Food and Fitness
Creating healthy communities is especially critical at this time that childhood obesity is on the rise. The problem is not just limited to obesity, however—there are may other interrelated chronic conditions that are rising at the same time: type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, asthma, and heart disease. Many of these conditions are linked directly to the type of choices people have around them. When we work together to expand access and affordability, we are also affecting the whole body—not just one condition or disease. This is what it means to build healthy communities.
General Resources
F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America's Future 2011 - Trust for America's Health, a new report from the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, outlines obesity rates across the USA. For the first time, the report examines how the obesity epidemic has grown over the past two decades.
F as in Fat 2011 Massachusetts highlights the specifics of what public health officials are seeing in the state.
Leadership for Healthy Communities: Advancing Policies to Support Healthy Eating and Active Living, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2009. This wonderful resource is a guide for local and state leaders working to create healthy communities and prevent childhood obesity.
The ENACT tool helps communities assess policy priorities versus current performance. The tool includes a focus on healthy eating and active living and has a toolbox of evidence-based, system and policy strategies to improve community health.
Community Food Security Coalition has a great resource website that includes policy updates, handouts, guidebooks and reports on moving your community to build strong local food systems.
Recommended Community Strategies and Measures to Prevent Obesity in the United States: Implementation and Measurement Guide, CDC, 2009.
Recipes for Change: Healthy Food in Every Community is a report released by the Prevention Institute that outlines organizational practices and public policies to expand access to healthy foods in support of healthy eating and better overall health.
Community Health Assessment and Group Evaluation (CHANGE) is an action guide from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that helps a community gain a picture of the policy, systems, and environmental change strategies currently in place throughout the community; develop a community action plan for improving policies, systems, and the environment to support healthy lifestyles; and assist with prioritizing community needs and allocating available resources.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a great list of resources and strategies, with online links, to assess food and fitness environments.
Healthy Eating & Food Systems
Let’s Move is a national campaign to prevent childhood obesity.
Action for Healthy Kids is a national organization fighting childhood obesity and undernourishment by working with schools to improve nutrition and physical activity to help our kids learn to eat right, be active every day and be ready to learn.
Alliance for a Healthier Generation is working to reduce the nationwide prevalence of childhood obesity by 2015 and to empower kids nationwide to make healthy lifestyle choices.
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has numerous grant-funded initiatives that target obesity. Their website includes a comprehensive array of publications, toolkits, and reports along with spotlights on the communities they work with.
Healthy Corner Stores Network supports efforts to increase the availability and sales of healthy, fresh, affordable foods through small-scale stores in underserved communities.
The Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity has many great resources on their website, particularly around school wellness policy.
Wellness Solutions for Massachusetts is an online resource for school community members to establish, implement and share effective wellness policies for their schools.
School Lunch Guide from the Center for Ecoliteracy is a planning framework for school wellness advocates who are interested in making improvements to school meals programs.
Massachusetts School Nutrition Guide provides guidance on the implementation of the Massachusetts School Nutrition Standards for Competitive Foods and Beverages
Chef Ann’s website has lots of resources related to improving school food.
Cornell Library's page on community and regional development for food systems includes a comprehensive list of resources related to food systems, including assessments, data sources, and funding opportunities.
The Federation of Massachusetts Farmers Markets serves to connect consumers to markets and envisions a future in which small family farms and local communities thrive because a significant percentage of residents have access to and choose to consume local food whenever possible.
Mass in Motion is a state-wide initiative to promote wellness and to prevent overweight and obesity in Massachusetts.
Massachusetts Farm to School is a state-wide organization that promotes the use of locally-grown food in school meals. They provide technical assistance and link farms and schools together.
Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA) is a local organization in Western Massachusetts that strengthens local agriculture by building connections between farmers and the community.
The Massachusetts Food Policy Alliance is a committed group of over 30 leaders working on food, agriculture, hunger, land preservation, and related policy issues in the Commonwealth.
Massachusetts Coordinated School Health Program is a collaboration between the Dept. of Public Health and the Dept. of Elementary and Secondary Education.
The Food Desert Locator, from the United States Department of Agriculture, is a great interactive resource that highlights census tracts across the nation that are experiencing lack of access to healthy foods.
The National Collaborative on Childhood Obesity Research maintains a registry with hundreds of articles and tools related to measuring and tracking obesity.
The National Cancer Institute maintains a registry of tools and articles related to assessing and measuring the food environment.
Active Living & The Built Environment
Active Living Research contributes to the prevention of childhood obesity in low-income and high-risk racial/ethnic communities by supporting research to examine how environments and policies influence active living for children and their families.
Active Living Resource Center provides technical assistance to create active communities.
National Complete Streets Coalition is a national coalition that works to promote the development of streets and sidewalks so that they are accessible to all users.
National Center for Safe Routes to School assists communities to enable and encourage children to walk or bike to school.
Massachusetts Safe Routes to School Program
Massachusetts Smart Growth Alliance works to improve the state’s development policies in order to build welcoming communities with a high quality of life.