Center For Collaborative Solutions

Nutrition

Experts Counter that Nutrition Doesn’t Have to be Expensive
USDA’s Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion senior economist penned a blog about the recent news article from the Associated Press. The piece said, that depending on food choices, a healthy diet can be relatively inexpensive and depends on the variety of forms and ranges of prices of the foods purchased. For guidance, USDA has a website that helps people make these choices. It’s called The Recipe Finder Database. The site contains numerous recipes that are low cost and follow dietary recommendations. Weekly household menus can be built from these recipes. Read more here.

CDC Reports That Sugar Drink Consumption among U.S. High School Students Should Be Reduced. Read More.

A new report by PolicyLink takes a closer look at the impact of the access to healthy food gap in underserved areas, particularly in low-income neighborhoods and communities of color. The report, Healthy Food, Healthy Communities: Promising Strategies to Improve Access to Fresh, Healthy Food and Transform Communities, highlights ongoing strategies to develop new grocery stores, and help existing grocers, farmers' markets, bodegas, corner stores, and other local food retailers expand their healthy food choices.

Harvest of the Month has identified storybooks to accompany the fruits and veggies being featured each month for grades pre-K-8. See the list.

The California School Boards Association has just released a policy brief titled, “ Expanding School Breakfast Programs to Improve Student Learning.” The policy brief covers the benefits to student health and learning, program models, case studies, and how to make nutrition programs cost effective and self-sustaining. View Policy Brief.

The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 expanded meal reimbursement for at-risk afterschool programs in all States. The At Risk After School Meals Child and Adult Care Food Program Handbook addresses CACFP requirements that apply to afterschool care programs. In this handbook, you will find information about the requirements for: eligibility; how to apply to participate; meal patterns and food service; reimbursement; recordkeeping and monitoring. View Handbook.

The National Institute on Out-of-School Time (NOIST) has released a document providing up to date, evidence-based, practical Quality Standards for providing children with healthy food, beverages and physical activity in out-of-school time. Read More.

USDA Introduces Online Tool for Locating Food Deserts
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the launch of an online mapping tool that locates food deserts. The Food Desert Locator also provides data on population characteristics where residents have limited access to affordable and nutritious foods, including low-income communities. The tool can be used to help advocates expand the availability of nutritious foods in these areas. View Tool.

Nourish is an educational initiative designed to open a meaningful conversation about food and sustainability. The initiative provides media and educational resources (including PBS television, curriculum, web content, short films, and teacher & youth seminars) to help build healthy communities and inspire a new generation of good food advocates. Learn More.

Teens who live in households where food is scarce suffer academically, but a new study has found that government programs to provide meals in schools can reverse this effect. Read More.

Good nutrition contributes to improved academic achievement and student health. Your program can contribute to improving your students’ nutrition in a variety of ways, including healthy snacks, nutrition education, cooking classes, gardens and modeling healthy eating. The first step to improving nutrition in your afterschool program is getting federal funding for your snacks. The California Department of Education has a useful chart that will help you. Federally Reimbursable Snack Programs highlights key components of four federally reimbursable snack programs to help afterschool programs choose the best program.

The Food Research and Action Center's (FRAC) California-specific guide (Making the Most of Child Nutrition Funding: A Guide for After School Education and Safety Grantees) can help grantees understand the basics of child nutrition programs. It provides tips on how to operate a nutrition program successfully.

The CA Department of Education releases Management Bulletin on the newly available meal option for afterschool programs under the Child and Adult Care Food Program. Read More.

The California After School Resource Center’s e-manual is a comprehensive resource on healthy snacks.

The Summer Meal Program Coalition has developed great new resources (case studies and tool boxes) to help programs use the summer meal program and increase the numbers of children and youth served.

Nutrition Education curricula and resources are highlighted by grade level in materials developed by the CA Department of Public Health’s Network for a Healthy California and the CA Healthy Kids Resource Center.

Supplemental List of Instructional Materials for Nutrition and Physical Activity: Kindergarten through Grade Twelve - Updated November 2010
Recommended Curricula for Nutrition and Physical Activity Instruction: Kindergarten through Grade Twelve - Updated November 2010

Healthy recipes can be found at the Network for a Healthy California’s web site.

CDE has a new activity guide that links academic content standards to the real world through gardens, cooking, recycling and the environment, Kids Cook Farm Fresh Food

New from National Heart Lung and Blood Institute–The We Can! (Ways to Enhance Children's Activity & Nutrition)® Program is offering a new widget with drop-down menus identifying the healthiest foods from each food group. We Can!® Go, Slow, Whoa Widget

The National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) is offering new educational material to help people make healthier eating choices regarding heart healthy options, portion control, and choosing foods with fewer fat and calories, when eating out. Featured Matierals

The California Healthy Kids Resource Center (CHKRC) maintains a comprehensive collection of reviewed health education materials. Here are some resources they offer on food handling/safety:

The National Collaborative on Childhood Obesity Research (NCCOR) brings together four of the nation’s leading research funders – the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) – to address the problem of childhood obesity in America. To learn more about NCCOR projects, resources, news and events, click here.

The Network for a Healthy CA’s Nutrition Glossary is a tool that all Learning Centers should use—it provides helpful nutrient information and is written in a very easy-to-read style. Read More.

New Summer Meal Case Studies and Tool Boxes are available that feature the YMCA of Silicon Valley (HBI Learning Center Program). Read More.

The long-awaited 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the federal government's evidence-based nutritional guidance to promote health, reduce the risk of chronic diseases, and reduce the prevalence of overweight and obesity through improved nutrition and physical activity,” were released January 31, 2011. Selected Messages for Consumers provide 6 key messages to Americans who want to eat healthier. Read More.