HOST Healthy Eating and Physical Activity Roundup, January 15, 2019

The latest in our regular roundups of healthy eating and physical activity news from HOST members and others--including tips on how to stay healthy in the new year.

Tips and Resources

• It's Time Texas suggests ways of setting SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely) goals for fitness in the new year.
• The National AfterSchool Association (NAA) highlights the various cooking and nutrition education programs from fellow HOST member Common Threads, including its Common Bytes website, which "equips afterschool professionals and leaders to engage their communities in the importance of improving youth health through healthy eating habits and culinary skills." And all of their recipes follow the National Dietary Guidelines as recommended by the NAA HEPA Standards, which were developed by HOST.

News

• The NAA has launched a partnership with the NBA and WNBA and their new program Her Time To Play, a national grassroots initiative to inspire girls ages seven to 14 to play basketball "in a positive and healthy way."
• Marathon Kids has announced that this school year, it has provided $1,206,307 in funding to 559 run clubs, which helped get 82,023 kids running. Grants were awarded in 36 states, prioritizing schools and communities of high need. Funded primarily by corporate and private sponsors, Marathon Kids uses national grant funds to help adults across the U.S. start run clubs in their schools and communities.
• The American Heart Assocation has issued a statement praising the U.S. House of Representatives for passing an appropriations bill to fund the U.S. Department of Agriculture, including funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the National School Lunch Program, the School Breakfast Program, and more.
• The National Recreation and Park Association's "2018 Out-of-School Time Report" highlights the ways that local park and recreation before school, afterschool, and summer programs are positively impacting the lives of children and their families, explains Rina Moss in a post at the Afterschool Alliance's Afterschool Snack blog.