Apologies! There is a correction under the School Food section of the newsletter.
 
NYC FOOD AND FITNESS
NEWSLETTER
September 2010

respect our farm

IN THIS ISSUE
LATEST NEWS
SCHOOL FOOD
COMMUNITY FOOD
ACTIVE LIVING
YOUTH
GRANTS AND FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
EVENTS
 
LATEST NEWS
September is Childhood Obesity Awareness Month!
Congress has officially proclaimed September 2010 as National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month and they are calling on other national, state, and city leaders to support and observe the month. Let's get together and focus on reversing the tide of childhood obesity. One way to do that is to call on your House Representatives to act quickly and fully fund Child Nutrition Reauthorization. Read more about it below in the School Food section.
 
Community Gardens Public Hearing
On August 10, we joined over 300 New York City community gardeners and advocates at a public hearing to provide comments on the new proposed rules governing community gardens under the jurisdiction of the NYC Departments of Parks and Recreation and Housing, Preservation and Development (HPD). Those in attendance attested to the vital role community gardens play in neighborhoods across the city and particularly in low-income communities and communities of color. We also expressed concern that the proposed rules do not offer the same level of protection as the 2002 Community Gardens Agreement between the New York State Attorney General's Office and the City of New York which expires on September 17, 2010. For more background information, read our policy brief. Now, both the Parks Department and HPD will take the comments into consideration and publish their respective final rules in the City Register.
 
Click here to read the NYC Food & Fitness Partnership's statement at the Hearing.

For an archive of media coverage and photos of the hearing and rallies, as well as updates on the legislation, go to the NYC Community Garden Coalition.
 
Fixing a World that Foster Fat
Lastly, here's an interesting article that was in the New York Times about a week ago that talks about the way the environment, policies and systems that surround us are at the root of the obesity epidemic by making it hard for us to make healthy choices in our every day lives. 

SCHOOL FOOD
Get Ready to Call Your Rep!
When Congress returns to DC the Monday after next (September 13th) they'll be considering action on the Child Nutrition Reauthorization. The Senate has already passed their bill, which invests $4.5 billion but cuts $2.2 billion from SNAP which has disappointed many advocates. Now it's up to the House of Representatives to make a better decision for the future of child nutrition.
 
The House version of the child nutrition bill, Improving Nutrition for America's  Children Act (H.R. 5504), is a stronger bill that has broader support. A major barrier to passing this version is that no funding sources have been identified for the $ 8billion bill. Ideally, when House Representatives return to DC on the 13th, they will be willing to work hard to identify funding sources and pass their bill. They need to hear from their constituents that this is important! 
 
A major concern is that, with the deadline for CNR expiration looming Sept 30th, the House will be pressured to pass the Senate bill. This is not ideal for the reasons noted. The best possible outcome for child nutrition programs is for the House to fund and pass their version of CNR - HR 5504 Improving Nutrition for America's Children.
 
What you can do now
:
Please contact your Representative and share your support for H.R. 5504. Find their contact info here.
 
FoodCorps Call for Potential Host Sites
FoodCorps is a national AmeriCorps program in development that focuses on improving school food systems in high obesity, limited access rural and urban communities around the country. Service members will build and tend school gardens, conduct nutrition education, and facilitate Farm to School programming that brings local food into schools. The program aims to at once serve vulnerable children, improving access to healthy, affordable school meals, while also serving its service members by training a cadre of leaders for careers in food and agriculture. The first troop of FoodCorps members are planned to hit the ground in fall 2011.
 
FoodCorps is searching for vibrant, connected, and supportive host sites. The open period for Letters of Inquiry from potential host sites closes on Friday, September 17th. Go here for more information about FoodCorps, AmeriCorps, and the role of the Host Sites.

COMMUNITY FOOD
 
Updated Community Garden Map
The OASIS mapping website - the only source for interactive community garden maps across New York City - now displays the latest inventory of gardens from GrowNYC. You can search for any of almost 500 community gardens and nearly 150 gardens located on school property. Each garden mapped on OASIS is profiled with information about when it was founded, what is grown there, and if you can volunteer. It also identifies the garden's protection status under the existing Community Garden Agreement and which agency, if any, has jurisdiction over the garden - important information in light of new proposed community gardens rules that will likely take effect this month. If you'd like to start a new garden, you can also use the OASIS maps to obtain helpful information such as property ownership, nearby resources such as schools, and surrounding land use patterns.
 
For more information about the GrowNYC community garden database, contact Lenny Librizzi at 212-788-7927 or email. For more information about OASIS, contact Steven Romalewski at 212-817-2033 or email.

