e-blast: Nov. 17

New Study on Fast Food Marketing to Youth

A new study from the Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity found the extent to which unhealthy food dominates restaurants: “Out of 3,039 possible kids’ meal combinations, only 12 meet the researchers’ nutrition criteria for preschoolers. Only 15 meet nutrition criteria for older children.” In addition, the study found that fast food marketers specifically target children; that this directed advertising is effective, and that youth exposure to fast food advertisements is increasing. Researchers found that companies are disproportionately targeting African American and Hispanic youth, so that African American children see advertisements for foods with nearly twice as many calories as their white peers. A video about these findings can be found here.

Child Nutrition & WIC Reauthorization Update

This week, Congress is expected to vote on the “Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act,” so it is important to tell your Representative to support this bill! This bill (S 3307) will provide $4.5 billion to boost youth nutrition programs over the next ten years. You can find your Representative’s contact information here. For more information about the NYC Alliance for Child Nutrition Reauthorization, visit http://nycforcnr.org/

FoodWorks

On November 22, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn will be announcing her plan to improve NYC’s food system: improve the city’s food infrastructure, create new jobs in the food industry, keep food dollars in the local economy, reduce diet-related diseases, and reduce the environmental impact of the food system. If you would like to attend, please RSVP by November 20^th at this link, by emailing events@council.nyc.gov or calling (212) 788-6871.

Date: Monday, November 22, 2010

Time: 10:00 am (Doors open @ 9:30 AM)

Location: Food and Finance High School

525 West 50th Street, Room 173

New York, NY 10019

Upcoming Nutrition and Fitness Workgroup Meeting Nov. 22 (note – time change!)

At our next meeting we will hear from Melissa Pflugh about the unique social marketing approach to school wellness and nutrition education program used by Healthy Schools Healthy Families. At the meeting, we will discuss the role of the Workgroup regarding the Advisory Committee for Bronx Health REACH’s school wellness initiatives, next steps for our social marketing campaign, and an update from the October 29-30 Food, Faith and Health Disparities Summit.

Date: Monday, November 22

Time: 1:00-3:00pm (time changed due to conflict with FoodWorks event earlier in the day!)

Place: Morrisania Neighborhood Family Health Center, 1225 Gerard Avenue, Room 214

Garden-Based Learning

From the success of Edible Schoolyard to the new “Nourish” curriculum, there is more and more reason to teach children about where their food comes from! As a matter of fact, garden-based learning has been proven to lead to increases in academic achievement and increases in fruit and vegetable consumption. If you work with schools in NYC and would like to learn more about how to integrate garden-based learning into the school curriculum, you may want to join the “NYC School Gardens” Google Group. Bronx Health REACH’s Nutrition and Fitness Workgroup will be discussing these issues further as part of the Curriculum Advisory Committee; please contact Kelly Moltzen at kmoltzen@institute2000.org or (212) 633-0800 x 1328 for more information.

PlaNYC

PlaNYC is the Mayor’s plan for improving sustainability in NYC through the year 2030. It currently covers land, water, transportation, energy, air quality, and climate change issues, but does not include food in the equation! We need a plan to get local, fresh food into the city to feed all New Yorkers. Please submit your ideas and/or vote on other ideas you like at www.allourideas.org/PlaNYC and try to attend one of the Community Conversations happening over the next few weeks. Here are the remaining three:

Upper Manhattan:
Monday, December 6th, 2010
7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
State Office Building, 2nd Floor Gallery
163 West 125th Street, (enter on 126th Street)

Eastern Queens:
Thursday, December 9th, 2010
7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Bayside High School
32-24 Corporal Kennedy Street

South Brooklyn:
Thursday, December 16th, 2010
6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
St. Michael’s RC Church, 352 42nd Street
Enter through auditorium on 43rd Street

Discovery High School's Farmers Market (Nov. 18)

Under the guidance of Steve Ritz, a trailblazing teacher who teaches Bronx urban youth about green jobs, Discovery High School will host its first classroom Farmers Market, which will be featured via a live broadcast on CNN! Get great deals on fresh holiday produce while supporting the productive activities of these students.

Date: November 18

Time: 8:00am-12:00pm

Location: Discovery High School, room 279

2780 Reservoir Avenue, Bronx, NY 10468

Black Farmers and Urban Gardeners Conference— Growing Health, Wealth, & Justice in Our Communities (Nov. 19-21)

The 2010 Black Farmers and Urban Gardeners Conference will be held this weekend at Brooklyn College. With workshops on urban agriculture, farm share programs, food policy, and youth creating change, the conference will empower attendees to work towards making healthy, affordable food accessible to all. The keynote speaker will be Will Allen, Founder and CEO of Growing Power Inc., and 2008 MacArthur Fellow.

For more information, please visit http://www.blackfarmersconf.org/

Health Disparities Workshops

In the Bronx and other parts of New York City, racial and ethnic minorities continue to have drastically different health outcomes than their white counterparts. Through our Health Disparity workshops, Bronx Health REACH answers questions about what health disparities and segregated healthcare looks like in NYC today. Workshops help participants learn about patient rights, how to best advocate for themselves, friends or family in a healthcare setting, and who to contact with legal complaints. If your organization, group, or church is interested in holding a health disparities workshop, please contact Bernice McFarline at bmcfarline@institute2000.org or (212) 633-0800 ext. 1344. Group sizes of 30 or less are better as they allow for more discussion. However, workshops can be adjusted for larger groups. Learn about how health disparity affects you and your community and join Bronx Health REACH in our campaign against segregated care!

Health Reform Information in Spanish

Bronx Health REACH is now distributing Health Reform education pamphlets and video in Spanish. (Video in English is originally provided by Kaiser Family Foundation). Please contact Ying Guo at yguo@institute2000.org or (212) 633-0800 ext. 1341 if you’d like Spanish health reform education materials sent to you.

NYFJ Summit Outcome: Working Groups

As an outcome of the Oct. 29-30 Food, Faith, and Health Disparities Summit at Riverside Church, NY Faith and Justice will be organizing working groups around the issues of: Community Engagement, Food & Voter Education, Incentives to Purchase Healthy Food, Business Outreach, the Farm Bill, and Living Wages. If you would like to join one of these working groups, please contact Stephen Tickner at stickner@nyfaithjustice.org