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The purpose of this newsletter is to provide quick contacts to KNN partner agencies and to other resources that might be helpful to our partners. You should be able to read this newsletter in less than 5 minutes – that’s our goal!

KNN September Newsletter

Welcome to the September 2006 issue of KNN’s email newsletter. Please visit our web site at www.kansasnutritionnetwork.org We are always interested in how our partners are “partnering” to improve nutrition and physical activity education throughout Kansas.
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Check out our new link on the KNN web site! On the main page there is now a Pick a Better Snack logo. Click on the link to find helpful hints with recipes.

Upcoming Meetings:

KNN 10th Anniversary Meeting!

October 20th in Wichita

From an article about breakfast: J. Michael Murphy, senior psychologist, Massachusetts General Hospital and associate professor of psychology, Harvard Medical: What I ate this morning: “Oatmeal -- right from the box -- and milk topped with raisins. I don't cook it. I checked with the scientists from Quaker and they said it is fine to eat it this way, too. Cooking the oats just softens them up.” (From Karen: I hope this gave you a little chuckle today!)

Bright Ideas for Using the Eat Smart. Play Hard.TM Materials NOW Available. The new edition of Bright Ideas for using the Eat Smart. Play Hard.TM materials can help you turn kids on to nutrition education! Teach kids to make a table tent mobile of the MyPyramid food groups, get families “geared up” for physical activity, and encourage community groups to plant their own “tasting garden!” http://www.fns.usda.gov/eatsmartplayhard/Collection/Files/BrightIdeas/brightideas7.pdf and visit our web site for previous editions and even more “Bright Ideas!”

What is the number one reason eligible low income people do not apply for food stamp benefits? They don’t know they are eligible. FNS offers an online pre-screening tool, known as “Step 1”, which tells users quickly and privately if they may be eligible for benefits and how much they could qualify for.
Link to “Step 1”: www.foodstamps-step1.usda.gov
Link to Order Envelopes: http://www.fns.usda.gov/fsp/outreach/general.htm
Link to Download “10 Steps”: http://www.fns.usda.gov/fsp/applicant_recipients/10steps.htm

"With each additional supermarket in a neighborhood, fruit and vegetable intake increased 32 percent among African Americans and 11 percent among whites living there." Research shows that middle- and higher-income neighborhoods have two to four times as many supermarkets as do low-income neighborhoods, which also have fewer fruit and vegetable markets, bakeries, specialty stores, and natural food stores. http://tinyurl.com/jcv5q
Secondary School Health Education Related to Nutrition and Physical Activity
Selected Sites, United States, 2004 full text

The Prevention Institute has a newly established "ENACT Local Policy Database"
http://www.preventioninstitute.org/sa/policies In addition to searching for items in the database (by topic, environment, keyword and jurisdiction), you may also submit a local policy.
Eat Smart North Carolina: Guidelines for Healthy Foods and Beverages at Meetings, Gatherings and Events. This colorful, planning tool provides practical guidelines for anyone who is in charge of the food served at events to choose lower fat, lower-calorie foods and drinks. A pdf version of the Eat Smart Healthy Meeting Guide can be downloaded from www.EatSmartMoveMoreNC.com and www.nc5aday.com
ANNOUNCING THE RELEASE of the updated and enhanced version of the popular "CDCynergy-Social Marketing Edition" planning tool and resource library.
www.turningpointprogram.org/Pages/socialmkt.html
WELL-BEING OF AMERICA'S CHILDREN: The 2005 version of the yearly report, America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, is out, with rankings on 26 key indicators that provide a snapshot of the state of US child poverty, health and overall well-being. To access the brief http://childstats.gov
Intake of sugar-sweetened beverages and weight gain: a systematic review
http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/84/2/274?ct
USDA issued the long-awaited proposed regulations to improve the nutritional value of the WIC food packages. The rule, Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC): Revisions in the WIC Food Packages, was posted in the Federal Register August 7, 2006: http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20061800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2006/06-6627.htm The WIC foods have not been substantially changed since the program’s beginnings in 1974.
The Kids Food newsletter: http://ucce.ucdavis.edu/counties/ceplacernevada/newsletterfiles/newsletter568.htm

Community Harvest Food Bank of Northeast Indiana released findings of a hunger study that portray a typical food bank client as single, white and female in her 30s or 40s with a young child and a high school diploma, earning about $7.70 an hour. The study showed that many food bank clients have to make choices between buying food and paying for heat, rent or medical expenses. http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/15134639.htm
PARENTAL TIME, ROLE STRAIN, AND CHILDREN'S FAT INTAKE AND OBESITY-RELATED OUTCOMES This study uses a unique dataset to examine parental influence on children's dietary intake and whether or not the children will become obese. The study shows that household income, parents' time spent with children, and parents' work experiences significantly affect children's energy and fat intake and obesity-related outcomes. See http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/CCR19/
I think our 5 minutes is just about up. Send an email to Karen Fitzgerald kfitzger@ksu.edu if you have information you want to include in next month’s KNN email newsletter.
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