We at ISBNPA are thrilled offer 20 scholarships to the full-day New Technology to Assess Physical Activity and Emerging Technologies for Assessing Environmental Influences on Physical Activity: A demonstration of methods and applications pre-conference workshop taught by Patty Freedson and Scott Duncan on May 23 in Austin, TX. For a full description of these workshops, see the workshop description document https://www.regonline.com/ custImages/242434/WorkshopDetails.pdf These scholarships were made possible with support from Active Living Research http://www.activelivingresearch.org/ and will be given to U.S.-based researchers from historically disadvantaged and underrepresented communities who have a demonstrated interest in physical activity and/or active living research. Scholarships will be awarded on a first-come-first-serve basis to those who meet the criteria. To be considered, please visit the application site https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/R8XJJLL

 

Texas PBS Stations take on Childhood Hunger and Obesity
“Feeding Minds” production airs February 23rd statewide Why and how do childhood hunger and obesity overlap and how does this issue affect Texans? Texas PBS stations are bringing awareness to these issues through the Texas Feeding Minds project in February.

“Feeding Minds: Texas Takes on Hunger and Obesity” is a 60-minute news-style documentary premiering on Texas PBS stations Thursday, February 23rd, 2012. Its purpose is to bring awareness to these overlapping issues and to share what government, community organizations and individuals are doing to combat them. The program has been made possible by a grant from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas.

Viewers will travel around the state to seven Texas cities to see how their communities are addressing these problems and developing solutions. Efforts being undertaken by state agencies, schools, food banks, congregations, community organizations and individuals are all highlighted. Stations contributing to this effort are: Austin/KLRU, Corpus Christi/KEDT, Public Media for North Texas/KERA, El Paso/KCOS, HoustonPBS/KUHT, Lubbock/KTTZ and San Antonio/KLRN. Amarillo/KACV at Amarillo College has served as the coordinator and producer of the program.

The Texas Feeding Minds project also includes a community engagement effort which has given organizations and Texans of all ages the opportunity to share their own stories on this topic through a YouTube channel dedicated solely to the project: www.youtube.com/texasfeedingminds Contributing stations include College Station/KAMU, El Paso/KCOS, Harlingen/KMBH and HoustonPBS/KUHT, with other stations also lending content as well. This online effort has been made possible by Blue Bell Ice Cream.

The public is welcome to follow the Texas Feeding Minds project on Facebook: www.facebook.com/txfeedingminds

Texas PBS is comprised of 12 public television stations whose collective aim is to inspire community engagement and lifelong learning for all Texans. www.texaspbs.org.

For more information, please contact:

Kierstan Schwab Cullen Lutz
Executive Director Community Engagement Specialist
Texas Public Broadcasting Association KACV/Amarillo
kschwab@texaspbs.org cullenlutz@gmail.com
512-223-2719 806-576-4480 

Provisions set forth in the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 supersede previous requirements and expand the scope of wellness policies. The law now requires that additional stakeholders be included in the development, implementation and review of the wellness policies. Schools are now required to inform and update the public (including parents, students, and others in the community) about the content and implementation of the local wellness policies. These provisions will be effective beginning in the coming 2011-2012 school year. read more ...

A new Guide, Under Pressure: Sodium Reduction in the School Environment, has been developed and offers practical strategies for those working to improve the school food environment through sodium reduction. This Guide is the first in a series of venue-based guides offering strategies for sodium reduction in various settings and is an outcome of CDC’s 2010 Public Health Law Summit on Sodium Reduction. read more ...

In 2010, no state reported adult obesity prevalence lower than 20 percent and 12 states reported an obesity prevalence of 30 percent or more. The obesity landscape over the past 10 years has changed dramatically. In 2000 no states reported obesity prevalence of more than 30 percent. Learn what you can do to help address the problem of obesity. Visit CDC website for helpful tips and to review rates in all states. read more ...

Amber Waves, The Economics of Food, Farming, Natural Resources, and Rural America, has published several articles of interest in the June 2011 edition, and they are: Food Security of SNAP Recipients Improved Following the 2009 Stimulus Package , Where Schools Are Located Affects Meal , Recession in 2007-09 Widened and Deepened Nonmetro Poverty , A Look at Where Our Food Dollars Go  

Life’s Sweeter with Fewer Sugary Drinks! We all know it – now we need to let everyone else know. Sign on to the “Challenge” (see Life's Sweeter Challenge)  (see Life Sweeter-Spanish) today to help reduce consumption of sugary drinks and combat America’s obesity epidemic. In a month, CSPI will publicly launch this national “Challenge” campaign to decrease average sugary drink intake from today’s 10 cans per week to 3 by 2020 – a recommendation of the American Heart Association. To sign-on, e-mail (your organization name, contact person, and email) to fewersugarydrinks@cspinet.org 

“Marketing Sense of the Proposed Standards for Food Market to Children” webinar took place at the end of May. However, you can access the webinar, slides from the presentation, and other resources on PHLP’s webinar resources page. On the NPLAN website, you can also download any of PHLP's policy tools for limiting food and beverage marketing to children, or contact staff to receive more information about a specific policy.