera and other moms, sick of having no safe places for their kids to play, helped land the first public park and community center in San Ana, Calif.
Stickball in NYC. Two Latinos worked together to fight ...
Farmers’ markets are a great place to find fresh fruits and vegetables when your local grocery store doesn’t sell them. But when your neighborhood doesn’t have a farmers’ market OR a local grocery store with fresh fruits and vegetables—are you just out of luck? Find out how a Latina school teacher-turned healthy food activist was inspired by her friend to start a farmers’ market in her neighborhood in San Antonio, Texas, so neighbors could not only have better access to fresh fruits and vegetables, but learn how to cook tasty dishes that make healthy eating a delicious way of life.
EMERGENCE
Awareness: As a computer teacher at an elementary school in inner-city San Antonio, TX, Michelle Griego watches kids choose chips over carrots daily. San Antonio sits within ...
Farmers' markets are a great way for families to purchase fresh, healthy fruits and vegetables, often grown nearby. But in many cities, some neighborhoods don't have a regular farmers' market nearby and they miss out on these fun community events. A neighborhood in San Antonio, TX, a predominantly Latino city, is hoping to get a farmers' market they can call their own. Residents of the Dignowity Hill neighborhood are rallying support for a Farmer's Market located in Dignowity Hill Park. According to an online petition, the market will have local vendors with fresh produce and goods. This will offer healthy and fresh food to the community at an affordable price and support local businesses at the same time. The main purpose of the petition, according to residents, is to get ...
Every child deserves the right to play and be healthy. Yet many times when the school day gets busy, recess is the first thing to go. In light of recent cuts to recess, a group of parents in Orange County, Florida have now gained national attention for standing up for their children's right to recess. According to a news story from Today.com at least twenty-three elementary schools in Orange County have cut back on or even cancelled recess. "They have become machines that produce data as opposed to children,'' Amy Narvaez, a mother of two, told TODAY. A Think Progress blog reports that prior to bringing the matter before the school board parents collected over 1,200 signatures as part of a petition. At the meeting they also cited research on the benefits of having between ...
Residents living in Baton Rouge, a city with a growing Latino population, may very soon see a Complete Streets policy put into effect.
According to a news article from Business Report the city council will be discussing this as part of meeting on Wednesday, November 12, 2014. Then on November 25, 2014, the proposed ordinance will be read at a public meeting where the council will have its final vote.
Since August 2014, groups like Bike Baton Rouge (Bike BR) and the Sustainable Transportation Action Committee (STAC), have been working to get support from locals by each gathering signatures as part of two online petitions. So far both groups have collected a combined total of over 1,000 signatures.
“This petition is all about getting the concept of a complete street off the ...
Middle-school students in the FreeWheels for Kids program are learning what it means to be leaders for healthy change. By bringing bike clubs to various schools and facilities across Kansas City, and its growing Latino population, this nonprofit is helping kids have fun and stay active, while teaching them how to fix bikes, build nature trails, and to voice their desire for a bike friendly community with bike-friendly streets.
EMERGENCE
Awareness: Benjamin Alexander was already an avid bicyclist when he started working at a local community center, where he mentored kids in Kansas City, Kan., which is 28% Latino. “I rode my bike to work every day,” Alexander said. At the community center in spring 2011, he was fixing his bike when a middle-school student asked him how he ...
