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From Corner Store to Vineland Community Hub

September 6, 2019

In what was formerly a true food desert, 25 Vineland corner stores now sell and promote affordable, nutritious food to residents. Live Healthy Vineland introduced the Food Trust’s Healthy Corner Store Initiative in 2011. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation funded the initiative which is helmed by the Cumberland Cape Atlantic YMCA and the Vineland Health Department in partnership with the American Heart Association. Vineland’s Healthy Corner Stores benefit from consultation with The Food Trust and Live Healthy Vineland. Store owners receive advice on effective ways to display and promote healthy foods, and they can apply to purchase freezers and other equipment when grants become available. Not content to stop with Vineland, Live Healthy Vineland recruited corner stores in the three counties served by the Cumberland Cape Atlantic YMCA. They also included restaurants and food pantries in the network: 12 local pantries now receive fresh produce from Ploch Farms and the […]

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Trenton’s Greenwood Ave. Farmers Mark Celebrates Year Five

September 6, 2019

The Greenwood Ave. Farmers Market (GAFM) is a vibrant urban market celebrating its fifth year of operation in Trenton. The market is a product of policy and environmental work done by the New Jersey Partnership for Healthy Kids-Trenton (NJPHK-T), which was funded by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The Capital Area YMCA has been the operational arm of the market throughout its five years of existence, supported by the New Jersey YMCA State Alliance. In 2014 Marissa Davis, Project Director of NJPHK-T and Beth Feehan, employed by the Farm-to-Home initiative for the NJ Department of Agriculture, were standing in their office on Greenwood Avenue dreaming about transforming an unused lot next door into a beautiful fresh fruit and vegetable market. That dream became a reality the following summer. Each Monday community farmers, Isles and Norz Farm in Hillsborough, bring locally-grown produce and other healthy food products to Trenton residents. The […]

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Striving for Healthy Housing in New Brunswick

September 6, 2019

New Brunswick has a unique housing market that poses many challenges for low- and moderate-income families. New Brunswick Tomorrow (NBT) is tackling these challenges head-on with the Healthy Housing Collaborative.   The New Brunswick Healthy Housing Collaborative was created in 2017 as part of the BUILD Health Challenge sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The collaboration includes NBT, RWJH St. Peters, and the Middlesex County Department of Health. The goal is to improve health outcomes by identifying and mitigating the housing health hazards facing New Brunswick residents, particularly within the Esperanza and Unity Square neighborhoods.   At the start of the program, a team of six community leaders were trained and deployed as Healthy Housing Ambassadors to conduct home assessments and assist residents in navigating challenges such as contaminants, safety hazards, pests, water/mold, lead and asbestos. Over 230 people signed up for housing assessments and 130 assessments have been […]

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Creating a Culture of Health in Newark

September 6, 2019

Over the past two years, NJPHK has supported the “Believe in a Healthy Newark” conference. “The conference is designed to help the larger community become aware of and involved in building a culture of health in Newark,” said Dr. Denise Rodgers, Believe in a Healthy Newark grant recipient and Vice Chancellor, Interprofessional Development, Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences. About 400 participants representing community-based organizations, business, academia, health care institutions and the school system attended the event in 2018. NJPHK’s Dr. Darrin Anderson served on the steering committee and, in the past, moderated panel discussions on leveraging data and how to collectively make an impact in the community.  The 2019 Believe in a Healthy Newark Conference will be held on September 26. For more information, contact Mary Long at Healthynewark@gmail.com SHARE:

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Using Transportation to Achieve Better Health Outcomes in Camden

September 6, 2019

Transportation can be one route towards better health. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation kickstarted this thinking when they funded New Jersey Partnership for Healthy Kids to address social determinants of better health in Camden. The funding coincided with the City of Camden’s complete streets policy requiring municipal road projects to accommodate pedestrians, bicyclists, transit riders, drivers and people of all ages and abilities.  One notable initiative was the four-month bike share pilot program, which made bicycling an affordable, convenient, and fun way for residents and visitors to get around the city. “The Bike-share pilot had huge momentum,” said Valeria Galarza, Senior Project Manager at Cooper’s Ferry Partnership. “Based on that success, we determined we needed to develop a robust plan to get people to move more and improve access to transportation to advance health outcomes.” The City of Camden is considering a few ideas, such as:   Make Bike Sharing […]

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Highlights from the 2018 Culture of Health Conference

