HOST HEPA Roundup, April 21, 2016

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

Research Reports and Surveys

• The "2016 Shape of the Nation" report from SHAPE America (Society of Health and Physical Educators) and Voices for Healthy Kids, an initiative of the American Heart Association and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, finds that "most states are dropping the ball on keeping kids active and fit and preparing them for a healthy future."
• A new report by the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC) and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) finds that community eligibility has helped more than 18,000 high-poverty schools serve free breakfast and lunch to more than 8.5 million low-income students during the 2015–2016 school year.
• The Safe Routes to School National Partnership has issued its 2016 "Making Strides" report, with state report cards on what states are doing to support walking, bicycling, and active kids and communities.
• The Afterschool Alliance is partnering with Share Our Strength to survey afterschool providers about afterschool meals. The anonymous survey should take no more than 15 to 20 minutes -- take it now!

Success Stories

• Let's Move looked back as First Lady Michelle Obama recently planted the White House Kitchen Garden for the eighth year in a row and final time as First Lady. She began the garden to initiate a conversation about health and wellbeing, which evolved into the Let's Move initiative. This year, she was joined by students from around the country whose schools have "outstanding" garden programs, as well as local students who regularly help in the garden, and a few students who helped with the first planting in 2009.
• Last year, the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), in partnership with Sodexo, its foodservice provider, was the first hospital in the Southeast to participate in the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), one of few healthcare institutions to do so. By the end of the summer, it served 2,385 meals through its two cafeterias and by distributing meals at a children's clinic. Tt has now used a No Kid Hungry Out of School Time Local Impact Grant to create an Implementation Guide for other health care institutions.
• Brownell Elementary School in Chicago used part of a two-year $5,000 grant from Action for Healthy Kids to hold a family fitness night and expose parents and students to new physical activities and a variety of fruits and vegetables.
• The summer lunch program in Oksaloosa, Iowa, working with United Way and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), offers meals to every child in town, including the more than 50 percent of Oskaloosa Elementary School students who qualify for free and reduced lunches. The program also incorporates some physical activities, which they hope to expand.
• Alliance for a Healthier Generation shares ways they are working in specific communities around the country as part of an overall plan to reduce the beverage calories consumed per person nationally by 20% by 2025.

Tips and Ideas

• It's Time, Texas offers tips on snacking healthier.
• Partnership for a Healthier America gives us "5 Ideas for Family Fitness Night."
• The American Heart Association tells us how to help our hearts and reduce bad fats by learning about "Healthy Cooking Oils."