Northern Manhattan Food Justice Initiative
Every child deserves to have access to healthy, affordable food. Local, sustainable food is not just a better nutritional option for consumers, but is an option with greater economic and environmental benefits. Most NYC public school children eat at least two full meals a day at school, often year-round because many are involved in summer school activities. Studies show that 21% of NYC school-aged children are overweight, with the majority of these children coming from communities of low-income. Studies also show that only a limited amount of the foods served in NYC public schools are fresh and/or plant-based.
The goals of our Food Justice Initiative are to understand the challenges and opportunities that children, parents, school officials and residents face regarding healthy food choices in school and at home. Through collaborative relationships with NYC organizations and Northern Manhattan grassroots groups, we’re working to better understand and influence current policy, and in turn develop grassroots, legislative, and agency policy recommendations designed to ensure that school age children receive better nutrition. As with all our initiatives, a key portion of the Food Justice Initiative is educating policy makers on food justice issues and on our recommendations for improved policies at the City, State and Federal levels.
In addition, WE ACT is working to involve parents, students, representatives of the school system, the school board, school administrators, and the public in development of the local wellness policies at several Northern Manhattan schools. Since nearly all Northern Manhattan public school students are low-income, this is a critical grassroots window of opportunity to influence policy from the bottom up and to educate and mobilize parents, students and teachers to advocate for healthier policies at the NYC Board of Education, City Council, NYS Legislature and NYS Departments of Education and Health.
Northern Manhattan Food Survey
What are the barriers and opportunities for accessing healthy food for Northern Manhattan residents? Do community residents have to walk far to get to the grocery store? Where can they find fresh fruits and vegetables? To answer questions like these, we have partnered with Topology, LLC to conduct a survey on the food choices of parents who live and have children attending schools in Northern Manhattan.
Northern Manhattan Parents, do you think your school would like to participate? If so, contact us.
BULLETIN:
Iowa Senator Calls for Higher Nutrition Standards in School Lunches
Ohio Lawmakers Introduce Junk Food Ban
North Carolina School Posts Calorie Information on Digital Cafeteria Menu Boards
Healthier Lunches Modestly Reduce South Carolina Childhood Obesity Rates
Food Justice Resources
East and Central Harlem District Public Health Office Eating Well in Harlem: How Available is Healthy Food
NYC Department of Planning: Going to Market: New York City's Neighborhod Grocery Store and Supermarket Shortage
Mount Sinai Hospital: Race and the Food Store Availability in an Inner-City Neighbourhood
Journal of Preventing Chronic Disease: The Role of Race and Poverty in Access to Foods that Enable Individuals to Adhere to Dietary Guidelines
NYC Department of Health: Childhood Obesity in New York City Elementary Students
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: Improving Child Nutrition Policy: Insights from National USDA Study of School Food Environments
Anti-Racism Practice and the Work of Community Food Organizations
Click here to watch a video of WE ACT Sustainability Coordinator James Subudhi discussing Healthy Food Disparities in Upper Manhattan.James Subudhi participates in a panel discussion at Barnard College in September 2008.
Copyright 2010 by WE ACT Terms Of Use Privacy Statement
//
No comments:
Post a Comment