Health for the Holidays: Share We’re Not Buying It
Help the kids in your life become more media literate this holiday break, and engage them in standing up for health. Watch and share We’re Not Buying It, a 2-minute video that highlights the role of industry in shaping the foods kids eat.
Prevention Institute’s video, We’re Not Buying It, and studies Claiming Health and Where’s the Fruit clearly reveal the deceptive lengths that food industries will go to in order to promote unhealthy foods to kids-from packaging that misleads parents to ads that target kids to behind-the-scenes lobbying to thwart any oversight.
Shop Blue Island Health Hot Spots for December’s Veggie of the Month: Root Vegetables
Root Vegetables include Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes, Carrots, Turnips, Rutabagas, Celery Root (or Celeriac) and Beets. Root vegetables are classified as the starchy tubers and taproots of a plant. If left alone they would supply all the nutrients needed by the plant, but we dont. Instead we pull them up so that we may enjoy their vitamin rich yummy-ness.
Some things you can do with root vegetables include:
Braise-Cut them into peices and simmer in a small amount of broth until they are tender, and starting to brown. Sprinkle on your favorite herb.
Grill-Many people dont think of grilling root vegies, but they can be delicious when brushed with olive oil and cooked on an open flame. 10 minutes per side on a med hot grill will give them a crispy outside and tender sweet inside.
Root Vegetable Fries-works best with high starch varieties such as potatoes, or sweet potatoes. Cut the veggies into sticks, as evenly as possible. Soak in cold water for 30 minutes, pat dry thoroughly. heat oil to 325-375. Fry in small batches until tender and browned. drain on cooling rack or paper towels.
Visit Blue Island’s Healthy HotSpot Locations, Hidalgo’s Meat Market and La Unica for root vegetables and other healthy food choices.
(Source: localfoods.about.com)
Model Community Update - Non Motorized Transportation Plan
August & September Recap
On August 27, 2011, BICDD and Active Transportation Alliance (ATA) hosted a bike rodeo and workshop at the Blue Island Public Library. This event was held to collect community input on developing a non motorized transportation plan (also known as a bike or pedestrian plan) for the City.
September marks an exciting month for the project, as ATA will also lead a bike ride with the Non-Motorized Transportation Plan (NMTP) steering committee on the 9th. Later in the month, we will also host a steering committee working session.
Upcoming Visit from Mark Fenton
Fenton is a walking advocate for America Walks, a nonprofit organization that leads a national coalition of local advocacy groups dedicated to promoting walkable communities. The mission of America Walks is to foster the development of community-based, pedestrian advocacy groups, to educate the public about the benefits of walking, and, when appropriate, to act as a collective voice for walking advocates. They also provide a web-based, online support network for local pedestrian advocacy groups.
Bike Rodeo & Non-Motorized Plan Event
Join us to discuss walking, biking, and transit improvements in Blue Island.
When: Aug 27, 2011, 10:30a-12p
Where: Blue Island Public Library, 2433 York Street
- Bring the kids for a BIKE RODEO!
- A bicycle skills event. No bike…no problem - We have extras you can borrow!
- Snacks and light refreshments will be served.
Download the updated Non-Motorized Plan event flyer. [En español]
Take the Non-Motorized Plan Walking & Bike Survey.
Please note: Cal-Sag Cycles will reopen for the day from 10a-2p!!
Black Health, Food Insecurity and the Law
7/14 Webinar: “Black Health: Food and the Law” - brief overview of the Black health disparities & social determinants of health. This webinar is the 6th in a year-long series. The foundation of the series is that Black health status is significantly worst than whites and that the law is a determinant of health.
For additional information:
- Dying While Black: Black Health Status, (24 minutes), http://vimeo.com/20545689
- Racial Inequality: A Risk Factor for Health Disparities in the Black Community (20 minutes), http://vimeo.com/20555792
- Law as a Social Determinant (32 minutes), http://vimeo.com/20623661
- Anti-Discrimination Law: A Pathway and Shaper of Racial Discrimination (31 minutes), http://vimeo.com/20625699
IPHA June 14th 2011 Sustainable Food Systems Workshop - Sustainable Food Systems Workshop, IPHA James E. Bloyd Introductory Remarks
Visit the IPHA Food & Nutrition Section on YouTube to see videos of the Workshops other speakers.
Help Build a Place to Play - National Parks & Rec Month
Providing more opportunities for play is emerging as a civic responsibility at the local level. Play as a policy imperative has not yet risen to the national agenda, despite increasing evidence of its importance:
- Children are more overweight than ever, and they are actually gaining weight over summer break. The percentage of overweight children has doubled in the last 20 years, while the percentage of overweight teens has tripled.
- The CDC reports that 4.5 million children (ages 5-17) have been diagnosed with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Many of them are being medicated.
