In the small city of Lynn, Mass., many groups are stepping up to make healthy changes where they live, work, and play. Local corners stores, where many kids hang out before and after school, are well-positioned to make a positive impact on kids’ food choices—if they are marketing the right foods. A group of high-school students chose one popular corner store to help promote healthy snacks and make it easier for teens to pick apples over chips—contributing to a wave of new healthy markets sweeping over Massachusetts.
Junk Food in the Community
Awareness: The small city of Lynn, Mass., has a Latino population that grew from 18% to 32% from 2000 to 2010, according to Census data. “It’s kind of a gateway,” explained Kristina Pechulis, the Lynn coordinator for Mass in ...
Kids need Salud Heroes to help fight childhood obesity. Can you step up? Visit our new website, Salud America! Growing Healthy Change, to read stories about real-life Salud Heroes who are making healthy community changes—from improved marketing to increased access to healthy food and physical activity, etc.—for kids in your neighborhood and across the nation. You can also share your own Salud Hero stories and photos with us saludamerica1@gmail.com. The Growing Healthy Change website was created by Salud America!, a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation based. The site was initially part of the Community Commons ...
Want to address childhood obesity, but don’t know where to start or how to make a change? Start at Salud America! The new website is a first-of-its-kind clearinghouse of resources and stories to promote changes—healthier marketing and improved access to healthy food and physical activity, etc.—for kids in your neighborhood and across the nation. Right now at the site, you can: Find resources to start a change;
Watch and read about real-life “Salud Heroes” of change; and
Become a “Salud Hero” by sharing your own stories. Here are some examples of Salud Heroes who have made healthy community changes: The site was created by Salud America!, a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The site was initially part of the Community Commons ...
Alicia Gonzalez, a young leader with experience in community development, was eager to keep kids stay active, given the rise of local obesity. She partnered up with a local family foundation who wanted to start a running program. The result was Chicago Run, a non-profit incentive based program which has promoted running to over 13,000 children.
The Need for More Physical Activity for Children
Awareness: Chicago resident Alicia Gonzalez enjoys improving the quality of life in her community. She has experience teaching youth about AIDS, mentoring kids in Boston, and building private-sector partnerships to better people’s lives through asset-based community development (ABCD)—an approach to community development that emphasizes a community’s assets rather than its ...
“Tiendita por Vida” is Spanish for “little store for life.” That’s exactly Irma Bajarro's M&I Meat Market in the heart of San Antonio’s Westside is becoming. The Westside of San Antonio is predominantly Latino, with many residents working low-income, long-hour jobs. Eating healthy is not easy here; fast-food joints and small corner stores, which tend to have fewer healthy items than full grocery stores, line the streets and give kids ample choices of sugary drinks and fried snacks, rather than fruits and vegetables. Irma, who owns M&I, did not want to see another generation of diabetes growing up in her neighborhood.
Meat or Junk Food
Two years ago, if you walked into M&I, you’d have had two food options: meat or junk food. Besides the long meat ...
An elementary school is proving that morning exercise through a walking school bus program can benefit students, parents, and the community. Not only have school attendance rates increased, community engagement levels have increased, too. A Walking School Bus at Brightwood Elementary School in Springfield, Mass., now offers hope—and physical activity—to a community that not long ago faced fears of unsafe streets and high crime rates. Karen Pohlman, a nurse practitioner and community program manager for Baystate Medical Center, knew the community was struggling and wanted to improve people’s health, so she developed a plan to implement a walking school bus at Brightwood Elementary.
The Need for Physical Activity among Children
Awareness: Crime was high in the North End of ...
