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September 5, 2015
Originally post on nj.com by Cristina Rojas | For NJ.com The Times, Trenton In an effort to fight obesity and promote healthy living, dozens of Trenton community groups have found strength in numbers by forming alliances and pooling resources. But now, the 40-plus groups will put their heads together to come up with long-term, sustainable solutions, thanks to a four-year, $200,000 grant from New Jersey Health Initiatives. The YMCA of Trenton, the lead partner in the larger Trenton Healthy Food Network, was one of 10 recipients chosen statewide to be a part of this new initiative. NJHI, a grantmaking program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, announced the grants Tuesday. “We put together the health dream team,” said Samuel Frisby, the CEO of the YMCA of Trenton and a Mercer County freeholder. He said he hopes the groups can continue the work they’ve begun but in a more collaborative way. […]
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July 10, 2015
originally posted in the Press of Atlantic City By THOMAS BARLAS, Staff Writer The baskets of apples, oranges and bananas are in plain sight for customers entering the Downtown Grocery and Deli on Wood Street. The location is perfect for enticing store customers to buy a healthy piece of fruit instead of an unhealthy snack, said Sara Paciocco, of the city’s Health Department. “It’s more available now that it’s in the open,” Paciocco said, adding she hopes more of the city’s mom-and-pop stores make the same kind of change. The Downtown Grocery and Deli is one of five local groceries participating in the New Jersey Healthy Corner Store Initiative. The program urges those stores to sell more fruit, fresh vegetables and other products lower in salt, sodium and fat. Officials with various health-related organizations visited the store Wednesday to help launch the program, which is also operating in Camden, Trenton, […]
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July 10, 2015
Originally posted on 6abc.com By Nora Muchanic The sight of colorful, fresh produce was a big draw at the opening of the new Greenwood Avenue Farmers Market in Trenton, a venture designed to give local residents healthier choices and easy access to fresh food. “One out of every two children in the city were overweight or obese and when we started to really look at it, it’s really about access,” Sam Frisby of the New Jersey Partnership for Healthy Kids. Many people can’t or won’t leave their neighborhood to find fresh produce. “Mostly what we see our corner stores that don’t have a whole lot of fresh fruits and vegetables having something like a farmers market is vital,” Jasmine Hall-Ratliff of Robert Wood Johnson Foundation said. Spearheaded by the New Jersey Partnership for Healthy Kids and several other groups, farmers will bring their just-picked goods to a parking lot at […]
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July 10, 2015
originally posted in Essex News Daily The New Jersey Healthy Corner Store Initiative announced on Tuesday, May 5, that it hosted state Sen. Ron Rice on a site visit at Newark’s Lucky Fox Market, 164 Irvine Turner Blvd., Newark Central Ward. The tour showcased the positive impact healthy corner stores such as Lucky Fox are making to increase people’s access to affordable, healthy food, as well as bolster economic development efforts by capturing retail dollars that would otherwise be spent outside of the community. The New Jersey Healthy Corner Store Initiative is a statewide program focused on increasing the availability and sale of healthy, affordable food in local stores and bodegas in communities that are underserved by supermarkets. To qualify as part of program, corner stores display sanctioned marketing materials — including recipe cards — to indicate healthy food options; introduce at least four new healthy food products from two […]
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July 10, 2015
originally posted on nj.com by Cristina Rojas | For NJ.com Phyllis Cooper has trekked to more than her share of farmers markets in search of fresh produce: the Trenton Farmers Market in Lawrence, across the river to Morrisville, Pa., and even the Columbus Farmers Market in Burlington County. And for Sue Baltrusitis, fresh fruits and vegetables were always a cab or bus trip away. Not anymore. They now have ready access to affordable, nutritious foods outside their Trent Center apartments, thanks to a new farmers market that opened Monday. “I couldn’t wait for it to open,” Cooper said. “Older people like myself, we need vegetables. Instead of eating things with sugar, we’ve got something that we really need for the body.” The Greenwood Avenue Farmers Market will be open every Monday at the corner of Greenwood Avenue and Hudson Street from 2:30 to 6:30 p.m. It will run through Oct. […]
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July 10, 2015
