Vineland
April 3, 2017
Healthy choices were on the dinner menu for South Jersey residents as Live Healthy Vineland (LHV) hosted its inaugural Healthy Dining Week during March 6 – 12, 2017 at 24 different restaurants. As one component of LHV’s Healthy Food Network, the Healthy Dining Initiative is an effort to promote healthy lifestyle choices by focusing on behavioral changes at retail food establishments. “We want families to see the healthy choices available at a variety of establishments,” said David Calderetti, project director for NJPHK-Vineland. Residents were encouraged to support local businesses who joined in the Healthy Dining Initiative. Each participating restaurant offered healthy dining specials on their menus. While dining, customers found table toppers with information on healthy options; placemats with games for children to play and learn about healthier food choices; and menu stickers indicating healthy items offered. The following restaurants participated in Healthy Dining Week: IHOP Friends and Family Diner […]
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February 13, 2017
On January 9th, Stockton University hosted the Nourishing Communities: Ingredients for Success Food Summit in Atlantic County. The conference was attended by state and local representatives who shared a similar goals – learning and sharing ways to improve food insecurity across communities in southern New Jersey. The Cumberland Cape YMCA and the Food Trust hosted a table at the event, educating participants about food access and the importance of healthy corner stores. “It’s encouraging to see that everyone has a desire to make changes in their local communities,” said David Calderetti, project director for New Jersey Partnership for Healthy Kids – Vineland. “Everyone should have access to healthy foods.” Other table hosts at the Summit focused on topics such as summer feeding programs, community gardens, mobile pantries, and farm-to-school programs. To learn more about the Cumberland Cape Atlantic YMCA, please visit their website here. SHARE:
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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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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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October 31, 2016
Twenty-one Vineland-area employers understand the value of improving, supporting and maintaining healthy behaviors in the workplace. Since 2015, Live Healthy Vineland (LHV) has worked with local businesses and organizations to design and implement interventions that positively impact employee health. On September 22, the City of Vineland, The Safeway Group and Elwyn of New Jersey were recognized for their efforts in fostering a culture of health and wellness at LHV’s inaugural 2016 Healthy Worksite Enrichment and Empowerment Conference. Programs established at Elwyn, The Safeway Group and the City of Vineland—all early adopters of LHV’s Healthy Worksite Program—serve as model participants. Other businesses, such as Progresso, have focused their programs on strategies that address the work environment. “Elwyn, a human services organization, fully understands the importance of engaging their employees in creating a culture of health,” said David Calderetti, Project Director for the New Jersey Partnership for Healthy Kids-Vineland. Peggy Barker, Pension […]
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September 29, 2016
“I am writing to express my gratitude to your group for collaborating to improve health outcomes for Atlantic City residents, by making the healthy choice the easy choice,” wrote New Jersey State Senator Jim Whelan to David Calderetti, project manager of New Jersey Partnership for Healthy Kids-Vineland (NJPHK-V). Whelan went on to commend the efforts of NJPHK-V and its partners, AtlantiCare, Rutgers SNAP-Ed and the Cumberland Cape Atlantic YMCA to facilitate a Corner Store Initiative for residents of Atlantic City that will “help expand healthy food selection in corner stores—providing access to foods and encouraging healthier eating habits.” Ten corner stores in Atlantic City have signed on to the Corner Store Initiative. The participating stores are located near schools to increase access to healthy food and snack options for students. Four of the stores are part of the Cedar Food Market, a family-owned business that operates corner stores in Atlantic […]
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July 20, 2016
Build it and they will come. That sort of visioning worked for baseball in Iowa in the film “Field of Dreams.” Could it produce a community garden behind a hardware store in Vineland? That’s what John Ruga wondered as he surveyed the empty field behind his store and envisioned Vineland residents planting, growing and harvesting fresh produce. Ruga, owner and operator of UR Hardware & General Store, knew that fresh vegetables were often hard to come by in the City of Vineland, and those that were available were expensive. He wanted to expand the garden section of his store, offer garden plots to residents and then watch those gardens grow. He shared his vision with Kim Tomlin a healthy living activist and community garden organizer, and it took off from there. Within a week Tomlin and Ruga put together a plan for establishing a community garden. They reached out to […]
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July 20, 2016
Live Healthy Vineland recognizes that funding one infrastructure project focused on the construction of new, or the enhancement of old pedestrian and bicycling facilities, will not be enough to change behavior and shift culture. That’s why New Jersey Partnership for Healthy Kids-Vineland (NJPHK-V), Cumberland Cape Atlantic YMCA, Vineland City’s Health and Engineering departments, and Vineland Public Schools—together applied for a second Safe Routes to School Infrastructure Grant. The goal is to continue the process of creating safe travel corridors for children to walk and bike to and from school. The grant focuses on the safety of children within a two-mile radius of a K- 8 elementary school, but the infrastructure projects facilitate travel for all residents in the community. “Vineland’s priority is increasing the safety of all those who bike or walk or would like to do so,” said David Calderetti, NJPHK-V project manager. The first phase of infrastructure improvements […]
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June 21, 2016
New Jersey Partnership for Healthy Kids-Vineland (NJPHK-V) successfully introduced The Food Trust’s Healthy Corner Store Initiative into Vineland. As a result, over 25 corner stores have expanded the sale and marketing of affordable, nutritious food to residents in lower-income communities, which often have limited access to healthy food choices. Now Live Healthy Vineland is exploring the feasibility of expanding the corner store model to create a Healthy Food Network, consisting of food pantries and restaurants, as well as corner stores. “The broader network will take into consideration all areas where food is accessible,” said David Calderetti, NJPHK-V Project Manager. Live Healthy Vineland has applied for a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to underwrite the effort. In the meantime, they are surveying Vineland food pantry directors and consulting with restaurant owners to create a strategic plan for expansion that will consider potential obstacles and opportunities to […]
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June 21, 2016
Park Hop, which offered Vineland residents opportunities to engage in planned physical activity at various Vineland city parks, was a welcome event last summer and this spring. But finding ways to sustain Park Hop activities through community and volunteer efforts has been less successful…until now. Starting in May, Park Hop-type activities became part of Vineland Fourth Fridays. “Instead of organizing and coordinating separate events, we are combining Park Hop with Fourth Fridays and providing fun physical activities for kids,” said David Calderetti, Project Manager of New Jersey Partnership for Healthy Kids-Vineland (NJPHK-V). One activity that helps kids move more is giant Tic-Tac-Toe, where two teams of participants run and drop bean bags on open squares to make the X and win the game. The activity combines both physical activity and mental stimulation. Calderetti said that Live Healthy Vineland also is looking for more opportunities to piggyback on existing events and […]
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