H-E-B’s oldest operating grocery store is located on the near West Side of San Antonio, TX. Despite its rich history, the store isn't up to modern standards. Almost a third the size of a typical H-E-B, meat and produce selections are limited, as well as space for parking. For many folks living in this low-income predominately Latino area, this H-E-B is the only full-service grocery store for miles. But H-E-B wants to revitalize the old store. In May 2014, the locally based grocer will start tearing down the 69-year-old store and replace it with a modern, second-story market that features parking in the building on the first floor, a new deli area, the addition of a prepared food department and expanded produce, meat and seafood sections. H-E-B will find temporary work at ...
Many neighborhoods in Topeka, Kansas don't have a grocery store near by, forcing residents to travel far to get healthy food items like fruits and vegetables. When a large grocery store closed in one Topeka neighborhood, the community was left without a place to buy fresh food. Mike Ramirez owns Panaderia Monterrey, a Mexican-style bakery in the neighborhood with the closed grocery store. He decided to begin stocking more fresh food items so that neighbors who lived by the bakery could grab what they needed without going far away. “We were a bakery, but when (the grocery store) closed, now we go with a full line of the eggs and the dairy products, a little bit of the fruits and vegetables,” he said. When store owners are flexible and begin examining the needs of their ...
The city of San Francisco was concerned about the increase in pedestrian accidents occurring in the area of 6th street south of Market. They knew that the area was unsafe and that changes to the street's design might be necessary to improve street safety for pedestrians. Initially, there was some concern as to whether the community would support the changes; because at times when cities decide to change the design of road infrastructure, not everyone's on board. Fortunately this was not the case with the 6th street project in San Francisco. Residents were invited by the Central City SRO Collaborative to share thoughts about the safety of their streets. When the group of mostly low-income individuals living near San Francisco's sixth street came together, they expressed their ...
Many folks living in California's Silicon Valley have a hard time getting fresh fruits and vegetables on to the table, with fast food restaurants and convenience stores seeming to pop up on every street. Families are unhealthy, and the community has decided to make a stand. The Santa Clara County Food System Alliance has been working to bring better food access to the county through policy recommendations, nutrition programs, urban farming projects, and more. In January 2014, the alliance released the Santa Clara County Food Systems Assessment, which analyses key baseline data regarding the Santa Clara County’s food system and developed recommendations aimed at building a more just, vibrant, and durable food system. The alliance encourages city and county ...
Mayor Lee Leffingwell of Austin, Texas organized and participated in a 1.5 mile walk/run to encourage a healthy work environment among city employees. The walk which took place Wednesday, January 15, 2014 at noon was not just for city employees, but was also open to the public. According to a press release from the city of Austin's website, mayor Leffingwell said: "We are constantly striving to achieve healthy workplaces throughout our community." He also recognized that leading a healthy and active lifestyle could help offset some of the community's overall health care costs. In 2013, the city of Austin was recognized as the "Healthiest Employer of Central Texas," largely in part due to its HealthyConnections program that offers employees weekly fitness activities. The year ...
Busy families on the go often turn to unhealthy fast food for a quick, inexpensive meal. But what if a quick, inexpensive meal wasn't always filled with junk? First lady Michelle Obama has enlisted Subway in her mission to get kids to eat more fruits and vegetables, hoping to merge convenience and nutrition. As the default kids meal options, Subway is offering apples instead of chips and either milk or water over soda. The meals are 600 calories or less, contain no trans fat and provide at least a half serving of fruit and three-quarters of a serving of vegetables. The restaurant will also begin a 41 million dollar marketing effort aimed at encouraging kids to eat more fruits and veggies. Signs will adorn the doors of every one of Subway’s more than 25,000 U.S. locations, ...
A bill limiting the size of sugary drinks was introduced into the Hawaii state legislature in January 2014. The bill would set a maximum serving size of sixteen fluid ounces for sugar-sweetened beverages in sealed and unsealed containers provided by food establishments and prohibits the sale of sugar-sweetened beverages as part of children's meals. Read the bill ...
According to architectural engineer and CEO of HemisFair Park Andres Andujar, every great city should have a great park. Now with support from San Antonio's leadership and the Hemisfair Park Area Redevelopment Corporation (HPARC), the city will transform Hemisfair Park into Hemisfair, a place where people could eat, work, play, and live. To learn more about Hemisfair and the coming changes to San Antonio's downtown area watch the video below entitled Meet Hemisfair. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuxOJRuT8Kk Learn more about this project which is scheduled to be complete in 2020 by visiting the Hemisfair ...
Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick delivered his final state budget plan to lawmakers in January 2014. The budget included some measures that would help fund public health initiatives and potentially help folks reduce their sugary drink consumption. Patrick is proposing $57 million in new revenue by applying the state's sales tax to candy and soda. That proposal has been rejected by lawmakers in the past, but Patrick again made the argument in favor of the tax saying the money would go to support public health and infrastructure projects. Read more ...
