HOST Healthy Eating And Physical Activity Roundup, August 24, 2018

The latest in our regular roundups of healthy eating and physical activity news from HOST members and others.

A new law in Texas allows public schools to redistribute food to students by starting their own school food pantries--so join Salud America! for a webinar on "How to Start a School Food Pantry," 1 p.m. ET, Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2018, with special guests: Texas State Rep. Diego Bernal and Jenny Arredondo of San Antonio ISD.
The Safe Routes to School National Partnership has launched #GoActiveToSchool, a campaign with share tips, resources, toolkits, and inspiration for schools, parents, and students who are inspired to go active back to school this year.

A new report by the Food Research & Action Center, “How Hungry is America?” found that after several years of decline, the national food hardship rate for all households increased from 15.1 percent in 2016 to 15.7 percent in 2017--and the food hardship rate for households with children rose from 17.5 percent in 2016 to 18.4 percent in 2017.
Afterschool Alliance reports on several new bills that would support afterschool and summer learning, including the Summer Learning and Meals Act of 2018 (S. 3307), which aims to help close the summer learning gap by keeping school libraries open at schools that already serve free summer meals.

One less-discussed aspect of children's health is protecting their hearing, including during afterschool activities such as band practices and concerts, and sporting events. Salud America! is therefore sharing a bilingual campaign from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders to help teachers do just that.
Texas has one of the lowest participation rates in the federally funded Summer Meals Program. "Why wouldn’t families participate?" asks James Hardin of United Way. "It’s often because they don’t know where to go." Learn from his experience and tips to help youth and families in your community (Texas or otherwise) know how to access the meals they need.
The Centers for Disease Control has shared a free slide deck with talking points to help public health professionals and community leaders spread the word about the BE Active resources to promote and increase physical activity in their communities.