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Anderson Addresses Youth at YMCA Model UN Conference 

February 13, 2017

New Jersey Partnership for Healthy Kids Deputy Director, Darrin Anderson served as a guest speaker at the Northeast Regional YMCA Model United Nations Conference in Hersey, PA. The three-day conference was held over two weekends in January 2017 and included more than 2,000 high school students from New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware.  Anderson provided the students with an overview of how public policy shapes the environment and the importance of creating equitable communities.   The YMCA Model UN program introduces students to the operation and structure of the UN while providing them with an opportunity to actively learn about world cultures and debate issues of international importance. The program promotes leadership through character development, while introducing students to a vast array of ideas.  “The YMCA Model UN program is distinct because students lead the committees,” stated Anderson. “The program focuses on compromise, finding solutions, and student development to achieve the goal of “developing tomorrow’s […]

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Mercer Street Food Bank Addresses Hunger in Mercer County

January 12, 2017

For more than 30 years, the Mercer Street Food Bank has responded to community-wide hunger in Mercer County. The food bank distributes nearly 2.7 million pounds of food and groceries annually to a network of 80 local food pantries, shelters, soup kitchens, meal sites, schools, senior and disabled programs and low-income housing sites. The Mercer Street Friends Food Bank receives food donations such as rice, salmon, pasta, and most recently fresh produce from the government and private donors. Nearly 12,000 people who face the pain and indignity of hunger are served per month through these distribution channels. Kyle Williams is the highly involved and hands-on director of the successful food bank. Williams started out as a volunteer and eventually was hired by the food bank and promoted to Food Bank Director. Williams also helped launch the ‘Send Hunger Packing’ program two years ago – a hunger prevention initiative in local […]

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The Greenwood Ave. Farmers Market Attracts Over 5,300 Customers in Second Season

January 12, 2017

The Greenwood Ave Farmers Market closed out its successful second season on October 24, 2016, with its annual Fall Fest. The fall-themed community event included music, pumpkin decorating, face painting and other physical activities for children. Health services were on site, and free flu shots were available to the public. Kids were encouraged to wear costumes and market customers received various giveaways. Since its opening day in June, the has market attracted more than 5,300 health-conscious visitors. Nearly 1,700 people also benefited from the free health services hosted weekly by the market. “We couldn’t be more pleased to close our second year with a fun event,” said Davis. The farmers market has become a community hub of health and wellness and will be featured in an upcoming highlights video produced by the New Jersey Partnership for Healthy Kids. A film crew was on site to interview patrons, healthcare workers, and […]

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Live Healthy Broadens Its Reach into Cumberland County

January 12, 2017

  Three new billboards along Cumberland County roadways in Vineland, Millville, and Bridgeton announce the expansion of Live Healthy into Cumberland County. “With many successes achieved in Vineland, it’s time to expand opportunities for healthier living to a broader population in our county,” said Lisa Scheetz, Director of Operations/COO of Cumberland Cape Atlantic YMCA. “For several years, Cumberland County has ranked last, or next-to- last, in nearly all measures of health outcomes. However, in that time, we have successfully tested programs in Vineland that address many of these health disparities.” Live Healthy will continue and improve upon its strategies in Vineland. At the same time, Millville and Bridgeton will choose from core strategies in Vineland to create their customized plans for long-term success. Together, these locations house approximately 75% of county residents. This important partnership of community leaders and residents is called Live Healthy Cumberland County, and includes Keep Healthy […]

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Vineland Residents Benefit from Farm-to-Pantry Partnership

January 12, 2017

Live Healthy Vineland (LHV) launched a farm-to-pantry pilot initiative that provided 312 families with fresh vegetables in 2016. This effort, along with others implemented through LHV’s Healthy Food Network, has made a positive impact at the dinner table in many Vineland homes. One beneficiary revealed that she had not had fresh produce in nine years. For another family, this was the first time the children had ever tasted fresh vegetables. This inability to procure fresh produce is not unusual in Vineland where over 40% of the children under age 11 are overweight or obese. Ninety percent of children in Vineland do not meet recommendations for vegetable consumption, and 27% of children eat vegetables less than once per day. The lack of fresh produce prompted Emma Lopez, Health Educator for the Vineland Health Department to help LHV conduct a needs assessment. During the winter of 2016, LHV surveyed food pantries to […]

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Get Healthy Camden Awarded $25,000 from General Electric’s Healthy Cities Leadership Academy Challenge

January 12, 2017

BUILT TO LAST: GAINING AN EDGE FROM PARTNERSHIP AND CROSS-SECTOR COLLABORATION session with: Elizabeth Mitchell, CEO, Network for Regional Healthcare Improvement (Moderator); David Erickson, Director, Community Development, U.S. Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco; and Kim Fortunato, Director, Community Affairs; President, Campbell Soup Foundation Get Healthy Camden is one of the nine winners from around the country of the General Electric (GE) HealthyCities Leadership Academy Open Innovation Challenge. Get Healthy Camden receives an initial award of $25,000 to help develop population health improvements through partnerships with public and private entities. Representatives from Get Healthy Camden’s partner organizations also are participating in GE’s HealthyCities Leadership Academy. The Academy is a year-long learning collaborative designed to mentor and support leaders in their communities as they develop and support new strategies to tackle population health challenges. The Academy kicked off with a two-day, in-person workshop at GE’s Global Leadership Institute in Crotonville, New […]

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