HEAL October News: Steps to Healthier NH Communities

October 2012 Newsletter

In This Issue

Resource of the Month: Steps to a Walkable Community

NH Farmers Selling Crops to Schools Triples

Partner Spotlight: NH Minority Health Coalition

Governor declares September NH Childhood Obesity Awareness Month

Adult Obesity Rates Could Exceed 60% by 2030

Resource of the Month

STEPS TO A WALKABLE COMMUNITY: A Guide for Citizens, Planners and Engineers

A new book and workshop series puts innovative, multidisciplinary
pro-walking tactics in the hands of citizens, planners, and engineers.

Now available as a free download.

This book and downloadable PDF is a collection of innovative tactics that have successfully improved and encouraged walking in communities around the country.

This resource serves as the basis for a series of webinars, phone discussion groups, trainings, and walking campaign walkshops™ also launching soon.

Celebrate Walk to School Day
October 3rd

International Walk to School Day is a global event where communities from over 40 countries walk and bike to school on a single day. Join families, schools and communities around the globe as they walk and bicycle to school in celebration of Walk to School Day every October. Learn more about the day, who is participating in your area, and register for this year's event at www.walkbiketoschool.org.

NH Children In Nature Annual Conference

October 4th, 2012

Nature is where you are, wherever you are. Join us to explore the many ways we can experience "nearby nature" with children, youth and families, whether by discovering new ways to use our backyards and city parks; finding local outdoor spaces in communities and neighborhoods; or learning simple, accessible ideas for engaging with the natural world, even in urban settings.

Click here for more information and a link to register

Spotlight on Ashland, NH:

Go for a weekly walk with the Town Administrator! The "Walk with Paul" was initiated to get the community moving, realizing that walking was one of the best physical activities for all ages.

In The News...

N.H. farmers selling crops to schools triples

Officials at the New Hampshire Farm to School Program say the number of farmers selling produce and products to schools has tripled to 60 in the past three years. A new survey shows that 60 farms and more than 300 schools are participating in the program - which began in 2003 with orchards selling apples to schools.

Continue Reading...

Partner Spotlight: NH Minority Health Coalition presents at the HEAL Grantee Networking Meeting

At the September HEAL Grantee Networking Meeting, we were privileged to be coached by Glinda Allen from the NH Minority Health Coalition on addressing health equity in our communities. As part of the training, we watched an episode from UNNATURAL CAUSES. Click here for more information, to watch video clips and order the DVD.

UNNATURAL CAUSES is the acclaimed documentary series broadcast by PBS and now used by thousands of organizations around the country to tackle the root causes of our alarming socio-economic and racial inequities in health.

The opening 56-minute episode, "In Sickness and In Wealth," presents the series' overarching themes. Each supporting half-hour episode, set in a different ethnic/racial community, provides a deeper exploration of how social conditions affect population health and how some communities are extending their lives by improving them.

The episode we watched was titled Place Matters: Why is your street address such a strong predictor of your health?

NH Governor John H. Lynch Joins National Movement and Declares September Childhood Obesity Awareness Month

Kids Culinary Arts students from Amherst, Merrimack and Hollis celebrating September as Childhood Obesity Awareness Month in NH with a trip to meet Governor John Lynch along with Cathy Duchesne Founder of Kids Culinary Arts.

Concord, NH: Governor John H. Lynch declared September "Childhood Obesity Awareness Month" in the state of New Hampshire. With one in three American children now overweight or obese, the childhood obesity crisis in the United States requires action focused on prevention. Governor Lynch, making this declaration to accelerate progress in the prevention of this epidemic, did so at the request of Cathy Duchesne, Founder & Executive Director of Kids Culinary Arts in Amherst, NH.

Click here for additional news on the HEAL NH Website

Adult Obesity Rates Could Exceed 60 Percent in 13 States by 2030, According to New Study

Related health care costs could climb by more than 20 percent in nine states. The number of obese adults, along with related disease rates and health care costs, are on course to increase dramatically in every state in the country over the next 20 years, according to F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America's Future 2012.

Continue Reading...

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We hope you enjoy our newsletter and find it a helpful resource. Help us spread the word by this newsletter to colleagues who might be interested in learning about HEAL strategies and sharing information.

Thank you for your partnership and continued support.

Sincerely,

Terry Johnson, Director

Healthy Eating Active Living NH

www.healnh.org

tjohnson@healthynh.com

125 Airport Rd.

Concord, New Hampshire 03301

603.415.4273

About HEAL

HEAL envisions a New Hampshire where all residents enjoy health and quality of life through healthy eating and active living.

Our core mission is to work in collaboration with our partners to inspire, advance and support policies, systems and environmental changes to promote healthy people in healthy places throughout New Hampshire.

HEAL started in 2008 and is led by the Foundation for Healthy Communities, a non-profit New Hampshire organization focused on improving health and health care through innovative partnerships.

HEAL Funders

Funding is provided by the HNHfoundation, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation, Endowment for Health, NH Charitable Foundation, NH Department of Health and Human Services, and Convergence Partnership Fund of Tides Foundation.