HOST HEPA Roundup, April 29, 2015

Here's the latest in our regular roundups of healthy eating and physical activity news from HOST members and others.

News

• After-School All-Stars (ASAS) received a $300,000 three-year national grant from Misha Malyshev, CEO of Teza Technologies.The grant was presented on March 24 at the National After-School Summit, co-hosted by ASAS with the USC Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy and Afterschool Alliance.
• The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) announced the 24 communities that will receive funding from a $4.8 million grant by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation "to accelerate and deepen efforts to improve the health of their populations."
• The American Heart Association praised the introduction of the Fitness Integrated with Teaching (FIT) Kids Act in Congress. The legislation strengthens grants to schools across the country to initiate, expand or enhance physical education programs for K-12 students.
• The National Park Service announced its "Urban Agenda" to better align "parks, programs and partnerships that will better serve communities." As part of this program, they have chosen 10 model cities that will work with coalitions convened by the Department of the Interior "to create more opportunities for young people to play, learn, serve, and work outdoors."
• No Kid Hungry, a campaign of Share Our Strength, announced that they and their partners have connected kids struggling with hunger with more than 345 million additional meals.

Research

• Active Living Research shares a new paper on "Costs of School Transportation: Quantifying the Fiscal Impacts of Encouraging Walking and Bicycling for School Travel," on the impact of Safe Routes to School initiatives on pupil transportation costs.
• A report from the National Women's Law Center and the Poverty & Race Research Action Council shows that at the national and state levels, girls of color do not receive equal chances to play school sports. It looks at the consequences of this inequality and offers recommendations for action.
• The Pew Charitable Trusts shares several public opinion polls on "Americans' Views on School Food and Child Nutrition," showing that most American parents and voters support strong school nutrition standards, are concerned about childhood obesity, and feel that healthy food in schools is important to students’ well-being and ability to learn.

Activities and Ideas

• The American Heart Association offers a number of "Daily Tips to Keep the Family Active."
• Alliance for a Healthier Generation shares ideas from a California teacher on ways to get students moving inside their classrooms, based on her experience with a program to target schools with students that have the highest poverty levels and the poorest health outcomes.
• The Safe Routes to School National Partnership relates insights and ideas  on "Creating Streets Where We All Feel Safe and Respected," from a recent discussion hosted by MaestroConference/VoiceVoice.
• Dr. Eduardo Sanchez writes at the Huffington Post about "Childhood obesity among Latinos," citing research from HOST members the American Heart Association and Salud America.