How Much Food is Produced in NYC Community Gardens?
That's the question that Farming Concrete is trying to answer by measuring food production in gardens during the 2010 growing season. Farming Concrete is sponsored by the Open Space Institute and partnered with GreenThumb (NYC Dept. of Parks and Recreation), Just Food, and New York Restoration Project. A team is working with hundreds of gardens to map areas under production, measure total acreage, and track harvest volume by crop. For the first time, metrics will be developed to estimate yield from a small, poly-culture raised bed, a common model for urban agriculture with characteristics that differ vastly from large-scale conventional agriculture.  This information would also inform any new shifts in policy related to urban agriculture and push New York City ahead of the curve in expanding urban food production. The data from this will be available to the public and will be able to answer for each garden and for all gardens as a whole: "We at ___ Community Garden grew ___ pounds of food in ____ square feet, which is worth $___ and prevented approximately ___lbs of greenhouse gases from entering the atmosphere."

One critical component to making this a success is drawing plot maps and doing crop inventory - something anyone could do and that only takes an hour or two They've just launched the Mappers' Map - their means of coordinating mapping across the city. Their goal is to turn all of the blue markers GREEN by mid-September!

What you can do now: If you have a few hours to spare and want an excuse to hang out in community gardens, please choose a few gardens to tackle and email for detailed instructions. Mapping urban agriculture is really fun, and you may be surprised at the incredible variety of yummy edibles we can grow in NYC!
 
Local Food and the Law: Help for Advocates and Policymakers
Concerns about buying food from afar - whether it's about the safety or quality of the food, environmental impact, or local economic loss - are prompting some states and cities to consider laws promoting the purchase of locally grown food. But because of constitutional restrictions on state and local laws that discriminate against products derived out-of-state, "locally grown food laws" should be drafted carefully. To help advocates and policymakers encourage local purchasing without buying a lawsuit, Public Health Law and Policy staff have written an article explaining the constitutional restrictions, with guidelines for drafting policies that favor locally grown food. The article - available free to nonsubscribers through October 1 - appears in the inaugural issue of the new Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development. 
 
The GreenThumb 2010 Fall Program Guide is now available
Download it here for more info on upcoming workshops and events for September, October, November. Fall supplies are also available for registered GreenThumb gardens only and are available first come, first served, while supplies last.

ACTIVE LIVING
NYC Dept. of Transportation's New Pedestrian Safety Study and Action Plan
The NYC Department of Transportation recently released its Pedestrian Safety Study and Action Plan which emphasizes the need for dramatic street design and enforcement changes to protect pedestrians in NYC, especially vulnerable pedestrians like seniors and children. Key Findings include:
  • 2009 was the safest year on record in New York City history.
  • Traffic fatalities in 2009 were down by 35% from 2001.
  • NYC's traffic fatality rate is about a quarter of the national rate and less than half the rate in the next 10 largest U.S. cities.
  • Traffic crashes cost the City's economy $4.29 billion annually.
  • Pedestrians are 10 times more likely to die than a motor vehicle occupant in the event of a crash.
  • Pedestrians accounted for 52% of traffic fatalities from 2005-2009.
  • Driver inattention was cited in nearly 36% of crashes resulting in pedestrians killed or seriously injured.
  • 27% of fatal pedestrian crashes involved driver failure to yield.
  • Pedestrian-vehicle crashes involving unsafe speeds are twice as deadly as other crashes.
  • Serious pedestrian crashes are about two-thirds deadlier on major street corridors than on smaller local streets.
  • Most New Yorkers do not know the city's standard speed limit is 30 m.p.h.
  • 80% of crashes that kill or seriously injure pedestrians involve male drivers.
  • 79% of crashes that kill or seriously injure pedestrians involve private vehicles, not taxis, trucks and buses.
Making New York more walkable is crucial to the mobility, health and quality of life of New Yorkers and visitors alike. These new initiatives will complement existing DOT programs including: Safe Routes to School, Safe Streets for Seniors, and NYC Plaza Program. Based on the findings of this study, DOT will undertake a comprehensive set of actions, including the following:
  • Install countdown pedestrian signals at 1,500 intersections.
  • Re-engineer 60 miles of streets for greater pedestrian safety.
  • Re-engineer 20 intersections pedestrian safety on major two-way streets.
  • Launch a pilot program to test the safety performance of neighborhood 10 mph zone.
  • Implement pilot program to improve visibility at left turns along avenues in Manhattan.  

