Localgreens
THE HEIGHT OF CORN SEASON
By Robin Mattson
Before I head over to my CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) delivery point, I gather my reusable fabric bags. This welcome and required CSA practice has helped cement a habit that now serves me in all my shopping trips. Bringing our own bags to the store is such an easy thing all of us can do to help the environment. On the walk over to the Seaport, I start to wonder what my farmer has in store for me this week. I know the walk back to my apartment will not be as easy, since the deliveries that arrive this time of year are sure to be plentiful.
Popularity: unranked [?]
letter from the publisher
Welcome to the August issue of Natural Awakenings NYC. The theme of this month’s issue is Children’s Health. The problems we all face with rising health care costs has put a new and well-deserved spotlight on the health of our children. They are the future of this country and for that matter, this planet.
Now we wait for Congress to return from their inflexible August break, in hopes this respite from the exhausting and endless rounds of partisan politics, will clear the way for an effective and equitable solution to the health care crisis, that one way or another, faces every American in this country. In the meantime, take a look at some of the children’s health issues we can address, without an act of Congress.
Our cover this month features three of New York’s healthiest children. Kiril Kulish, David Alvarez and Trent Kowalik are the Tony-Award-winning stars of Broadway’s Billy Elliot. In this month’s cover stories, learn more about NYC’s “Three Billys” and Gregory Jbara, the Tony-winning actor who plays their onstage Dad, and offstage is the real-life father of his own two sons.
In August’s Emotional Fitness, Kathleen Noone encourages readers to honor the children in our lives, by rediscovering the spontaneity and joy that we see in the children around us.
Even Green Girl has children on her mind, as she takes her new boyfriend, Mike from Indiana, on a weekend babysitting jaunt with her suburban nephews. The experience turns Green Girl a deeper shade of green, but not necessarily an eco-friendly hue.
In this month’s Local Greens, Robin Mattson takes the ingredients from her CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) delivery and puts it all together into a summer recipe that is sure to become a favorite for the children and adults in your life.
And in these last dog days of summer, take a look at this month’s Pets In The City by Gini Sikes. This month Gini interviews Sharon Sakson about her book, Paws and Effect: The Healing Power of Dogs.” This insightful and inspiring book reminds us of the intuitive connection between dogs and their owners that can save lives.
So in this last month before the kids go back to school, take a deep breath and do something nice for the children in your life. Take a walk to the Central Park Zoo to see the new snow leopard. On a hot summer’s afternoon, treat the kids in your neighborhood to some frozen fruit bars from the corner bodega. And perhaps most importantly, take a moment to write your congressional representative and tell them how much affordable health care means to you and your family. Remind them that if children are our future, there’s no future unless those children are healthy.
Tom Citrano
Publisher
Popularity: 5% [?]
Calming Anxious Lives
A Holistic Parenting Approach
by Lisa Marshall
For fourth-grader Skylar Shumate, a typical Tuesday looks like this. Rise at dawn for some toaster waffles and juice before sprinting to the bus at 7:15 a.m. Study for spelling en route to school. Embark on a seven-hour school day, filled with classes and quizzes. Head to cheerleading at 3:15 p.m., hip-hop class at 5 p.m., then return home to practice piano and do homework before grabbing dinner and heading to bed.
Popularity: unranked [?]
Healthykids
A Prime Opportunity to
Serve Up Improvements
by Aimee Witteman
The United States deserves an F on any national report card on children’s nutritional health. One out of three of our children are overweight. During the past 30 years, the rate of obesity has quadrupled for children ages 6 to 11 and tripled for those ages 12 to 19. As a result, it is now predicted that one in three children will develop diabetes in their lifetime.
Our education system has traditionally held that reading, math, science and English classes form basic building blocks for success. But what lessons are our children learning daily in their school cafeteria?
Why School Lunch is Vital
For many of America’s children, a school lunch is the most important meal of their day, constituting a third to half of their nutritional intake. As childhood obesity and Type 2 diabetes skyrocket, Congress is re-examining what shows up in school lunches and exploring ways to get healthier, locally grown foods served up to our nation’s kids.
Admittedly, school lunch programs are just one of several areas that need to be addressed to reverse the current unhealthy trend, but many experts think that it’s one of the most critical.
Studies have shown that the nutritional quality of lunches is lacking in many schools, as they mirror the national trend toward overly processed foods that are low in fiber and high in fat and salt.
The Department of Agriculture’s School Nutrition Dietary Assessment, which collected data from 130 school districts across the country, determined that only 6 to 7 percent met all nutrition standards in the federal government’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Most of the meals had too much fat or saturated fat or too few calories.
Lobbying for Change
This year, Congress plans to reconsider the Child Nutrition Act—federal legislation that authorizes the school lunch program—and a grassroots effort is underway to improve the state of affairs in school cafeterias. Specifically, good food advocates would like to see $50 million in mandatory funding for Farm to School programs.
The farm to school concept has been broadly defined as a school-based program that connects schools (K-12) with local farms. Goals include serving healthy meals in school cafeterias, improving child nutrition, supporting local and regional farmers and educating the public about the links between agriculture, health and nutrition. Already, independent farm to school initiatives have begun cropping up around the country.
If Congress mandates such programs through the Child Nutrition Act, these programs could flourish in every part of the country. This would help children to start naturally building healthier eating habits and connect them more closely with where their food comes from.
Too many of today’s kids are shocked to see that the milk they drink from cartons came from an animal. One young girl visiting a farm couldn’t believe that lettuce exists outside of a plastic bag.
Parents may question whether their child would choose baked butternut squash over a butter-slathered biscuit. In all seven studies of existing farm to school programs compiled in the report Bearing Fruit by the Center for Food Justice at Occidental College, participating students chose more fresh fruits and vegetables, regardless of the alternative meal option.
