Recent Stories
April 12, 2018
Healthy U combats childhood obesity through nutrition education, physical education and family involvement. The program partners the Horizon Foundation for New Jersey with the NJ YMCA State Alliance and its 37-member associations. Together, the grant funds three programs: The Healthy U YMCA Afterschool program, The Healthy U YMCA Early Childhood Education Program, and the Healthy U School-based Program. Healthy U uses the CATCH (Coordinated Approach to Child Health) curriculum to educate and support environments for healthy eating and increased physical activity. Although Healthy U is a program to help prevent obesity, it also leads to improved academic performance and reduced illness and behavior issues. Healthy U ensures that children and families are provided with environments that encourage positive behavior toward physical activity and healthy eating. Sue Cornell, Healthy U Director for the NJYMCA State Alliance, oversees the statewide program. “What’s different about Healthy U is the focus on changing behavior […]
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April 12, 2018
Despite raising the smoking age to 21 and banning tobacco purchases to those younger than 21, New Jersey still faces a predicament when it comes to tobacco use among children and teens. Tobacco companies are doing all they can to put tobacco into the mouths of kids. They now offer mini-cigars and cigarillos at lower prices—3 for $1.00—and flavored tobacco that especially appeals to younger taste buds. Compounding the problem, retailers promote tobacco with oversized and often flashy advertising. Too often, the stores and their ads are within walking distance of schools, enticing youths to try some gummy bear, cotton candy or chocolate tobacco products. “Research shows that advertising and promotion at the point of sale increase youth and adult tobacco use, normalize and exaggerate the popularity of tobacco use, trigger impulse purchases and discourage cessation attempts,” said Kim Burns, Southern Regional Coordinator for Tobacco Free for a […]
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April 12, 2018
This year marks the fifth anniversary of New Brunswick’s Ciclovia—an Open Streets initiative that closes the streets to cars and opens them to people, promoting healthy active living by experiencing New Brunswick’s vitality, livability and diversity in a safe place for people to exercise and play. The New Brunswick Ciclovia is known as a model Open Streets program in New Jersey. Ciclovia has grown each year adding participants, activities, vendors and entertainment, while also expanding the route and nearly quadrupling the number of annual Ciclovia events. This success has garnered curiosity and inquiries from organizations and municipalities across the state asking what it would take to bring Ciclovia to their respective cities and towns. As a result, New Brunswick is hosting a two-day Study Tour on April 21 and April 22. The Study Tour will answer those questions by providing an in-depth look through first-hand experiences for developing an Open […]
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March 9, 2018
Go Further with Food It’s Sunday, you’ve opened your refrigerator to check your food supply. After you determine what you need, you head out to the grocery store. Once you return from grocery shopping, you unpack your bags and start to cook your Sunday meal. But, have you ever considered preparing a weeks’ worth of meals in advance? That’s exactly what the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics is encouraging families across the nation to do as part of its “Go Further with Food” campaign during National Nutrition Month. “Preparing several meals on weekends can provide balanced meals that can easily be reheated throughout the week,” says registered dietitian nutritionist and Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Spokesperson Kristen Smith. “It’s also a great way to eat healthfully, save time during the week and reduce food waste.” Preparing your own food can be time consuming, but it is the healthiest way for you to monitor what […]
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March 9, 2018
You’ve got your college basketball brackets picked out, now it’s time to start watching the games! Beware, there are a LOT of games being played over the next few weeks, so indulging in the usual pizza and wings may leave you with a few extra pounds come April. Step up your game and get into the March Madness spirit, by choosing some delicious healthier options to serve as you watch the tournaments! We’ve highlighted 10 healthy March Madness recipes you can pass around, below. 1. Spiralized Potato Chips with Onion Dip A healthy easy and delicious alternative to traction fried potato chips, the homemade chips are sure to have your guests hoping for overtime. 2. Sea Salt & Lime Popcorn Lightly salted, zesty and bursting with lime flavor, this sea salt & lime popcorn is a must for the snack table! Pop some up for game day or for anytime […]
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March 9, 2018