Stop Speeding Summit
Transportation Alternatives will host a "Stop Speeding Summit" on November 19, 2010 in New York City. This full-day summit will bring together elected officials and leaders in the fields of transportation policy, public health, medicine, traffic safety and enforcement. Reckless speeding drivers cause New Yorkers to fear the very spaces they must utilize in order to improve their health. It is time we discuss how to work together to prevent hundreds of deaths and thousands of injuries due to the unsafe speed of motor vehicles on our streets. Among other lifesaving topics, the day will explore how other cities have reduced the severity of injuries in traffic through strategic enforcement and the use of automated enforcement technologies. Please email Lindsey Ganson or call (646) 873-6028 for more details or to RSVP. Come out on November 19 and support safer and healthier streets in NYC!

YOUTH 

NYC Food & Fitness Youth Advocates 
As we shared in our July newsletter, a group of youth advocates worked with the NYC Food & Fitness Partnership this summer to take a closer look at block parties and street closures in their communities. Over the course of six weeks, they visited more than 13 block parties, conducted 14 interviews, administered 50+ surveys, took pictures and brainstormed with each other and community members about how to make better use of the streets and to create more recreation space. While many adult respondents said that they came to block parties to socialize and to let kids play, most said that they wanted to see more organized activities like dancing (33%), organized sports (23%) and non-organized games like hopscotch and jump rope (26%). 75% of people said that they wanted to see more fruits and vegetables offered at block parties.
 
feastThrough their work, the group discussed the idea of Play Streets - streets that are closed to vehicles where youth can play and socialize with games and activities to promote staying healthy through physical activity and healthy eating. They liked the idea of Play Streets because it makes good use of closed streets by providing safe places for kids to play and offering additional activities to engage community residents, particularly kids - which was one of the findings from their research this summer. The research conducted by our youth advocates will be connected to the larger work that the NYC Food & Fitness Partnership is doing around street closures and play streets to increase the number of neighborhood areas that are safe.

At our last meeting, to celebrate all their hard work over the summer, the advocates got to show off their cooking skills with a feast of their favorite summer foods. All in all it was a great summer! We look forward to building on the work of our youth advocates in the coming year!

GRANTS AND FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
Mini-Grant for K-12 "Green" Service-Learning Projects
Deadline: September 13, 2010
Grants up to $250,000 available for projects that work with youth to plan and implement a "green" service-learning project. Projects must solve a problem or address a local need related to making communities healthier and more environmentally sustainable (e.g. reduce non-renewable energy consumption; decrease usage of products that are not environmentally friendly; create more outdoor green spaces and trails; promote healthy eating habits; improve air quality, etc.). For more information, click here.

Eat Well Play Hard in Child Care Settings
Deadline: September 30, 2010
This project, titled Eat Well Play Hard in Child Care Settings (EWPHCCS), provides nutrition education, obesity prevention and physical activity interventions at licensed child care centers. The project targets Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) child care centers serving Food Stamp Program (FSP) recipients and FSP eligible individuals defined as child care centers in which at least 50% of the enrolled children are eligible for free or reduced price meals. This intervention targets those child care centers with high percentages of FSP participants and families living at or below 130% of the federal poverty level.

Service-Learning Grants to Fight Childhood Obesity 
Deadline: October 22, 2010
Youth Service America and UnitedHealth Group are encouraging youth to create and implement local hands-on programs that address childhood obesity in their local communities through the Heroes Program, a service-learning, health literacy initiative. Educators, nonprofit leaders, and students are encouraged to apply for grants of up to $1,000 each to engage youth in all fifty states and the District of Columbia.

Applications Available for Youth Garden Grant Program
Deadline: November 1, 2010
The National Gardening Association awards Youth Garden Grants to schools and community organizations across the United States with child-centered garden programs. Schools, youth groups, community centers, camps, clubs, treatment facilities, and intergenerational groups in the United States are eligible to apply. Applicants must plan to garden with at least fifteen children between the ages of 3 and 18. Previous Youth Garden Grant winners who wish to reapply may do so but must wait one year and have significantly expanded their garden programs. This year a hundred recipients will receive a $500 gift card from program sponsor the Home Depot and educational materials from the National Gardening Association.

Grants for Salad Bars
Deadline: November 1, 2010
Whole Foods Market is partnering with Chef Ann Cooper to provide healthy salad bars to schools across the country by raising money for a salad bar in at least one school in the communities surrounding each Whole Foods store in the U.S. You can help us reach this goal by donating to your local store (online or through shopper donations) and also by helping a school of your choice to apply for a grant. For more information, visit their website.
 
