Healthy Eating

Healthy eating is important to maintaining healthy lives, yet eating healthy is not always as simple as it should be. Many supermarkets, restaurants and fast food chains sell high calorie processed foods, and access to fresh fruits and vegetables can be difficult, especially in food deserts where the nearest grocery store might be miles away.

Fortunately, there has been a recent explosion of interest in the food we eat – from its origins, to its production methods, to its relationship with our health. This has led to a growth in healthy and sustainable food production and consumption, through an expansion of backyard and urban gardens, local farmers markets, and community supported agriculture, resulting in healthier items on the menu. Our communities will see direct health benefits from increased access to healthy food.

Resources

National

  • Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City, November 2014

  • Center for Disease Control and Prevention

  • USDA

  • Food Research and Action Center, December 2011

  • Health Schools Campaign

  • Infographic from HealthScience.net

  • APCO Insights, January 2012. Link will open a pdf.

  • Makes a case for investing in “greening” the agriculture3 sector, emphasizing the potential global benefits of making this transition. It provides evidence to inspire policymakers to support increased green investment and guidance on how to enable this transformation, which aims to enhance food security, reduce poverty, improve nutrition and health, create rural jobs, and reduce pressure on the environment, including reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHGs). United Nations Environment Programme, 2011.

  • Science, VOL 332, MAY 6, 2011.

  • Policy Link

  • Prepared by the Prevention Institute

  • Policy Link, July 2009

  • Economics and Human Biology; Vol 7, 2009; Lisa M. Powell, Yanjun Bao

  • Marion Nestle is Paulette Goddard Professor in the Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health and Professor of Sociology at New York University.

  • Farm to School connects schools (K-12) and local farms with the objectives of serving healthy meals in school cafeterias, improving student nutrition, providing agriculture, health and nutrition education opportunities, and supporting local and regional farmers.

  • CivilEats.com - Civil Eats promotes critical thought about sustainable agriculture and food systems as part of building economically and socially just communities.

  • U.S. Department of Agriculture, June 2009

  • Measuring and Understanding Food Deserts and Their Consequences, U.S. Department of Agriculture, June 2009

  • U.S. Department of Agriculture, February 2009

  • Working to improve public policies and public-private partnerships to eradicate hunger and undernutrition in the United States.

  • Take a Stand for Healthy Students: The Alliance for a Healthier Generation – Guidelines for Competitive Foods and Beverages

  • Take a Stand for Healthy Students: The Alliance for a Healthier Generation – Guidelines for Competitive Foods and Beverages

  • Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, November 2010

  • Center for Disease Control and Prevention, July 2009

  • Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, May 2009

  • Understanding the Linkages, Food Action and Research Center, February 2007

  • Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

  • America’s Move to Raise a Healthier Generations of Kids

  • Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, May 2009

  • Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, June 2010

  • Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Regional

News

Regional

  • The Kansas City Star, June 3, 2015
    2015-06-05 10:54
  • By Alex Smith for KCUR, May 19, 2015
    2015-05-21 20:29
  • KCUR, May 19, 2015
    2015-05-20 09:46
  • KSHB Kansas City, March 3, 2015
    2015-03-04 11:18
  • KHI News Service, December 18, 2014
    2014-12-19 17:29
  • Kansas City Star, December 14, 2014
    2014-12-15 13:42