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Healthier Food Choices in Public Places



It's no secret that improving food choices in hospitals, parks, and community centers would benefit kids health. But actually getting it done---that's the tough part. The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has published a ton of helpful resources to help communities get healthier food choices into public places. These resources can help you to improve food and beverage options served and sold through vending machines, cafeterias, concession stands, meetings, and events. You'll find info on nutrition standards, tips for success, model policies that have already been successful, and more. View all the ...

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Revenue Calculator for Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Taxes



In collaboration with researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago, researchers at the Rudd Center present the Center’s Revenue Calculator for Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Taxes, an online tool which offers estimates of revenue from taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs). This calculator, which was revised in January of 2014, produces expected revenue from a penny-per-ounce tax on SSBs by beverage type, state, city and year (2013-2017). Researchers used the most recently available public and proprietary data on beverage consumption, population, pricing, as well as socio-demographic information on the variation in SSB consumption to populate the updated calculator. Check out the money your city or state could raise by taxing ...

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Get Authorized to be a Farmers’ Market SNAP Vendor with MarketLink


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Farmers' Markets are a great way to bring fresh, local produce into a community. To make sure this healthy fare is available to all, many markets purchase machines that allow them to accept Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formally known as food stamps) benefits. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently contracted with the National Association of Farmers Market Nutrition Programs (NAFMNP) to create MarketLink, a new way for farmers’ markets and direct-marketing farmers to get authorized as SNAP vendors and get the equipment they need to accept SNAP benefits. Click here to access MarketLink and to get authorized to be a SNAP vendor.  Before MarketLink, each new SNAP vendor had to search out an equipment provider, select a wireless plan, ...

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New York Teen Health Survey Results



New York State Senate Co-Leader and Leader of the Independent Democratic Conference (IDC) Jeffrey D. Klein along with assemblyman Felix Ortiz has announced his support of a handful of bills introduced in the State legislature that hope to health youth live healthier lives. Klein also revealed the results of a health education survey that shed some light on what teens know and don't know about healthy living. As part of the Teen Health Awareness Campaign launched in 2013, the IDC administered a Teen Health Awareness and Education survey, a 23-question survey for teenagers in junior high and high schools throughout the State. The survey was designed to gauge knowledge on three issues that can have a great impact on their health: obesity, substance abuse, and endometriosis. The survey ...

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2013 Report on California Legislation Related to Food and Farming



On January 8, 2014, the California Food Policy Council (CAFPC) released its first report to evaluate California’s legislative record related to food and farms. It is the first state-policy-focused analysis of legislative votes in the nation.  The report tracks 10 food-related bills that were introduced by California lawmakers in the past year. Chances are, one of the five that passed could affect you! Read the report ...

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Snack It Up: Tips to Upgrade After School Snacks



After-school programs are great ways for kids to get active after school and to try new things. But sometimes the snacks provided aren't the healthiest. Healthy Kids Out of School, an initiative of ChildObesity180 in collaboration with Tufts University, has put together some tips on how programs can partner with food stores to get fresh, healthy snacks to hungry kids.   Learn how you can build a partnership to help kids snack smart while staying within your ...

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Design Idea: Colorful, Musical Swings for Active Spaces



Are you looking for a way to create a more vibrant community with Complete Streets? Why not install some musical swings, and burn some calories while you're at it? In 2012, 21 colorful swings, designed by Daily tous le jour Design Studio, were installed in downtown Montreal and residents definitely took a liking to them. Watch the video below for a glimpse of what these swings look like! Get creative and think up your own ways to create a healthier environment and promote active living in your ...

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Walk Boston Resources on the Many Benefits of Walking



If you're working to encourage your community to walk, you might want to take a look at some of the work Walk Boston is doing! First, view their "Walk Your Way to Health" Powerpoint presentation to learn about research that supports the many health benefits of walking. Walking can prevent obesity, heart disease, osteoporosis, and many other common ailments like diabetes and joint-pain. It can also promote healthier brain development and aid in memory retention. The development of more walkable communities also has economic and safety benefits! Then take a look at Walk Boston's walking resources to learn about more specific content such as walking in rural areas, information on laws, safe routes to school, community and data on the economic benefits of walking. Learn more by visiting ...

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Traffic-Light Labels and Choice Architecture Promoting Healthy Food Choices



Sometime all we need a small nudge in the right direction to pick a healthy food over a not-so-healthy one. A team of doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital decided to see if little nudges would help people who ate in the hospital cafeteria make healthier food choices. They placed colored circles next to food items that indicated whether the food is a healthy option (green), an O.K. option (orange), or one to choose rarely (red circle). The study also tested "choice architecture"---making the healthy choices the easiest choices by making them front and center or placing them alongside popular foods. After six months, the number of red, unhealthy items purchased in the cafeteria dropped by 20 percent, while green purchases rose by 12 percent.  Consumption of sugary sodas ...

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