Posts tagged as:

healthy eating

Fresh Moves mobile food market hits Chicago streets

by Cassandra West June 22, 2011 Community
Thumbnail image for Fresh Moves mobile food market hits Chicago streets

Share In urban communities known as “food deserts,” fresh, healthy produce is often nowhere to be found. Processed meats, sodas and chips, well, those are available in abundance. To improve nutrition and curb digesting too many empty calories, residents in food deserts must have access to more fruits and vegetables. Now, there’s an option. Fresh [...]

Read more

Obama to sign Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act

by Cassandra West December 11, 2010 Health
Thumbnail image for Obama to sign Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act

Share President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama will deliver remarks and the President will sign into law the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 on Monday, Dec. 13. Cabinet Secretaries, Congress members and advocacy group leaders who worked to promote and pass the Act with join the Obamas for the signing at Harriet [...]

Read more

Federal grant helps Chicago fight childhood obesity

by Editor September 20, 2010 Health

Share By Susan Richardson Long before First Lady Michelle Obama put childhood obesity in the national spotlight, the Consortium to Lower Obesity in Chicago Children was working to combat this health epidemic.  Last week, the federal government recognized the organization’s work when it announced that it had awarded nearly $6 million to the Consortium, which [...]

Read more

CDC: Adults eating less fruit, not enough veggies

by Cassandra West September 10, 2010 Health
Thumbnail image for CDC: Adults eating less fruit, not enough veggies

Share Americans may be growing more vegetables in their back yards and community gardens, but most still don’t eat enough vegetables, and fruit consumption is actually falling, according to a new government report released Thursday that shows a state by state breakdown. About one-third of adults in the U.S. had two or more servings of [...]

Read more

USDA will expand support for school food gardens

by Editor September 7, 2010 Community gardening

Share By Susan Richardson Just in time for the beginning of the school year, US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced a $1 million pilot program to develop and manage community gardens at high-poverty schools in five states. Funded through the National School Lunch Act, the program targets schools where 50 percent or more of [...]

Read more

Krafting a campaign to support food gardens

by Editor August 6, 2010 Community gardening

Share COMMENTARY By Susan Richardson A recent story about Chicago-area Kraft Foods is simply too delicious to ignore. The world’s second- largest food company – and maker of the nutritious Cheez Whiz (“Cheezy and Darn Proud of It!”) – is encouraging the consumers of its Triscuit wheat crackers to grow their own food. Some of [...]

Read more

Advocates for Urban Agriculture send a letter to Vilsack

by Cassandra West July 30, 2010 Farmers markets
Thumbnail image for Advocates for Urban Agriculture send a letter to Vilsack

Share Chicago’s Advocates for Urban Agriculture sent a letter this week to U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in support of the USDA’s “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food” initiative. The initiative is designed to create new economic opportunities by better connecting consumers with local producers, but some Republican senators have criticized it, saying [...]

Read more

South African couple adds to continent’s ‘Green Revolution’

by Editor July 21, 2010 Economic development

Share REPORT FROM SOUTH AFRICA By Susan Richardson Grahamstown, South Africa –Zolile and Charlotte Mbali grow greens in discarded car tires.  They provide an excellent growing environment, the couple said, and help prevent soil erosion on their plot in the township of Clermont in the outer west of Durban.  And, best of all, the tires are free, [...]

Read more

← Previous Entries