The Lunch Box Project's nonprofit foundation, F3 Foundation, will serve as a granting institution whereby any public school may apply online to be chosen for a salad bar, utensils and training tools beginning September 1, 2010. A school representative must apply and secure the signature of their district's superintendent, school principal and school nutrition director. Grant awards will be based on need, potential for impact, commitment to the program and potential for future viability when the grant period has ended.

USDA People's Garden School Pilot Program 
Deadline: November 8, 2010
The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) of the USDA is announcing the opportunity for public and not-for-profit organizations to submit applications for a Peoples Garden School Pilot Program grant competition. FNS has set aside $1 million for this pilot program. One grantee will be selected to enter into a cooperative agreement for the purposes of developing and running community gardens at eligible high-poverty schools; teaching students involved in the gardens about agriculture production practices, diet, and nutrition; contributing produce to supplement food provided at eligible schools, student households, local food banks, or senior center nutrition programs; and conducting an evaluation of funded projects to learn more about the impacts of school gardens. For more information, click here.

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Peaceful Pathways 
Deadline: January 15, 2011
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Local Funding Partnerships program is a matching grants program ($50,000 - $200,000) that connects the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation with local grantmakers to fund new, community-based projects to improve health and health care for vulnerable populations. The Peaceful Pathways: Reducing Exposure to Violence grant seeks to fund projects aimed at reducing violence in traditionally underserved communities that are defined by race, ethnicity, tribe, gender, sexual identity or rural/frontier location. For more information and to apply for this funding, click here.
 
EVENTS
Brooklyn Food Coalitin School Food Reform Planning Session
Date and Time: September 2, 7-9pm
Location: 70 S. Elliott Pl., between Lafayette and DeKalb Aves, Brooklyn ,NY
 
Join Brooklyn School Food advocates to plan fall school food parent engagement/training events! Please RSVP to Beatriz Beckford. Childcare available if needed! Meeting minutes for the last session are available.
 
Bushwick Farmers Market Opens!
Dates and Times: Grand Opening: Thursday September 2nd, 12-6pm.
Regular market dates Thursdays 10am-6pm, September to November.
Location: Corner of Myrtle and Wyckoff Avenues in Bushwick
Please join the Eco Station team as they open the 3rd Bushwick Farmers' Market and bring more great quality, affordable fruits, veggies, and other food options to Bushwick! Cash, WIC/Senior Coupons, EBT, and Health Bucks accepted
 
New Yorkers for Parks' Free Daffodil Bulb Sign-up
Begins Sept. 8th. Visit their website for more information.

F.T.K. 2 Youth Resource Fair
Date and Time: September 10, 1-5pm
Location: State Building, West 125th Street and Adam Clayton Powell Blvd, New York, NY
2nd annual youth resource fair sponsored by the NYPD featuring Sports leagues, after school programs, health programs, mentoring, job opportunities, colleges, resources for parents, live entertainment and so much more. They are looking for agencies to participate. Please contact Lieutenant Kevin O'Connor, Patrol Borough Manhattan North at (212) 678-1810 or 1827 or via email.

Farm to School Fundraiser
Date and Time: September 11, 3pm - Midnight
Location: theCOMPOUND, 1281 Atlantic Ave, Brooklyn, between Nostrand & New York Aves.
Adopt-a-Farmbox is having a KICKSTARTER campaign and a 'fun'draising party on Sept. 11th to bring farming gardens to local NYC schools. The Adopt-a-Farmbox initiative, founded by Brooklyn couple, is on a mission to reconnect people with their food, thus empowering them to improve their health, communities and the environment.

Good Food Fest: Grub with a Purpose
Date and Time: September 12, 12-3pm
Location: Myrtle Avenue between Vanderbilt Avenue and Clinton Avenue, Brooklyn
The Good Food Fest is a fun-filled street fair to raise awareness about sustainable living and healthy, delicious and affordable food. The festival will be held on Myrtle Avenue between Vanderbilt Avenue and Clinton Avenue - closed off to street traffic as part of the Move About Myrtle street party that spans several blocks. The Good Food Fest will consist of interactive cooking demos & delicious food tastings from around the world & your backyard; a best dish competition evaluated by a panel of "celebrity" judges; a variety of canning, beekeeping and other DIY demos; activities for children; live music; recipe swaps and other "green/sustainability" initiatives. sponsored by Brooklyn Food Coalition. For more information Send email to Regina Ginyard or Lucas Shapiro via email.

