HOST HEPA Roundup, July 11, 2016

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

Research

• A new report from the Food Research & Action Center, "How Hungry is America?" found that one in six households in the U.S. struggled to put food on the table in 2015. Recommendations include boosting benefits and eligibility in child nutrition programs and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, as well as increasing jobs and wages.

Success Stories

• The Alliance for a Healthier Generation has received a $1,000,000 one-year grant from Target Corporation to create sustainable healthy school environments that improve nutrition, increase physical activity and provide wellness policies and education for students and families. The grant will expand the Alliance’s Healthy Schools Program to reach more than 20 million students in 35,000 schools by 2017.
• After-School All-Stars (ASAS) has been awarded a $50,000 grant from Target Corporation After-School All-Stars, which serves primarily middle-school age students of color, will use the grant to bolster sports and fitness as well as healthy lifestyle programming in the New York and Newark chapters, impacting about 700 students.
• Playworks has partnered with New Balance and Major League Baseball athletes on the 2016 New Balance SparkStart Fitness Challenge. The six-week program will motivate kids with weekly challenges and hands-on participation by a team of Playworks coaches, NB Baseball athletes, parents, teachers, and supporters.
• United Way held its annual Day of Action to deliver summer meals, lead community-wide food drives, and provide other resources to those in need. It notes that for many kids from low-wage families, summer may mean the loss of regular school breakfasts and lunches--so it partnered with Share our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign on a program for people to send text messages and receive information about free meal programs in their communities.
• No Kid Hungry Virginia and Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) kicked off their Summer FEEDS program (Food for Every Child to Eat During Summer). FCPS is barbecuing daily at ten locations across the county from June 27th through September 2nd. Meals are free to anyone age 18 and younger who comes to one of the summer meals sites. They follow USDA nutrition guidelines and do not require applying to any program.

Tips and Ideas

• Partnership for a Healthy America offers "5 Quick and Easy Food Prep Tips."
• The American Heart Association shares ideas for "Getting Started - Tips for Long-term Exercise Success."
• Alliance for a Healthier Generation explains how to create a BYO Salad Bar Club, a way for program managers and executives to role model healthy behaviors and encourage healthy foods at staff meetings, both practices from the National AfterSchool Association HEPA Standards.