- Diagnoses of depression and anxiety disorders in children are also on the rise, with a corresponding increase in the use of psychoactive drugs to treat them.
- Violence, emotional outbursts, and lack of social skills for dealing with peers and authority figures are growing issues for schools. Today’s teachers spend more and more time on classroom management and less time actually teaching.
What can you do to help?
Volunteers Needed: Blue Island’s Model Communities Project
As many readers know, the City of Blue Island and its Model Coalition partners were recently awarded a grant targeting obesity reduction from Cook County Public Health Department (CCPHD) through the CDC’s Communities Putting Prevention to Work initiative.
In the coming weeks, we will finalize members of the Blue Island Model Communities Coalition, a committee designed to build & strengthen partnerships to ensure that the activities we propose under the grant have a lasting impact in the community.
In addition, we are in the process of forming steering committees to oversee the following efforts:
- Create a Sustainable Local Food System by increasing the availability of healthy foods. See Can Blue Island Create a Sustainable Local Food System? for last month article for additional details.
- Create safer pedestrians environments for walking, biking and other forms of physical activity by developing an Active Transportation Plan and Complete Streets Policy for Blue Island.
- Work with Health Connect One on Breast-Feeding Encouragement by assisting MetroSouth with steps towards becoming a Baby-Friendly Hospital and working with local employers to create breast-feeding friendly work environments
If you are interested in participating in this program as a member of one of the steering committees that will direct the individual efforts listed above, please send your contact information to Gita Rampersad, indicating your level of interest.
Read more about Blue Island’s Model Communities grant award.
Can Blue Island Create a Sustainable Local Food System?
We sure think so. And based on our recent CPPW Model Communities grant award, it would seem that Cook County Public Health Department & Public Health Institute for Metro Chicago both agree.
Blue Island Model Communities Grant: Creating a Sustainable Local Food System
One element of Blue Island’s Model Communities grant directly to this month’s national focus on nutrition. Our PSE* change strategy is to increase the availability and equitable access of healthy, locally produced foods by developing a Sustainable Local Food System.
The approach for this project is to form a taskforce(s) of interested and representative local stakeholders that will work through a 3-part process with our technical assistance partners at Delta Institute.
- The 1st phase involves a community food assessment which will analyze Blue Island’s food needs and the local resources available to meet them.
- The 2nd phase is a community food planning process that will use the results of the food assessment to identify projects, partnerships, and policy changes necessary to meet the food needs of all residents while also providing expanded economic opportunities for entire community.
- Finally, the taskforce will work to implement the recommended strategies from the comprehensive food systems plan. Our existing community gardens will be expanded and we also hope to establish a food buying co-op, a community kitchen/kitchen incubator or a local CSA program.
Blue Island Needs Healthy Corner Stores
As a Model Communities grant recipient, we have also been linked with information and resources from the Healthy Corner Stores Network (HCSN). HCSN supports efforts to increase the availability and sales of healthy, fresh, affordable foods through small-scale stores in grocery, underserved communities.
Details are still being sorted out by CCPHD & PHIMC, but it sounds like a great opportunity is just around the corner for one of Blue Island’s corner stores. We’ve been informed by our CPPW Coordinator at PHIMC that Cook County Model Communities is currently planning a local Healthy Corner Stores program.
The basic concept involves outreach to identify a corner store to work with - if the store owner is interested in participating and takes some initial steps towards change, he or she would be eligible to receive money to buy equipment to support the new healthy offerings. More details about this exciting program should be available within the next month or two.
For more information about Blue Island’s Communities Putting Prevention to Work grant or to get involved with the taskforce, please contact the Community Development Department’s Model Communities Project Coordinator, Gita Rampersad.
*Policy, Systems, Environment Change. For more details on the PSE Change Strategy options, Model Communities Grant Program: Policy, Systems and Environmental (PSE) Change Briefing Book.
Model Communities Grant Award
Blue Island was recently awarded a $75,000 Model Communities grant through Cook County Public Health Department’s Communities Putting Prevention to Work (CPPW) fund. The Model Communities program targets obesity reduction through policy, systems & environmental changes. Included as a part of the award is free technical assistance from Active Transportation Alliance, Delta Institute & more.
The award will allow the Community Development Department & partners to:
1) Develop an Active Transportation Plan (non-motorized pedestrian plan) & Complete Streets Policy;
2) Improve the local food system through a community food assessment; expansion of community gardens and implementation of other local food strategies;
3) Help MetroSouth Medical Center become a Baby Friendly Hospital;
4) Build & strength partnerships through Blue Island’s Model Communities Coalition.
The Model Communities project will run from March 2011 - February 2012. During the next year, we will be actively recruiting input and participation from local stakeholders, like yourself. Stay tuned for more exciting details!
