Students at schools across Boise, Idaho are staying fit thanks to two new mobile playgrounds and free programming offered by the city's Parks and Recreation Department. In an Idaho Statesmen news article, Chris Camacho, a recreation coordinator with Boise's Parks and Recreation department, said that some kids might not be able to otherwise afford after school activities.Therefore, bringing after school programming directly to them through the mobile rec is a great way to address gaps in recreation services offered to children. Kay Mack, a retired employee of the Parks and Recreation Department, said she dreamed up the idea for the mobile rec over 15 years ago, but the vision only became a reality in 2008. Before launching the mobile playground the city worked with the National ...
Latinos make up 15% of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients nationwide. In Delaware, lawmakers are considering restricting unhealthy food purchases with SNAP funds. SNAP already has some restrictions. According to the USDA, recipients cannot use the assistance to buy beer, wine, liquor, cigarettes or tobacco; any nonfood items; vitamins and medicines; any food that will be eaten in the store; and hot foods. However, among the items food stamps can be used to purchase are soft drinks, energy drinks, candy, cookies, cakes, snack crackers and ice cream. Law makers in Delaware see banning certain junk foods as a public health issue, part of the state's effort to promote wellness and reduce obesity. The bill is expected to be introduced in the State House ...
If you're looking for a great resource to bring more active spaces to your community, checkout the Playing Smart toolkit. This resource created in partnership by ChangeLabSolutions and KaBoom! provides much you'll need to know about shared use agreements. The toolkit features information on: the relationship between shared-use of land and physical activity,
shared use case studies,
ways to overcome liability concerns,
resources for financing shared use initiatives and
sample shared use agreements. Access the Playing Smart National Joint Use Toolkit here. For more on shared use agreements visit the ChangeLabSolutions, joint-use ...
When school's out and summer vacation hits, many students who rely on free or reduced price lunches at school are left without proper daily nutrition. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)'s summer meals programs, including the Summer Food Service Program and the National School Lunch Program's Seamless Summer Option, ensure that low-income children who rely on school meals can receive the nutritious food they need during the summer months so they are healthy and ready to learn when they return to school in the fall. But the number of kids who participate in these programs is small, especially in certain states. For example, in Illinois nearly 800,000 kids receive free or reduced price lunch in school, but only 11 percent of eligible Illinois children ...
Teens from Youth Empowered Solutions (YES!) in North Carolina are growing healthy change! By using a policy approach to tackling childhood obesity, these teens are making a huge impact on the health of their community. The group of teens whose ages range from 12-18 years are part of the non-profit organization YES!, that works with youth, adults, and community organizations to develop healthy food and active living policies. In 2009, the statewide non-profit organization was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to launch the Healthy Vessels initiative and in 2011 the group received funding from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina to continue their work. Recently YES! partnered with the YMCA of North Carolina to extend their reach and to award $3,000 ...
A new bill in West Virginia might require kids to spend additional time in PE. The new piece of legislation called, The Move To Improve Act, made it through the Senate in February 2014 and will now undergo review by the House. According to a WSAZ News3 report, the bill requires elementary school children to get at least 30 minutes of PE, three times a week. For middle school students the bill requires one full period of PE per day with at least 30 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. High schoolers would have the option of participating in an elective lifetime physical education course, but would be required to have only one full credit of PE upon graduation. To read more about this in the news, click ...
About five years ago, Clara Santos opened Olivares Food Market to serve the Philadelphia neighborhood in which she lived. Offering quick meals and grab-and-go snacks, her store was popular but had few healthy snacks. With some help from a food access organization, Santos learned that offering and promoting healthy food options is not only good for the health of her customers, but for business, too.
EMERGENCE
Awareness: Olivares Food Market, a Latino-oriented corner store in South Philadelphia, owned by Clara Santos, is a lot like other similar markets in Philadelphia and across the country. That is, it lacks healthy food options and has no marketing for the few it does have. Olivares sells prepared foods—like high-calorie cheesesteaks for lunch and pancakes for breakfast—and ...
Great things can happen when community organizations partner-up to find healthy solutions for preventing Latino childhood obesity! Recently Fuel Up to Play 60, one of the nation's leading groups for promoting health and wellness in schools, decided to partner with the Healthy Zone School Recognition Program, to get more schools to implement healthy and sustainable changes. Fuel-Up to Play 60--a program offered nationwide to kids in more than 73,000 schools--provides schools with a toolkit that encourages "healthy plays" for improving school physical activity and nutrition. The Healthy Zone School recognition program (Healthy Zone) honors schools for their healthy practices and provides assistance to those wanting to improve their health status. Up until now, the Healthy Zone ...
Communities in southwest Tampa often struggle to access healthy food, and this includes many Latino families. Nearby Florida Hospital recently did a full community health assessment of the area which found the top health issue in the neighborhood is diabetes. The assessment indicated that the problem stems largely from a lack of readily available, affordable and nutritious food. Wal-Mart, the nation's largest grocery, is opening up a handful of superstores in underserved areas in this community. Currently, Wal-Mart is targeting food deserts across the country in cooperation with first lady Michelle Obama’s campaign to end childhood obesity. Recently-opened Wal-Mart stores in St. Petersburg, Clearwater and Tampa also are inside or within one mile of USDA-designated food ...