The NJ YMCA State Alliance and New Jersey Partnership for Healthy Kids are partnering with Nestlé to pilot the Nestlé Start Healthy/Stay Healthy parent education program in five YMCA pre-schools throughout New Jersey. Start Healthy/Stay Healthy educates parents and caregivers about the nutritional needs of children during their first 1,000 days of life—from conception to age two. Sue Cornell, Healthy U Director for the NJ YMCA State Alliance, said the goal of the program is to “create conditions and opportunities that develop a foundation of healthy habits for life.” “More than 20% of children in the U.S. between the ages of two to five are overweight or obese, which increases the likelihood that they will be overweight adults. Early care and education programs, such as pre-k, child care centers and Head Start, can directly influence what young children eat and drink, encourage physical activity and promote healthy habits,” explained Cornell. […]
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March 9, 2018
A part-time job turned into a lifetime career for Cecilia Zalkind, President and Chief Executive Officer of Advocates for Children of New Jersey (ACNJ). While in law school, Zalkind met ACNJ’s Executive Director and signed on to do legislative policy work. “It probably was the luckiest day of my life,” Zalkind said. “Before law school, I had been a social worker at DYFS, which was by turns challenging, enlightening and frustrating. I knew there had to be a better way to help kids in the system.” She found that “better way” with ACNJ, and has stayed on for 34 years advancing in leadership roles that have helped produce key policy advances in child welfare, early care and education and health care in New Jersey. “It’s been a privilege to work here,” Zalkind said. ACNJ has become the best-known, most respected research and advocacy group for children in the state, with […]
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February 12, 2018
They say if you want something done, give it to a busy person. In this case, that person happens to be Charles T. Brown. Since February 2011, Brown has served as a senior researcher with the Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center (VTC). He currently serves as an adjunct professor at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy both at Rutgers University. In addition to senior researcher, he also wears many other hats including community advocate, national thought leader and is a leading voice in encouraging social justice in active transportation. Brown was hired and continues to oversee the New Jersey Bicyclist Resource Center, which is funded by the NJ Department of Transportation. The New Jersey Bicycle and Pedestrian Resource Center (BPRC) assists public officials, transportation and health professionals, and the public in creating a safer and more accessible walking and bicycling environment through primary research, education and dissemination of […]
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February 12, 2018
Grants to increase healthy eating and active living in NJ The New Jersey Healthy Communities Network’s Community Grants Program (NJHCN) recently announced that it awarded grants totaling $1.3 million to 66 New Jersey nonprofit organizations. NJHCN is a coalition of six funding organizations focused on supporting communities that increase opportunities for healthy eating and active living. The 66 funded organizations represent a cross-section of nonprofit, school, and government organizations from across the state and each will receive a grant of $20,000 over a two-year period. The grants were awarded to projects that have a lasting impact on building a culture of health in communities, schools, places of worship, early care, education, neighborhoods, and municipalities. Each grant will address at least one strategy to increase opportunities for physical activity and one strategy to improve access to healthy eating. Among the initiatives are: organizational and school wellness policies, farmers markets, open streets, […]
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February 12, 2018
Imagine being able to affect the lives of 800 Vineland-area families every week by ensuring that their pipeline to fresh fruits and vegetables can continue and expand. That’s the kind of opportunity that’s available by signing on as an advocate for Vineland’s Farm to Pantry program. Farm to Pantry links local farms and food dispensaries to get fresh food to the people who live in food deserts where fresh food is not easy to come by. The program was designed by the Vineland Health Department and Cumberland Cape Atlantic YMCA working in collaboration with the Community Food Bank of NJ. Last year from April to November, 35 tons of fresh produce was delivered to Vineland food pantries and soup kitchens allowing residents and their families to enjoy the taste and benefits of healthy eating. Tyler Cahill, a Health Education Field Representative for the Department of Health, and Craig Traina, a […]
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