Sometimes a well-meaning law has unintended consequences. In the City of Houston, it's illegal to sell alcohol within 300 feet of a church, public hospital or private school, or within 1,000 feet of a public school. This means that full-service grocery stores that may sell alcohol as well as fresh fruits and vegetables are prohibited in many neighborhoods, creating food deserts throughout the City. An ordinance introduced in December 2013 by City Councilman Stephen Costello would create an exemption for grocery stores to sell near churches and hospitals. That way, many areas that currently lack fresh food options will be able to legally have a near-by grocery store. Under the proposed ordinance, only full-size grocery stores would be allowed to sell alcohol within 300 feet of ...
Law makers in Florida are hoping to encourage full-service grocery stores to move into low-income areas by passing a law that would offer tax breaks to supermarkets offering reasonably priced, healthful food choices in food deserts. The USDA describes a food desert as when a group of low income families in an urban area live more than a mile away from healthy choices. The Florida State House and Senate have each introduced similar laws with the purpose to ensure that every community in Florida has access to fresh fruits and vegetables. Read more and watch a news video ...
Catawba county is a small county in central North Carolina where Latinos are the largest minority group. Many folks living in the county don't have access to regular nutritious food. One college student has inspired her community to take action to get better food into areas that need it. Kayla Earley, a junior at Lenoir-Rhyne University, is developing a research project to learn more about the specific needs of visitors to Catawba County soup kitchens, with the goal of using her research reduce food insecurity in Catawba County 10 percent by 2016. Earley's work has called attention to food access issues in Catawa County. Catawba County Health Partners, a nonprofit that fosters coalitions to improve health countywide, has used USDA data to identify six “food deserts” in ...
A new light rail metro line and its impact on physical activity will be evaluated by a group of researchers from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) and the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI). The group, lead by Dr. Harold W. Kohl III PhD, a professor of epidemiology and kinesiology will embark on a five-year investigation to examine physical activity behavior as well as direct measurements of physical activity, using accelerometers. According to the UT School of Public Health, Dr. Kohl and his team of researchers will study activity levels of residents who live within half a mile of the new light rail system. The team says that most of the residents who live near the new north bound metro red line run consist of large minority ...
Marin City is one of the most diverse communities in California, with more than half the population being either African American, Hispanic, or Asian. Latinos who live in the small community make up about 10% overall, and are about to have more choice when it comes to snacks. The Marin City Community Services District has voted to adopt a new policy to restrict junk food sold at vending machines on its property and at events that the district oversees. The policy officially goes into place in February. The new policy — approved by the Community Services District board — is similar to the U.S. Department of Agriculture food and beverage regulations that call for more whole grains, low-fat dairy, fruits, vegetables, leaner protein, and less fat, sugar, and sodium. Read more ...
According to a Fox-11 report, Rep. Chad Weininger (R-Allouez) has drafted a bill that would require elementary students in Wisconsin to participate in at least 30 minutes if daily physical education. The bill called the Get Youth Moving (Gym) Act and would boost students' PE requirements from three days a week to five days a week. According to this report local health organizations and the Wisconsin Parent Teachers Association are in support of this bill. The bill is scheduled to be introduced to the House of Representatives in early ...
This Fall 2013 volume of Our Children, a magazine put out by The National PTA, features important stories related to student health. In this issue parents, teachers and educators can read about the Fire Up Your Feet campaign, what schools are doing to promote Healthy Lifestyles month, what PTAs can do to keep recess in schools, and also about the Fuel Up to Play 60 initiative. One story featured in this magazine, Walk This Way, speaks of the Fire Up Your Feet campaign and how a school in Bloomington, MN has enabled and encouraged students to get healthy by walking to school. Every Fall and Spring semester at Olsen elementary school, Principal Paul Meyer encourages students to participate in Fire Up Your Feet, a national initiative aimed at getting kids to move before, during and ...
Rainer Valley is one of Seattle's most diverse neighborhoods. In 2012, residents of this community joined efforts to help make the streets of Seattle more walkable and bikeable by planning for greenways in their neighborhood. Greenways---paths that provide infrastructure to encourage walking and biking in residential neighborhoods---are one way to create healthy streets. Recently, members of the Rainier Valley Greenways Builds Coalition for Safe Healthy Streets (Rainer Valley Greenways) have begun planning and reaching out to neighbors, to hear what they have to say about street improvements. Members of the coalition mapped out significant places in the community like schools and parks, and drafted a Greenways timeline. To view the map, timeline, and other documents related to the ...
After Governor Perry vetoed state legislation which would have passed a statewide Safe Passing ordinance, in 2009, the city of Austin enacted their own citywide Safe Passing Ordinance to encourage active transportation and to protect vulnerable road users like pedestrians, cyclists, children, and the elderly. The law also protects people on horseback, motorcycles, mopeds, and motor-assisted scooters. According to BikeTexas, the language of the Austin ordinance contains the same language used for the statewide Safe Passing ordinance. It requires motorists to keep a distance of 3-6 feet from those defined as vulnerable road users (VRU). If a VRU is using a street lane and more than one lane for driving is available, motorists are required to vacate the lane. Read this letter of ...
