SHIP eNewsletter June-July 2012
City of Bloomington sent this bulletin at 07/16/2012 01:34 PM CDT|
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CommunityBloomington, Edina and Richfield farmers markets make healthy eating easier To eat healthy, the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010 advise us to fill HALF our plate with fruits and vegetables. Farmers markets make it easy and affordable with locally grown fruits and vegetables that are picked fresh and sold by the growers themselves. Take advantage of these farmers markets "in your own backyard." 
WIC and EBT benefits are accepted at the Bloomington and Richfield markets. Find out more about how to use EBT benefits at the market here. (2.2MB, 2-page PDF) View this chart (129KB, 1-page PDF) to find out what's in season so you can build your menu around what's available. You may want to try one of these:
Master Plan makes Richfield bicycle-friendlier If you start seeing more bicycle riders in Richfield, there is a reason. Richfield is living up to our state's bike-friendly reputation with a master plan for even more bike lanes and facilities. City leaders passed the plan recently in June, but it has been in the works since SHIP provided funding to hire a consultant over a year ago. The consultant facilitated the planning process with a task force of City staff and residents. The new bike lanes and facilities will make it easier for Richfield residents to make the healthy choice and bike to schools, parks, businesses and other destinations. More information:
Training helps Bloomington, Edina and Richfield concessionaires The availability of healthier snacks can make a difference to health - especially for teens. Studies indicate teens get almost one quarter of their daily caloric needs met from snacking (NHANES 2005-2006). When it comes to snacks at concession stands, part of the problem, as SHIP staff learned, is that many concessionaires haven't learned how to run a profitable food business with healthy options. After attending the Healthier Concessions training offered in April by SHIP, many indicated they were confident they could. Training participants learned the importance of developing systems for managing their menus, inventory and reaching their "cost of goods" goals. One eye-opening recommendation was to discontinue selling candy - not only because it is not healthy, it is not profitable. Another key benefit to this event was the opportunity for concession operators from the three cities to work together, share ideas and identify ways they can collaborate in the future. Last year, Edina Edinborough Park concessions revamped their menu to include healthier options. This summer both the Edina Aquatic Center and the remodeled concession stand at the Bloomington Aquatic Center opened with a healthier menu. All three venues have reached at least 40 percent healthier options. Ann Mosack, Bloomington Recreation Supervisor, said some of the improvements at the Bloomington Aquatic Center concession stand include offering only baked chips, fewer ice-cream options, eliminating pop and offering fresh sandwiches and string cheese. Offering healthier concessions is a good choice - for everyone! More information:
SHIP helps Bloomington's Christ the King grow to serve the community 
SHIP-supported gardens continue to lift the community in new and inspiring ways. Last year it was an astounding amount of produce donations to the food shelf and children's new found appreciation for vegetables. The newest SHIP-supported garden at Christ the King Church will literally serve the community (picture at right). One of 16 plots in the garden at Christ the King Church, located at 8600 Fremont, is dedicated to grow produce for use in the church's Wednesday night community suppers that typically serve around 200 dinners. Two other plots are dedicated to VEAP and the remaining 13 plots are available for church members and Bloomington residents. "The community garden provides us the opportunity to give back to the community," notes Amanda Simons, Intern Pastor at Christ the King Church. The garden has also become a centerpiece for their mission; "Come Grow with Us" is their message. If you are a Bloomington resident who would like to grow in one of the plots at Christ the King, call the church at 952-881-8600. More information:
Grant offered to start new community garden in Richfield Richfield-based groups are eligible to apply for up to $2,000 to start a new community garden in Richfield. The garden must serve Richfield residents. Applications are due by August 24, 2012 to the Bloomington Public Health Division. The Public Health Division will grant one award from Statewide Health Improvement Program funds to make the healthy choice the easy choice for Richfield residents.
