The website Bag the Junk was created in order to support the NEA Health Information Network’s Healthier School Food Advocacy project. This website looks to educate people about healthy snacking and give them the knowledge needed to make a difference in their communities. The portion of the site labeled Act gives users tool-kits, sample letters and press releases, examples of wellness policies, and how-to's on finding out the policies in your ...
Read MoreA new website, HealthyChildren.org en Español, launched this week with nearly 2,000 translated articles on more than 300 children's health topics. The site has features such as: Pregúntele al pediatra (Ask the Pediatrician) Revise sus síntomas (Symptom Checker) Temas de actualidad (Hot Topics) The site, from the American Academy of Pediatrics, aims to be a resource for pediatric health and safety information in ...
Read MoreThe New York Coalition for Healthy School Food offers up a how-to page on their website, with advice and resources for those looking to make a change in the health polices within their schools. From information about school wellness policies to suggestions about where you can make a change, this resource walks a parent, teacher, student or anyone else looking to improve their school through how they can achieve their ...
Read MoreBettina Elias Siegel, author of the popular childhood nutrition blog The Lunch Tray, has created a manifesto about the place of food in the classroom. Many schools have not yet addressed the issues of having food in the classroom, using food as a reward, and how junk food finds it's way into the hands of students, despite healthy lunches. This manifesto created by Siegel, states in clear bullet points why food in the classroom can he harmful to children's health and undermines what parents teach their children about food ...
Read MoreEditor's Note: To recognize National Cancer Survivor's Day on June 2, 2013, SaludToday is telling the stories of Latino survivors through their own words. By Joan Treviño Lawhon I think women are blessed with a sixth sense. Recently, during a show on breast cancer survivors, several said they knew immediately that something was wrong. I could definitely relate. My basic tests were within normal limits, but I had what I can only describe as a “gut feeling.” I had some very supportive doctors who followed through on my instincts. It took five tests to confirm a malignancy. Within an hour of my diagnosis, I was at Barnes & Noble buying layman’s books on breast cancer. We can freeze and let the disease consume us, or we can fight. My choice was to fight. I was going to make ...
Read MoreA study in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine titled, "Pre-sliced Fruit in School Cafeterias: Children's Selection and Intake," determines whether or not students would be more likely to eat fruit if it was pre-sliced for them. The study found that consumption of apples increased when students were given the selection of pre-sliced apples, instead of only whole fruit. This is important information because students are given fruit and healthy options at school, but the preparation is sometimes a deterrent for small children when it comes to eating the fruit. When looking to make changes or improvements to school meals, this is an important factor to take in because it will increase nutritional value of lunches and decrease food ...
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Schools in Wenatchee School District, Wa., will be seeing healthier meals in their lunch rooms and an improved effort to change the way food is used throughout the school day. The District's food service director, Kent Getzin, is focusing on encouraging students to try new foods, showing students where foods come from, and changing the way food is used in the school as reward or fund raising opportunities. “It comes back to our philosophy about our kids being healthy, and eating well, and the impact that has on learning,” said Superintendent Brian Flones, in The Wenatchee World article , “Like any other life skill, kids need to learn early what’s going to be best for them. And if we’re not modeling it with what we do at school, they’re going to probably leave with a lot ...
Read MoreFeatured on The Lunch Box's website, is an advise page for parents/caregivers about what they can do to make changes at their children's school. The Lunch Box initially suggests just making a little noise about what is going on with school lunches by visiting the school or conversing with other parents about the current school food. They go on to make suggestions like having parents do research on policies, eating at school, finding others who support you, involve the community, and many other ways to create beneficial changes to school lunches. This page is an excellent resource for those who want to make a change, but aren't sure where to ...
Read MoreParents Educators & Advocates Connection for Healthy School Food (PEACHSF) offers many How-to guides on their websites that help parents or other leaders take the first steps toward improving their school food. This website includes links to resources like glossaries of school food terms, how to organize your goals, how to be an advocate, rookie mistakes to avoid, how-to write a press release or talk to a reporter, where to start when tackling school meals, how-to fund raise without selling food, and other resources focusing on improving school ...
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