HSC Shares Lessons at National Food Policy Conferences
Experiences Creating Change in Chicago Inform National Policy Dialogue
 Students preview healthy new school food menus in Chicago
This week, HSC brought lessons from the effort to transform food and
fitness in Chicago schools to advocates and policymakers nationwide.
HSC deputy director Mark Bishop shared the stage with Janey Thornton, USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services, and other national leaders for a discussion of strategies for making healthy food choices easier for the next generation. The presentation was part of the 2010 National Nutrition Summit hosted by the US Department of Health and Human Services and the USDA.
 |
| Workshop at W.K. Kellogg Food & Society Conference |
At the W. K. Kellogg Foundation's 2010 Food and Society Conference, HSC's Rochelle Davis, Guillermo Gomez and Rosa Ramirez led a workshop on community based strategies for promoting wellness using a social justice framework. HSC’s efforts to bring healthy food and physical activity to Chicago schoolchildren have gained new momentum with the excitement of recent changes built on years of organizing to build a strong foundation of support for wellness in schools. Chicago Public Schools (CPS) recently announced that all school meals will meet or exceed the nutritional gold standard of the HealthierUS School Challenge and HSC is partnering with CPS, the USDA Midwest and the Illinois State Board of Education to help schools meet health-promoting criteria for physical activity and nutrition education as well as school food. CPS also recently announced a taskforce to help bring recess back to the many schools where it is not offered. A healthy school meal created by Chicago students for HSC’s Cooking up Change healthy cooking contest has been served to more than 20,000 students in high schools across Chicago; through Cooking up Change, student-designed meals are shaping the menu across the district.
To learn more about lessons from HSC's work for school food, fitness and environmental health in Chicago as they connect to national policy, see the report Healthy and Ready to Learn: Lessons from Chicago.
Students Prepare for Cooking up Change National Finals
Student chefs from the St. Paul Community Design Center Culinary Crew develop their lunch recipe
Student chefs in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Arizona and California are getting ready for the final round of competition in the Cooking up Change National Healthy Cooking Contest!
These talented high school and college students designed school lunches that meet strict nutrition guidelines and taste great. The finalists will receive an all-expenses paid trip to Taking Root, the National Farm to Cafeteria conference this May in Detroit, Michigan to compete in the Cooking up Change finals.
The contest is presented by Healthy Schools Campaign and the National Farm to School Network. Congratulations to the finalists, and to all the remarkable students who entered the Cooking up Change National Healthy Cooking Contest!
Stay posted for updates from the finals in Detroit!
Senate & House Need Input on Child Nutrition Bill
Tell Congress: Schools Need More Money for Better Food
Both the US Senate and the House of Representatives have begun work on the reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act, the legislation that determines school food policy and resources for the next five years.
Last month in the Senate, the agricultural Committee approved The Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 proposed by committee chair Sen. Blanche Lincoln, a bill that includes some health-promoting policy provisions but does not include sufficient funding for healthier school food. The funding currently proposed in the Senate is less than half of that proposed by President Obama and barely enough to acknowledge rising food costs, much less improve quality or expand access. In the House, Representatives James McGovern and Jo Ann Emerson are taking the lead on a Dear Colleague letter to Nancy Pelosi to ask that the bill is fully funded.
Now, we need Congress to hear from advocates across the US that increased funding for better school food must be a priority.
Please take a moment to send a letter asking your senators and representatives to provide adequate funding for schools to provide the healthful meals that support children’s health and learning.
Thank you for being part of this important and timely effort for children’s health.
Registration Open for HSC's 2010 Chicago Marathon Team
Registration is now open for the 2010 Bank of America Chicago Marathon!
This world-class athletic event – to be held this year on 10-10-10 – brings together more than 45,000 runners and 1.5 million cheering spectators from across the globe. HSC invites you to be part of the Healthy Schools marathon team!
To learn more or join the team, click here or contact HSC’s Alicea Miller at 312-419-1810.
|