More information:
SchoolsBloomington Oak Grove Middle School adds MORE garden space for students 
There are no garden naysayers at Oak Grove Middle School. Students designed and planted their SECOND schoolyard garden this spring in a second courtyard on school property (picture at right). Oak Grove Middle School Principal, Brian Ingemann, said he is grateful for the resources provided by SHIP. "As we prepare for our spring planting, we are looking to expand our planting of vegetables and herbs to create more garden to classroom learning experiences for all of Oak Grove Middle School students," he said. Among the classroom learning experiences, family and consumer science students learn the value of eating whole foods vs. processed foods. They learn that healthy food can be tasty and fun to prepare. In seventh grade science, students use the garden ecosystem to investigate the interconnectedness between organisms. Students from Oak Grove Middle School also helped turn the soil at the Westwood school garden to prepare it for the elementary students to plant. At Oak Grove Middle School, garden seeds ARE the seeds of knowledge, and now they have more to plant. It should be a healthy crop! More information:
Why would 59 students at Bloomington's Poplar Bridge Elementary School choose to stay after school? When 59 students choose to stay after school, it has got to be for something good. That's how many students attended the first-ever, after-school, garden club at Poplar Bridge Elementary School! What was the attraction? Under the guidance of fifth grade teacher, Matt Marohn, students met every other week during the months of April and May to plant seedlings, design their garden, use grow lights and a green house, compost, transplant seedlings, label plants and create a checklist for garden care during the summer. It's all akin to good old playin' in the dirt! One adult in attendance described the students' enthusiasm as palpable. One parent volunteer summed it up, "This is a great, healthy after-school activity that provides my child life-long lessons in gardening and healthy eating and will have a lasting impact in her life." That is definitely something good. More information:
WorksitesWork is "going well" at Tealwood Care Centers in Bloomington An investment in employee's health is money well spent considering the return in reduced health care costs and improved productivity. However, the employee charged with organizing an employee wellness program may find the investment easier said than done. The value of the do.town Worksite Wellness Coalition is in making that investment easier. That's why Angela Hanson, wellness coordinator of Tealwood Care Centers, joined the Coalition. According to Angela, Tealwood Care Centers has focused on resident wellness but have not done as much with staff. "By being a part of the coalition, I was looking for ways to make it easier to implement employee wellness," said Angela. "Being one person to promote wellness for employees at 40 different properties, I wanted a way to roll something out in an organized fashion." Through the coalition, Angela said she enjoys hearing about other worksites and what type of wellness goals they would like to work on. "The materials that do.town Worksite Wellness Consultants, Linda and Alex, provide are extremely valuable and will help to move forward with ideas I am unsure how to implement. The ideas on how to address leadership and goal planning with specific deadlines will help make things happen," she said. Angela writes a monthly newsletter and has implemented a yearly wellness challenge for the past 3 years. The challenges consist of weight loss, increasing physical activity, taking time for yourself and eating healthy. Tealwood also started a Take 5 Program that asks staff to gather once daily for 5 minutes and focus on deep breathing, visualization, stretching, listening to some music and sharing a positive thought. SHIP has played a supportive role to the do.town Worksite Wellness Coalition because improving employees' health is a shared goal. Policy, systems and environmental changes that make it easier for employees to get physical activity and have healthy food options during the work day are evidence-based SHIP strategies. More information about the Worksite Wellness Coalition:
What is the Worksite Wellness Coalition? Watch the Bloomington Today interview with Senior Worksite Wellness Consultant, Linda Pellowski, of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota to learn more here.
For Your InformationEdina Concord Elementary School growing too! SHIP has been the driving force behind many community and school gardens, and many community organizations and schools have responded enthusiastically. However, the driving force behind Edina Concord Elementary School's garden was all their own. The Concord Community Produce Garden is currently taking shape under the guidance of fifth-grade teacher, Chris Tower, and his helpers (Photo at right – credit L. Holland). The Concord school community is invited to donate time, effort, tools and/or financial support. Families are invited to adopt the garden, or part of it, for a week this summer. Adoptive families will be responsible for watering, weeding and harvesting. Harvested produce will be donated to the local food shelf and/or shared with the adoptive families. Enthusiasm for and participation in community and school gardens has done amazing things. Children are excited about fruits and vegetables and food shelf donations from last year's harvest reached nearly one ton. Now, Concord Elementary School is part of this growing trend. Learn more about the Concord Community Garden on their web page
Reuters: "Cities' efforts to make exercise easier pay off" This article sites Minneapolis-St. Paul at the top of the American College of Sports Medicine's 2012 American Fitness Index (AFI) list for the second year in a row. They attribute the 82.9% of people who report any physical activity in the last 30 days in part to a local government that has invested resources in park lands. Walter Thompson, chairman of the AFI Advisory Board, said, "A policy decision can dramatically impact environmental indicators, like smoking bans or bicycle lane ordinances." Read the entire online article here
Minnesota is now ranked the #2 Most Bike Friendly State! The League of American Bicyclists released its 2012 Bicycle Friendly States ranking with Minnesota in the #2 national spot. In the Midwest, Minnesota ranks #1! The Bicycle Friendly State Program ranks states based on scores in five categories: 1) legislation & enforcement, 2) policies & programs, 3) infrastructure & funding, 4) education & encouragement and 5) evaluation & planning. States receive feedback, technical assistance, training and further encouragement to improve their bicycling legislation, projects, and programs.
Visit this new website and you'll be greeted, "Welcome to Minnesota, the bike friendly state! Minnesota has more miles of paved rail-to-trail bikeways than any other state. So get out there and have some fun!" If biking in Minnesota is something you enjoy or want to know more about, check it out here. Watch their YouTube video here.
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