City Farm Fair
Date and Time: September 12, 11am-5pm
Location: The Invisible Dog Art Center, 51 Bergen Street, Brooklyn
The fair is a new take on the traditional County Fair, a day-long celebration of art and food grown in Brooklyn! Festivities engage all the senses: hear live music performed by local Bang on a Can marching band Asphalt Orchestra; taste delicacies prepared by local chefs inspired by ingredients from Brooklyn farms; view specially commissioned work exploring the culture of agriculture by local artists; get a feel for materials needed to produce your own food in workshops by Brooklyn Food Coalition; participate in a Blue Ribbon Competition hosted by GreenThumb; and browse a marketplace with some of Brooklyn's small-batch artisanal food purveyors curated by Greenpoint Food Market. Cap it off with The Food Experiments' live cooking competition, Brooklyn Roots, featuring savory samples and refreshing drinks from Brooklyn Brewery, Six Points Brewery, Red Hook Wines, Brooklyn Oenology, Kings County Distillery and others. This event is part of Crossing the Line, the fall festival of the French Institute Alliance Francaise (FIAF).
 
Rules and categories on this years Harvest competition.
More details on the Farm City Fair

Policy Approaches to Healthy Corner Stores Webinar
Date and Time: September 14, 3:30-5pm
Corner store advocates around the country are exploring how policy approaches could incentivize and sustain healthy changes in small stores. Hosted by Planning for Healthy Places and the Healthy Corner Stores Network, learn how land use and economic development tools could be leveraged to require or incentivize healthy food offerings and hear from advocates and planners from Seattle, Los Angeles, Baltimore, Minneapolis, and Philadelphia. Register here.

Park(ing) Day
Date: September 17, 2010
Park(ing) Day is an international event that lets communities reclaim parking spots and transform them into people-friendly public spacese for one day a year - be it a make-shift outdoor yoga studio, playspace for kids, outdoor reading room or bike parking - it's up to you! Transportation Alternatives provides you with all the information you need to reclaim and redesign your own personal piece of the street. Visit the Park(ing) Day NYC Blog for up-to-date information and how to register your spot. Contact Alyssa for more information.
 
Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Taxes and Fees
Date and Time: September 21, 1-2:30 pm
Many studies have demonstrated a link between obesity and the consumption of sodas and other sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) and many public health advocates see SSB taxes and fees as a clear obesity prevention policy strategy. This webinar will provide an overview of the public health evidence supporting SSB regulation and past efforts to pass SSB tax legislation. Presenters will discuss the features of an "ideal" SSB tax or fee from public health and legal perspectives, as well as discuss the various tax and fee options available to policymakers (i.e., excise tax versus sales tax versus regulatory fee). Register here.
 
North and Central Brooklyn Bicycle Advisory Team Meeting
Date and Time: September 28th, 6:30-8pm
Location: Bedford Health Center, 485 Throop Avenue, Brooklyn, NY
Come join North and Central Brooklyn cyclists and advocates work to promote and support safe biking in North and Central Brooklyn through community engagement, education and advocacy efforts. For more information, please contact Phil Noyes.

Brooklyn Food & Fitness Task Force Meeting
Date and Time: September 29th, 3-5pm
Location: IS 271 Beacon, 1137 Herkimer Street, bet. Hopkinson and Saratoga Avenues
Come discuss and set plans for the 2010-2011 year to promote joint efforts to promote physical activity, healthier food access, and nutrition in North and Central Brooklyn. We'll also discuss roles of the Task Force Steering Commitee and identify steering commitee members for the upcoming year. For more information, please contact Kim Bylander

National Black Teen Empowerment Expo
Date and Time: September 30, 4-7pm
Location: Bailey Ashford Public School / P.S. 287, 50 Navy Street (near Flushing Ave.), Brooklyn
The National Black TEEN Empowerment Expo (NBTEE), a youth advocacy coalition, is hosting a discussion and networking forum for Brooklyn-based youth resources (youth organizations, youth service providers, youth program director, youth ministries, and any/every group that works with youth and teens) to discuss, determine and deliver better ways to engage and inspire youth and teens. For more information, contact R. Lee Gordon at 734-395-3079 or email.
 
Good Health Brooklyn Faith Walk and Bike Ride
Date and Time: October 16, 9am (8am registration and check-in)
Location: 16th St. & Prospect Park West (Bartel Pritchard Lot), Brooklyn
For registration information contact: NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Office of Minority Health at 646-253-5800. Each participant who registers will receive a fanny pack (water bottle, pedometer, FM scanner radio) while supplies last.

MAS Summit for New York City
Dates: October 21-22
Registration has begun for the inaugural MAS Summit for New York City . The Summit will examine the challenges the city faces in its seemingly contradictory roles as a growing capital and as a city of unique neighborhoods. Click here for program information and to register.  
 
Make News!
 
If you or your organization would like to be a part of the next upcoming newsletter, please send your stories, pictures or events to [email protected]