Originally posted on nj.com By Susan Sprague Yeske | For The Times We can only imagine the joy of America’s colonists when the first asparagus spears pushed out of the earth on a long-ago warm April morning. For them, it provided much-needed nutrients after a winter of deprivation; for us, it’s the sign that the spring harvest season is hitting its stride in New Jersey. Asparagus is a favorite vegetable here in the Garden State, eagerly awaited each spring. Its season began last week, when Terhune Orchards in Lawrence and Katona Farms in Crosswicks began cutting their first spears. That season will continue through May and possibly into June, with asparagus stalks sometimes growing six or seven inches on a single warm, sunny day. Terhune Orchards is the only local farm that allows customers to pick their own asparagus. Call to make sure there is enough in the fields for […]
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July 9, 2015
On Sunday, June 14, 2015 the residents of New Brunswick came together once again for the second Ciclovia event of the year. This free event, sponsored by New Brunswick Tomorrow, the City of New Brunswick, Johnson & Johnson and Rutgers University, closed the city streets from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. so that residents and visitors could participate in over a dozen activities spanning over a three mile route. The purpose of Ciclovia is to promote a community of health and wellbeing through a multitude of physical activities and health awareness initiatives. Healthy activities included group fitness classes, a pop-up skate park, an inflatable water slide, a splash zone to cool down, live music, health screenings and more. Attendees were encouraged to visit and participate in each activity – making their way by walking, running, biking or skating along the course. Ciclovias originated in Bogotá, Colombia and have since emerged […]
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July 9, 2015
Bicycling is a big part of David Calderetti’s life and he hopes to make Vineland a more bicycle-friendly environment as part of his work as project manager of New Jersey Partnership for Healthy Kids-Vineland (NJPHK-V) and director of Live Healthy Vineland. Calderetti joined Live Healthy Vineland and NJPHK-V in January 2015. He came to the Partnership with a firm appreciation for the healthy living transition taking place in Vineland. As a Safe Routes to School coordinator for Cross County Connection, he assisted Lisa Scheetz and the Partnership in the acquisition of the $270,000 Safe Routes to School Infrastructure grant that will improve bicycle and pedestrian facilities near Sabater Elementary school in Vineland. That experience introduced him to NJPHK and when the project manager position opened up, it provided a perfect opportunity. Looking ahead, Calderetti envisions introducing multi-model transportation in Vineland by educating and encouraging residents on how to incorporate active […]
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July 9, 2015
Each week the Hunterdon County YMCA is improving the lives of the residents it serves by providing fresh produce and bread through their Free Produce and Bread Distribution program. Volunteers from the Hunterdon County YMCA and America’s Grow a Row gather every Saturday at 10:30 a.m. at the Flemington Baptist Church located at 170 Main Street in Flemington to distribute the food from either the church’s parking lot or basement. The food is provided on a donation basis through America’s Grow a Row, Panera Bread and Shoprite. The program reaches approximately 90 families each year and an average of 40 families each week. “We feel incredibly fortunate to be able to bring fresh, local food to our community through the Free Produce and Bread Distribution program. Through our partnership with America’s Grow a Row, Panera Bread and Shoprite we are able to fulfill an essential need in the Hunterdon County […]
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July 9, 2015
Asbury Park’s three elementary schools received a Silver Award from Safe Routes to School/EZ-Ride/Meadowlink in recognition of their walk and bike to school campaigns. The School Health Councils in Asbury Park sponsor regular walking and biking events as part of their ongoing efforts to build awareness and momentum for living a healthy and active life. Thurgood Marshall Elementary holds a Walk to School Day every month to celebrate the students’ daily trek and bring something special to the journey. Bradley Elementary and the Barack Obama School launched Walk to School Day this year and will plan more come September. Thurgood Marshall and Barack Obama Elementary also held bike rodeos this year. The School Health Councils sponsor the events and the principals and staff, joined by parents and students, make them happen. The Fitness Stations and Bike Rodeo event at Thurgood Marshall on May 29 brought the community together “in a […]
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