Since 2012, Minnesota (5.2% Latino) school districts have been working to expand farm-to-school fresh food options within school lunches, buying local fresh fruits and vegetables and serving up whole-grain fresh bread. Over 27 kitchens within the state now offer fresh, cooked from scratch meals, Bertrand Weber, Minneapolis Public Schools Nutrition director explained to the StarTribune. A department of agriculture had help invest over one million dollars in over 57 districts to help support schools to upgrade their kitchens, buy local produce, make fresh meals and serve more nutritious options. However, a poll taken by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota found that 69 % of parents still worry about physical activity and healthy food access for their students while they are at ...
Cities across the world have come up with unique methods to make it safer for kids and everyone to bicycle. Safe places to bike-and walk and play-are critical to reduce health disparities and improve Latino and all kid's overall health and wellbeing. In College Station, Texas (14% Latino) the Texas Transportation Institute at Texas A&M designed a protected intersection, modeled after the Dutch Junction, with glow-in-the-dark bike lanes. Bike lanes are, in fact, a sound public health investment. The Dutch Junction is designed to separate cars and bicyclists using islands, moving bicyclists in front motorists and out of their blind spots. To improve path visibility, the bike lanes are coated with a glow-in-the-dark material that absorbs and stores solar energy during the ...
It’s Hispanic Heritage Month (#HHM) and we’re celebrating with a bilingual #SaludTues Tweetchat with our friends at the U.S. Office of Minority Health! This observance gives us a great opportunity to reflect on the riches and beauty of Latino culture. It also gives us a chance to raise national awareness of issues that matter most to Latinos, like having healthy communities and access to health care. So let's use #SaludTues on Oct. 11, 2016, to tweet about how we can ALL be a part of driving health equity and promoting Latino health. WHAT: #SaludTues #HealthyLatinos Tweetchat
TIME/DATE: 1-2 p.m. EST Tuesday, October 11, 2016
WHERE: On Twitter with hashtag #SaludTues
HOST: @SaludToday
CO-HOST: The Office of Minority Health (@MinorityHealth)
Optional Hashtags: ...
A new report from the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), using national data, found that the Latino high school graduation rate rose to 78% in 2013 compared to 2007. Toward A More Equitable Future: The Trends and Challenges Facing America’s Latino Children is a new report released by the NCLR which utilized nationally gathered data to shed light on the true state, good and bad, of Latino children in the United States. “When people don’t want to do something, they hide behind data,” said Lori Kaplan, head of the Latin American Youth Center in Washington, D.C. at a recent news event announcing the report. “They say ‘show me the data.’ But smaller operations usually don’t have the resources to gather data to prove that what they know to be true through ...
When Cascade Bicycle Club in King County, Washington (9.5% Latino), found out about a grant opportunity in early 2015, they jumped at the chance to build their youth and family-oriented programming. Cascade Bicycle Club's mission is to improve lives through bicycling. Physical activity, like bicycling, is critical to improve overall health and wellbeing for Latino and all kids. Read and watch a Salud Hero story about an elementary school that teaches kids bike safety thanks in part to Cascade Bicycle Club. Partnering with King County Parks for the King County's Youth Sports Facility Grant for $75,000, the Cascade Bicycle Club discussed ideas and locations for kids and adults to practice and learn bike safety. An urban designer suggested a traffic garden after seeing one in ...
SaludToday Guest Blogger
Dr. Michel Choueiri of CancerDocs.org I am going to tell you the story of Anna López and why it is important to always ask two doctors before making a major decision. Anna arrived to Los Angeles in 2014 from Guatemala. She turned 49 last June. She was taking a shower one morning when she noticed a mass on her breast. She did not know what to do and went to the first doctor who her cousin knew. After a pleasant consultation, she was advised that she would need to have surgery to remove all her breast. Sad, Anna went home, cried with her husband that night. She could not speak English and did not know many people in LA to ask for help. She agreed to the surgery and the operation was scheduled for the following week. Luckily, her friend who works at UCLA had ...
Why do sodas and other sugary drinks like sweetened coffees, teas, and energy drinks make us more thirsty and want more? We need hydration and water is they key to healthy hydration. Drinking more water and less sugary beverages can help our bodies in numerous ways shows various studies. So now what should we do? How can we fight the urge to sip on our favorite sweet drink? Join the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) and FoodStand as they challenge you to drink "Less Soda". The Foodstand app is free to download and you can get great tips, shopping lists, recipes and more to help you kick the can or the sweet beverage of your choice!
Foodstand also helps people build healthier eating habits through community-powered challenges primarily focused on eating less ...
In working on reducing food waste since new rules went into effect in 2012, School Lunch Advisory Councils (SLACs) are now asking students to help other students eat healthier. SLACS, which are composed of a food service director, an educator, and two or three students, are using behavioral economics like encouraging students to nudge or encourage other students to consume more fruits and vegetables at lunch. Montana food directors told The Washington Free Beacon that once the cafeteria put up creative signage like the student's life-sized version of their coach promoting apples and moved their salad bar, lunch waste decreased by 35 percent. “Smarter Lunchrooms uses the basic principles of behavioral economics (the influencing factors behind people’s choices and behaviors) ...
Latino students tend to have more access to unhealthy food at school and are less physically active than their peers, according to a Salud America! research review and animated video. That's why we need more schools like Blanca E. Sanchez Elementary in South Texas. School officials at Sanchez Elementary, just 10 miles from the Mexican border in McAllen, Texas (85% Latino), wanted to help their students overcome language barriers and limited resources to achieve healthy minds and healthy weight. So they started taking kids out for a morning recess. Started providing activity breaks throughout the day. Earned a $25,000 national physical fitness grant to do more. Teachers also instruct students on healthy eating at school and home. Now, thanks to their efforts and support from ...