December 20, 2018

Thank YOU for Making the Building a Culture of Health in New Jersey Conference a Success – See You Next Year! The New Jersey Partnership for Healthy Kids (NJPHK) co-hosted the Building a Culture of Health in New Jersey: Thriving Communities Transform Lives Conference on Wednesday, November 30th at The Palace at Somerset Park in Somerset, NJ. “Building a Culture of Health in New Jersey means creating changes that will surround kids and families in every community with opportunities to make healthy choices.” 2018 Conference Addressed Community Trauma and Adverse Childhood Experiences In New Jersey, 41% of children from newborns through age 17 have experienced one or more adverse childhood experiences (ACE); 18% have had two or more. These experiences include the death or incarceration of a parent, witnessing or being a victim of violence or living with someone who has been suicidal or had a drug or alcohol problem. Research […]

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Babies in Strollers Help Set the Parent Leave Agenda

June 7, 2018

Nearly 150 babies in strollers flexed their political muscles with their parents during the Strolling Thunder New Jersey demonstration held at the Trenton Statehouse on Monday, May 21. The goal of the rally was to remind lawmakers to remember families at budget time. “We need more affordable child care and a more generous paid family leave law that would double time off from six weeks to 12 weeks after a child is born or adopted,” stated Cecilia Zalkind, President/CEO Advocates for Children of New Jersey (ACNJ), which sponsored the event. New Jersey is home to more than 300,000 children under age 3, with 66 percent living in families where both parents work. Young children develop best when they spend enough time with their parents to build strong bonds, but in 2016, fewer than half the babies with working parents received family leave benefits. “The YMCA is one of the largest […]

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Camden’s Night Gardens Kicks off 2018 Connect the Lots Schedule

June 7, 2018

Camden Night Gardens on Friday, May 18th marked the first event of the 2018 Connect the Lots summer season. The free event included live music from local bands, dance performances, art installations, fireworks, and a car show. A full line-up of programming and special events for the season was also announced. Connect the Lots offers a wide variety of activities to engage Camden residents and to reinvigorate parks and underutilized spaces in Camden neighborhoods,” said Kris Kolluri, CEO of Cooper’s Ferry Partnership. The season’s other major events include Camden’s Got Talent, the city’s third annual talent show, on June 28that Dudley Grange Park; the Camden Peace Games, a citywide basketball fest, on July 28th at Von Nieda Park; and the Camden Jam: Arts and Music Festival on September 9th.  This year, Connect the Lotshas expanded its reach in underutilized spaces to include Camden’s waterways. The first annual “I Paddle Camden” […]

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Healthy U Celebrates 10 Years of Impact

June 7, 2018

It’s been 10 years since the Horizon Foundation for New Jersey and the New Jersey YMCA State Alliance kicked off Healthy U, a collaborative partnership program designed to combat childhood obesity through nutrition education, physical education and family involvement.  On Friday, May 18, more than 100 Healthy U Champions and partners from the New Jersey YMCAs and schools came together to celebrate 10 years of impact during the NJ YMCA State Alliance Healthy U Spring Symposium. The Symposium was held at the MetLife Stadium and included a formal program with remarks from Jonathan R. Pearson, Director of Corporate Social Responsibility for Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey and Executive Director of The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey,and Dr. Darrin Anderson, Executive Director NJ YMCA State Alliance. Keynote Speaker Golden Martinez, founder of GetFocused.org talked about how we can be all Hero Makers through our interactions with children. Duncan […]

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Local Farmers Markets Celebrate Start of Summer Season

June 7, 2018

Winter is finally over, and June is in full bloom! While local crops and produce are ripening, farmers and communities are gearing up for another Farmers Market season. New Jersey is proud to host a number of community markets during the month of June. Farmers Markets help residents gain access to fresh foods, support healthy communities, and increase revenue for local Jersey Fresh farms. Four markets in New Jersey are bringing fresh local food to the communities that need them most. The market accepts SNAP benefits, Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program Vouchers, Senior vouchers and Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children Vouchers (WIC). If you’re in Mercer County, Check out the Greenwood Ave. Farmers Market in Trenton  Location: 427 Greenwood Avenue, Trenton, NJ 08609 (behind the Trenton Transit Center) Open every Monday (except holidays) from 1:00 pm to 6:00 pm from June 11th, 2018 – October 15th, 2018 The […]

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