East Omaha includes a sizeable economically distressed area. Poverty rates and obesity among the youth are high and access to healthy food is a problem for those who need it most.
The Philadelphia Chapter of HOPE Worldwide, an international charity which delivers sustainable, high-impact, community-based services to the poor and needy, expanded their youth mentoring program and character building program called Saturday Academy to include Healthy Lifestyles Initiative. One of their goals was to educate and motivate children on the importance of health, physical activity and life skills. Their goal: to prevent obesity later in life. The Department of Education Physical Education Program offered anchor funding and an AmeriCorps grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service provided up to 40 members to serve as program assistants and mentors.
The Coordinated Approach To Child Health (CATCH) Program has been implemented in 7,500 schools and after school programs across North America. CATCH is a mentor partnership, where parents, educators, and caregivers work together to promote physical activity and healthy food choices, as well as preventing tobacco use in children from preschool through grade 8.
For the past seven years, Lynda Carville and her staff in the Baton Rouge Roman Catholic Diocese Child Nutrition Program have carefully and systematically put together one of the finest school lunch programs in the country. USDA's School Nutrition Program provides vital assistance in defraying the cost for the program, but it is the commitment and caring of Mrs. Carville and her staff of 190 that make the difference.
Chances are you would not expect to find hand-made quiche, pasta sauce made with roasted local chicken, and hot house plum tomatoes from farms in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley in a school food program. D.C. Central Kitchen and their catering company, Fresh Start, are using their know-how and local food connections to provide freshly prepared meals for 71 "at risk" boys at the Washington Jesuit Academy.
FAME Episcopal Church partnered with local schools to provide a Let's Move Carnival. The carnival focused on factors that lead to childhood obesity targeting teachers and students during the school lunch hour. Local and state officials, other faith leaders, and members of the community were invited to attend.
In synagogues, day schools, and other Jewish institutions, students are busy sprouting seeds, grinding wheat berries into whole wheat flour, cooking dinner for their families, planting gardens and learning how Jewish tradition both informs and inspires healthy food choices.
St. Peter's Episcopal School is accredited with the Southern Association of Independent Schools. The school adopted a "Go Healthy, Go Green" commitment that encompassed the entire school focusing on making sustainable changes to not only the campus but to the diet of the students that attended the school.
Judah House of Praise Church of the Living God is a faith based institution located in the rural area of Blue Mountain, MS, in the Tippah County School District. The Timothy Project served 25 African American students in grades 7-12 and one dropout. Using technology, the project focused on providing service-learning activities that addressed obesity, nutrition, leadership skills, and anti-social behavior.
In the spirit of Ramadan, Islamic relief hosts Day of Dignity, where communities around the country come together to provide services to individuals in need and promote their well-being, including that of the homeless. Ramadan is the holiest month on the Islamic calendar. It is a month of giving, compassion, and charity.
Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon (EMO) was founded in 1994 with a mission to promote community food security among faith communities. Aided by a USDA Community Food Projects Grant, EMO started the Interfaith Food and Farms Partnership (IFFP). Among many partnerships, IFFP is now collaborating with Hacienda Community Development Corporation to provide cooking classes for families and middle school students as a part of Expresiones - an after-school and summer enrichment program.
Posted by Julie Paradis, USDA Food and Nutrition Service Administrator on April 15, 2010
This week I got a chance to travel to South Carolina and to talk to child nutrition staff from South Carolina as well as surrounding States like Tennessee, Mississippi and North Carolina about how we plan to improve school meals and the overall health of our nation's children. It was a great group and a productive discussion.
Posted by Dr. Regina Benjamin, U.S. Surgeon General on April 13, 2010
Last week, I participated in a meeting on childhood obesity at the White House to discuss ways to combat the growing health epidemic. I joined the First Lady, Education Secretary Arne Duncan, Domestic Policy Council Director Melody Barnes, Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag, Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Kathleen Merrigan and experts and practitioners from around the country to discuss the challenges.
Posted by Julia Eisman, HHS New Media Communications Director on April 9, 2010
Watch the White House Childhood Obesity meeting here live at 1:30 pm EDT, where you'll hear from a range of experts about ideas for solving the problem of childhood obesity.
