HOST HEPA Roundup, May 13, 2015

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

News

• The No Kid Hungry Campaign is deepening its 50-state footprint with grants to six No Kid Hungry Communities.
• The American Camp Association has named Tom Holland its new CEO. He was formerly the organization's chief foundation and funds development officer.

Policy

• The USDA's Food and Nutrition Service issued new data showing that 95 percent of schools are successfully meeting the updated meal standards made possible by the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010.
• Momentum is building for the Transportation Alternatives Program Improvement Act, S. 705, reports Safe Routes to School. The bill would "[provide] more than $800 million each year for Safe Routes to School, bicycling and walking, and other policies that will make it safer to walk and bicycle." 

Research

• The YMCA has released the results of its Family Health Snapshot survey, conducted in partnership with the American Academy of Pediatrics Institute for Healthy Childhood Weight. Most parents consider their children’s exercise and healthy eating habits to be high priorities, but most may need additional information to help their kids reach these goals, they conclude.
• Major food and beverage companies are meeting their own pledges to advertise healthier products to children on TV, but three out of four of those products do not meet government guidelines on healthy diets for children, according to a new study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine and funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
• Mission: Readiness has released a new report by retired generals and admirals from South Carolina: "A Matter of National Security: Keeping Unhealthy Food Out of South Carolina Schools Will Improve Military Preparedness." They cite Department of Defense statistics showing that obesity is a leading cause of young people being unable to join the military, and they urge support for legislation to ensure all students have access to healthy food during the school day.
• Active Living Research shares a new paper about a rural North Carolina community: "Mebane on the Move: A Community-based Initiative to Reduce Childhood Obesity." 
• Also from Active Living Research is a paper on the "Impact of Park Renovations on Park Use and Park-Based Physical Activity," concluding "Park improvements can have a significant impact on increasing park use and local physical activity" among low-income youth.