Some Houston community leaders and groups are getting together to try and help people in high risk neighborhoods have more access to healthier food. These leaders have formed the Houston Grocery Access Task Force. Part of the Healthy Houston Initiative created last fall, the task force reports that one of the main things the city needs to do is set up economic development programs that encourage grocery companies to build in underserved areas. The task force is focusing on four Houston neighborhoods in particular: Sunnyside, Eastside, Third Ward, and Fifth Ward. Check out the task force's complete findings here! When parents start having access to fresh, healthy foods, they can begin feeding that food to their children and teaching them the importance of healthy eating, the task ...
GO TO 2040 is metropolitan Chicago's first comprehensive regional plan in more than 100 years and establishes coordinated strategies that help the region's 284 communities address transportation, housing, economic development, open space, the environment, and other quality-of-life issues. One target area of GO TO 2040 is to promote and sustain local food systems, like encouraging more urban farming and equal access to fresh, healthy foods. Another target area hopes to expand and improve parks and open space; less than half of Chicago-area residents have adequate parks nearby. Public policies for land use, transportation, and many other issues in the GO TO 2040 plan influence the effectiveness and sustainability of our food systems. To benefit the region's economy and the health of ...
The after-school program at Judson W. Robinson Jr. Community Center just got a whole lot healthier. The Houston city council approved a meal program that would provide healthy meals to students at the community center; some kids aren't picked up by their parents until 6:30 or 7 at night. The program, funded by a grant from the Texas Department of Agriculture, will be available to children attending after-school programs run by the city Department of Parks and Recreation at 49 community centers, as well as at four programs run by nonprofits. The sites were chosen based on areas in which half of the students in the local school are eligible for free or reduced-price meals. The meals delivered by the grant initially will be given to about 1,500 children, who will receive a 3 p.m. snack and ...
Providing a healthy food environment at school can play a huge role in reducing childhood obesity. In 2010, the Texas State Board of Education amended school nutritional guidelines to prohibit the sale of competitive foods during school hours for elementary schools and during meal periods for middle and high schools. Competitive foods are defined as items sold in vending machines, in school stores, or through school fundraisers by parents, administrators or other groups or organizations. The new rules also state that carbonated beverages are not allowed to be provided to students anytime, anywhere until after the end of the last scheduled ...
In July 2009, a state-wide policy went into effect in California that prohibited public schools from selling food containing artificial trans fat, either through a vending machine or school food service establishment during school hours and up to 1/2 hour before and after school. Authored by California State Senator Elaine Alquist (D- Santa Clara),the law prohibits the use of artificial trans fat in the preparation of a food item served to to students as well. Hispanics make up 51% of K-12 students in California, making this victory especially sweet for Latino ...
On February 1st, USDA proposed national school nutrition standards for vending, a la carte, school stores, and other foods sold outside the school meal programs. Highlights include strong criteria for calories, fats, sugars, and sodium in foods sold outside the school meal plan. The comment period is 60 days, then the final plan will be instated. Competitive foods have hurt many schools' attempts at bringing in healthier food options, because these vending and a la carte options tend to be high fat and sugar and are not federally ...
In the city of Baldwin Park, twenty miles inland from Los Angeles, the majority of residents are young (two out of three are under 35) and Hispanic (four our of five). Finding nutritious, affordable food in this area has been a struggle. “Healthy Teens on the Move,” an advocacy committee of students from two local high schools in Baldwin Park, have made it their mission to improve Baldwin Park’s physical activity and food environment for local children, of whom one in three is overweight. They took an active role in bringing healthy changes to school cafeterias and also helped Baldwin Park become the first city in California to pass an ordinance that ensured all foods and beverages sold in city-sponsored youth facilities complied with the same state nutrition standards that ...
A church in Kansas City, Missouri has created their own grocery store to help bring healthy, fresh food into an area of need. Harvest Learning Center (HLC) is a non-profit grocery store built alongside the World Harvest Ministries church in Kansas City's Ivanhoe neighborhood. HLC is run by Pastor Terry Glenn, and is partnered with Good Natured Family Farms, Hen House, Buy Fresh Buy Local, and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation Food & Community Program. The store sells locally grown produce and other healthy foods items and lower rates than most people can find in a regular grocery store. Even better, HLC matches SNAP and food program benefits, ensuring that all families get access to these healthy foods. The church hopes to start cooking classes to help families learn how to prepare easy, ...
Because of restrictive food safety ordinances, farmers markets could not do business in Plano, Texas. On Tuesday December 18th, 2012, Plano city council voted unanimously to make several major changes to the food ordinance. Among the most important was changing the definition of a farmers market in order to allow not only produce but also items such as cheese, milk and meat. The market will be located at Fairview Farms, 3314 N. Central Expressway and is tentatively scheduled to be open Saturdays from April to October. Plano, a northern suburb of Dallas, has a significant Hispanic population that will benefit from the location of Plano's first real farmers ...
