There is a bill now in front of the House Education Committee that will eliminate certain foods that are considered "junk foods" from lunch rooms and vending machines in South Carolina. The bill would also allow for only water, 100% fruit juice, and fat-free or low-fat milk to be offered in schools. Changing regulations would require the snacks served in the lunch room or in vending machines must not have more than 200 calories, 35% of total calories from fat, 35% of their total weight composed of sugar, or 10% of their total calories from saturated fat. These rules will only apply to events and locations during the school day, and will not be regulated during after school clubs, activities, or fundraisers. The regulation of food and nutrition at fundraisers will be debated in the ...
The Fit Family Challenge, organized by San Antonio Sports--a local non-profit organization--has provided hundreds of families in San Antonio an opportunity to participate in free fitness events over a four-month period. The goal of this campaign, made possible through a grant from the Kronkosky Charitable Foundation and local sponsors, is to motivate San Antonio families to get active, eat better and learn about health and fitness. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-Gl4FKL0CI&list=UUye2TxFjae2cCSSALF4ikWg&index=3 Visit the Fit Family Challenge Facebook page to find out about more about the ...
Since 1993, San Antonio Sports has provided sports and fitness opportunities for children in grades K-12 across San Antonio, with a special emphasis on disadvantaged youth. Examples of these programs include: the Valero Go!Kids Challenge, the ING Kids Rock San Antonio program, the iPlay Afterschool program (formerly Dreams for Youth), and the Community Olympic Development program. Learn more about the impact that these programs are having on the community by watching this video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOyZOOv1Gs0&feature=player_embedded Through the iPlay Afterschool Program disadvantaged children from 15 elementary schools in grades 3-5, attending Harlingdale ISD and San Antonio ISD, are given the opportunity to participate in after school sports. Often, Latino children ...
Many residents in San Jose’s low-income communities don’t have access to fresh produce or can’t afford it, which is one reason they experience higher rates of nutrition-related diseases than residents of more affluent areas. Some city policies make it difficult to bring new community gardens, farmers’ markets and mobile produce vendors into low-income communities. The Campaign for Healthy Food San Jose was a year-long coalition started in September 2011. They had many big dreams for the city, like getting healthier foods into the neighborhoods that don’t have access to fresh fruits and vegetables. In the end, the City of San Jose adopted a new Specific Use Regulation for the permit process of Certified Farmers’ Markets (CFMs) located on private property. The Regulation states ...
Anyone that impacts school health can be on a School Health Advisory Council (SHAC). Through SHACs parent liaisons, educators, and community partners can work together to plan, evaluate, and implement the healthiest practices for kids at schools. According to this report from the Arizona Department of Health, in 2009, 33 percent of Latino children were either overweight or obese. Thanks to a $15.7 million grant to fight obesity, Pima country started a program to establish over 150 SHACs all across the county. The Arizona Department of Health partnered with the Arizona Department of Education to encourage schools in Arizona to establish SHACs. Watch this video to see how students from Challenger Middle School are benefiting from the coordinated approach to school ...
Schools in southern Florida are implementing more changes to promote healthy eating amongst students. Various schools have started providing a salad bar, changing the vending machine options, and introducing more fruits and vegetables. The USDA's Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act standardized calories per meal and what types of foods must be offered. However many schools in southern Florida are trying to go beyond that to create. They were making these changes before the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, which has helped the changes become less objectionable. They have gotten rid of deep fryers in many schools, and began eliminating some high fat foods (like hot dogs, corn dogs, and fried foods). Although they are facing obstacles like the student's acceptance and intake of new food, they ...
Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, have reintroduced Senate and House versions of the Local Farms, Food and Jobs Act, legislation that aims to increase access to healthier foods for consumers in underserved communities by expanding economic opportunities for local and regional farmers. The bill would provide funding to help farmers process and sell their food locally, which incentivizes schools and low-income residents to purchase it. ...
According to this news article UnitedHealthcare has teamed up with Konami, the producer of DanceDanceRevolution (DDR), to bring a new version of the game, called the DDR Classroom Edition, to schools. Some suggest that minority children, such as Latinos, living in inner-city neighborhoods may benefit the most from this game. According to this news article, researchers from George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services in Washington, D.C., are finding that active video games may provide a new avenue for kids to participate in physical activity. Already many schools have begun to use interactive video games as part of their curriculum. According to to this news article, researchers from the University of Montreal say that exergaming--playing video games that ...
In 2011, San Antonio started Siclovia--an event that closes off a busy road to street traffic, in order to open it up to cyclists, skaters, and pedestrians. The free event was a huge success and has served as a way to promote fitness, and awareness of the obesity problem in San Antonio. Since 2011, Siclovia has become a yearly tradition in San Antonio and the number of people who attend the event has continued to grow. According to this article from Bike Texas, in 2012, the event drew close to 40,000 participants. The response has been so overwhelming that two events were planned during 2013. Now the YMCA has taken charge of organizing San Antonio's yearly Siclovia. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XteTXq5zxA The idea for Siclovia comes from the original closed streets ...
