Hurricane Katrina was a recent memory when food scarcity became a frightening reality for many residents who already lacked easy access to healthy foods before the disaster. A food mapping effort started out as a short-term response to residents' need to get access to soup kitchens, grocery stores, or food pantries and now has become a tool for understanding
In Chicago and the surrounding region, this membership-driven organization works on Complete Streets policies, local bikeways, safe routes to school, and public events to rally for streets that will accommodate bicyclists safely on their way to school and across the city.
Cultivating fruits and vegetables in an urban garden and on a suburban farm leased from the city at minimal cost, youth work with The Food Project and participate in community-supported agriculture that brings healthy produce to low-income residents throughout Boston.
In the predominantly Latino city of Chula Vista, California, the local school district has opened its green space to the youth soccer league through a successful joint use agreement.
Improving community environments requires a comprehensive approach that creates bridges across sectors. Over a period of roughly two years, stakeholders in the western unincorporated area of Alameda County (also called "The Eden Area") came together to identify, discuss, and debate the most important issues facing their communities and to develop a collective vision of livable communities and a prioritized set of actions.
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In 2009, changes to the WIC food package were implemented to bring it in to line with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The changes were designed to promote healthier food choices among WIC participants in order to improve birth outcomes, promote healthy child development, and prevent child obesity.
In response to data from California WIC Association (CWA) and UC Davis Center for Human Lactation
WIC Breastfeeding Peer Counselors are available in over half of the 84 local WIC agencies in California. These specially trained mothers assist other mothers, to prepare for, initiate and maintain breastfeeding.
The city of Richmond, California was one of the first cities in the country to develop a comprehensive general plan element that addresses the link between public health and community design.
Developed by the Seattle Housing Authority, Cultivating Communities is a neighborhood gardening program for low-income communities in Seattle, Washington. The program has provided lead-free gardening plots, increased availability of healthy food, and promoted social connections and trust between community members.