Community Payback
It’s not just the kids who benefit. Farm to school programs regularly translate to more money going to schools because they spark increased participation in school lunch programs and schools are paid on the number of lunches served. Local farmers realize more income, which in turn strengthens local economies and creates jobs.
Ecotrust, a nonprofit based in Portland, Oregon, has published an analysis of the impact of investing school food dollars in the local food economy. The study found that for every food dollar spent locally by two school districts in the Portland area, an additional 87 cents was spent in Oregon.
Deborah Kane, vice president of Food and Farms programs for Ecotrust, in Portland, says the research confirms that these programs are a viable investment. “Farm to school programs can make an immediate impact on nearly every sector of our state’s economy,” she says. “We knew the effort would likely benefit the Oregon agricultural community and, of course, Oregon’s children. We were encouraged to learn that the benefits extend far beyond the most obvious.”
Visit FarmToSchool.org for program details. Help ensure farm to school is a pivotal provision in the reauthorized Child Nutrition Act by calling members of Congress through the U.S. Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121.
Aimee Witteman is the executive director of the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition. Support the mission at SustainableAgriculture.net.
Popularity: unranked [?]
naturalheroes
TheNewYork RestorationProject
Reclaims Parks, Community Gardens
and Open Spaces.
By Tom Citrano
Popularity: 5% [?]
Pets in the city
The Healing Power of Pets
By Gini Sikes
The ash blonde hair, warm smile, and the passion for purple jackets and oversized jewelry make it hard to picture 57-year-old Sharon Sakson reporting from war zones in Israel and Nicaragua.
Now known in the dog world as a famous breeder, judge and
Popularity: 53% [?]
Localgreens
THE HEIGHT OF CORN SEASON
By Robin Mattson
Before I head over to my CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) delivery point, I gather my reusable fabric bags. This welcome and required CSA practice has helped cement a habit that now serves me in all my shopping trips. Bringing our own bags to the store is such an easy thing all of us can do to help the environment. On the walk over to the Seaport, I start to wonder what my farmer has in store for me this week. I know the walk back to my apartment will not be as easy, since the deliveries that arrive this time of year are sure to be plentiful.
Popularity: unranked [?]
Healthbriefs
A Novel That Helps Kids Lose Weight
The first study to look at the impact of literature on obese adolescents, by Duke Children’s Hospital & Health Center, produced surprising results. Researchers asked obese girls ages 9 to 13 who were enrolled in a comprehensive weight-loss program to read an age-appropriate novel called Lake Rescue.
The book, crafted with the aid of pediatric experts, includes specific healthy lifestyle and weight management guidance, as well as positive messages and strong role models.
Popularity: unranked [?]
Globalbriefs
Safe Kids
Saliva Test Detects Lead Levels in Children
Confirm BioSciences recently released the first non-invasive test, a saliva screening kit, that parents can use to discover if their kids have been exposed to excessive levels of toxic lead. Industrial areas, with older housing incorporating lead pipes and old paint, are of special concern.
Children often get lead poisoning by eating lead-based paint chips or breathing in lead paint dust, but a range of consumer goods have produced lead recalls in recent years, as well. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that lead poisoning is the leading environmentally induced illness in children, yet one of the most preventable.
Popularity: unranked [?]
emotionalfitness
Playing in the Sandbox
OF YOUR LIFE
By Kathleen Noone
Have you ever watched children play in a sandbox? Have you ever sat in a sandbox with them, and observed their single-minded focus on what they’re creating, and their ownership of it? ( ie: “No, no, let me do it!” ) Take a moment to look back and remember the feelings of warmth, joy, comfort and happiness you felt when being a part of that experience.
There is something about watching a child’s freedom of expression that touches our yearning for the ability to do the same thing as adults. Yes, as adults, we have had to learn to express ourselves within the behavioral guidelines acceptable in society. But, have we ‘thrown the baby out with the bath water’ by stifling our creativity? Have we set up so many boundaries that we can no longer feel safe enough to think outside our familiar world? What would it feel like to not only observe children playing in the sandbox, but to join them in that sandbox?
Could we allow our hands to feel wet and messy in our creative process? Could we stick with that uncomfortable feeling long enough to see the germ of what we are creating start to take shape?
A couple of weeks ago I was out for my power walk and turned down a quiet side street off Columbus Avenue. In that relative silence I heard the sound of a gaggle of little children, happily chattering away. Within a half second of identifying the sound I looked up and saw a small sea of colored balloons bobbing along. All the children were holding the balloons they received on their outing to the frozen yogurt store.
I got that information from the excited, happy, chattering faces that greeted me when I inquired about their adventure. As soon as I saw and heard them from a half block away there was a smile that immediately came to my face. That smile only broadened when I was among them. The sound of that joy, and the beautiful, radiant colors of the balloons brightened my day.
I was so taken by there openness to be present in the moment. I asked myself to be present like that for the rest of the day, and what happened is that it turned into a better one. I said hello to more people on the street. Believe it or not, in the middle of NYC, they said hello back, and some of them with a smile. I made a better effort to acknowledge the sales people at the stores. I asked the checkout guy how his day was going. I remember he looked at me with that hesitating look of, “Did she really ask me how my day was?”
Two days later I went back to that store and that same clerk went out of his way to get something for me. I was surprised at his effort. I shouldn’t have been.
We are in a world that distracts us from our basic good, kind and playful nature. We need to set our intentions, which I discussed with you in previous articles, to carry an open heart for adventure, and then keep it open to receive what good comes from it.
My hope is that this month you will give yourself permission to play in the sandbox of your life, with your inner child’s open heart, and carry your own colorful balloon, with your inner child’s eagerness and expectation. Happy adventure!
Popularity: unranked [?]