HOST HEPA Roundup, July 15, 2015

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

Tools and Activities

• July is Park and Recreation Month, and the National Recreation and Parks Association gives us five easy ways to celebrate.
• The USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service recently launched the Summer Meal Site Finder, a new web and mobile tool that allows people in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, to get a list of the summer meal sites closest to them.
• The American Heart Association shares some "Healthy Snacks for Summer Vacation."

Reports and Research

• The Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA), which works with the private sector and PHA Honorary Chair First Lady Michelle Obama to help end childhood obesity, has released its third annual report on the progress of private sector commitments to address the crisis.
• Alliance for a Healthier Generation and McDonald's have announced progress on the fast food corporation's commitment to increase customers’ access to fruit and vegetables and help families and children make informed food choices.

Case Studies

• Action for Healthy Kids (AFHK) profiles Funston Elementary School, located in a Chicago neighborhood where 40-46 percent of students are estimated to be overweight or obese. The school received three years of AFHK grants and has now become fully aligned with Chicago Public School wellness policies.
• The Safe Routes to School National Partnership profiles one California community that developed some of the earliest pilot programs in the Safe Routes to School movement.

Policy

• Afterschool Alliance offers its perspective on the bipartisan Summer Meals Act of 2015 (S. 613 and H.R. 1728), which aims to reduce barriers to children’s participation in summer food programs.