Recent Stories
September 6, 2019
In what was formerly a true food desert, 25 Vineland corner stores now sell and promote affordable, nutritious food to residents. Live Healthy Vineland introduced the Food Trust’s Healthy Corner Store Initiative in 2011. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation funded the initiative which is helmed by the Cumberland Cape Atlantic YMCA and the Vineland Health Department in partnership with the American Heart Association. Vineland’s Healthy Corner Stores benefit from consultation with The Food Trust and Live Healthy Vineland. Store owners receive advice on effective ways to display and promote healthy foods, and they can apply to purchase freezers and other equipment when grants become available. Not content to stop with Vineland, Live Healthy Vineland recruited corner stores in the three counties served by the Cumberland Cape Atlantic YMCA. They also included restaurants and food pantries in the network: 12 local pantries now receive fresh produce from Ploch Farms and the […]
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September 6, 2019
The Greenwood Ave. Farmers Market (GAFM) is a vibrant urban market celebrating its fifth year of operation in Trenton. The market is a product of policy and environmental work done by the New Jersey Partnership for Healthy Kids-Trenton (NJPHK-T), which was funded by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The Capital Area YMCA has been the operational arm of the market throughout its five years of existence, supported by the New Jersey YMCA State Alliance. In 2014 Marissa Davis, Project Director of NJPHK-T and Beth Feehan, employed by the Farm-to-Home initiative for the NJ Department of Agriculture, were standing in their office on Greenwood Avenue dreaming about transforming an unused lot next door into a beautiful fresh fruit and vegetable market. That dream became a reality the following summer. Each Monday community farmers, Isles and Norz Farm in Hillsborough, bring locally-grown produce and other healthy food products to Trenton residents. The […]
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September 6, 2019
New Brunswick has a unique housing market that poses many challenges for low- and moderate-income families. New Brunswick Tomorrow (NBT) is tackling these challenges head-on with the Healthy Housing Collaborative. The New Brunswick Healthy Housing Collaborative was created in 2017 as part of the BUILD Health Challenge sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The collaboration includes NBT, RWJH St. Peters, and the Middlesex County Department of Health. The goal is to improve health outcomes by identifying and mitigating the housing health hazards facing New Brunswick residents, particularly within the Esperanza and Unity Square neighborhoods. At the start of the program, a team of six community leaders were trained and deployed as Healthy Housing Ambassadors to conduct home assessments and assist residents in navigating challenges such as contaminants, safety hazards, pests, water/mold, lead and asbestos. Over 230 people signed up for housing assessments and 130 assessments have been […]
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September 6, 2019
Over the past two years, NJPHK has supported the “Believe in a Healthy Newark” conference. “The conference is designed to help the larger community become aware of and involved in building a culture of health in Newark,” said Dr. Denise Rodgers, Believe in a Healthy Newark grant recipient and Vice Chancellor, Interprofessional Development, Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences. About 400 participants representing community-based organizations, business, academia, health care institutions and the school system attended the event in 2018. NJPHK’s Dr. Darrin Anderson served on the steering committee and, in the past, moderated panel discussions on leveraging data and how to collectively make an impact in the community. The 2019 Believe in a Healthy Newark Conference will be held on September 26. For more information, contact Mary Long at Healthynewark@gmail.com SHARE:
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September 6, 2019
Transportation can be one route towards better health. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation kickstarted this thinking when they funded New Jersey Partnership for Healthy Kids to address social determinants of better health in Camden. The funding coincided with the City of Camden’s complete streets policy requiring municipal road projects to accommodate pedestrians, bicyclists, transit riders, drivers and people of all ages and abilities. One notable initiative was the four-month bike share pilot program, which made bicycling an affordable, convenient, and fun way for residents and visitors to get around the city. “The Bike-share pilot had huge momentum,” said Valeria Galarza, Senior Project Manager at Cooper’s Ferry Partnership. “Based on that success, we determined we needed to develop a robust plan to get people to move more and improve access to transportation to advance health outcomes.” The City of Camden is considering a few ideas, such as: Make Bike Sharing […]
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