http://willconnect.org/stories/posts/ WILLConnect Feed http://cdn.atlas.illinois.edu/will.illinois.edu/images/ipmlogo6.png http://willconnect.org/stories/posts/ http://willconnect.org/stories/6th-annual-hunger-symposium http://willconnect.org/stories/6th-annual-hunger-symposium Sean Powers Thu, 22 Nov 2012 10:26:34 -0600 stories The 6th annual Hunger Symposium on Sept. 18, 2012 at Provena Covenant Medical Center in Urbana, Ill. Listen to excerpts the 6th Annual Hunger Symposium, exploring childhood hunger, hosted Sept. 18 by the Eastern Illinois Foodbank. Speakers included Barbara Fiese, with the University of Illinois’ Family Resiliency Center, Dawn Melchiorre with the No Kid Hungry Campaign and the Illinois Commission to End Hunger, Larry Joseph with Voices for Illinois Children, the Eastern Illinois Foodbank’s Andrea Rundell, and Charleston High School Principal Diane Hutchins. Poverty Health Food http://willconnect.org/stories/local-foods-movement-increases-in-c-u http://willconnect.org/stories/local-foods-movement-increases-in-c-u Pam Dempsey Tue, 17 Jul 2012 18:48:31 -0500 stories Between 6,000 and 7,000 people visit Urbana's Market at the Square each weekend. Interest nationwide in local foods has increased dramatically over the past decade, netting the industry billions in sales each year. (Funded in part by a grant from the Lumpkin Family Foundation) Sales of locally grown foods are up in the Champaign-Urbana area as new farmer’s markets start up, and more consumers turn to buy local produce. Urbana resident Clark McPhail likes fresh food. So, nearly every Saturday in the summer, he bikes to Urbana’s Market at the Square and browses through the dozens of vendors to shop for fruits and vegetables. “In the summertime, 70 percent of our vegetable produce I buy here are from the farmer’s market or Common Ground,” McPhail said. “I don’t mind paying a little extra for quality produce." Local food sales are a billion-dollar industry and a growing one, according to a 2012 federal report. Urbana’s Market at the Square, for example, nets between 6,000 and 7,000 visitors each Saturday. Local foods sold either directly to the consumer or through restaurants or grocery stores netted nearly $5 billion in sales nationwide, according to data from the USDA 2008 Agriculture Resource Management Survey, the most recent available. Most of the sales were through grocery stores and restaurants, with direct sales to consumers netting nearly $900 million. And though local food programs have roots dating back to the 1930s, mainstream interest has taken a sharp increase over the past decade, according to the federal 2012 report. This trend is mirrored in Champaign-Urbana with new farmer’s markets on North First Street and the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District as well as an increase in community gardens in underserved areas, such as Lierman Neighborhood and north Champaign. In the Lierman Neighborhood area, Urbana officials worked with residents to help secure water and land for the garden, which is on the corner of Lierman and Washington streets. “We are building a garden because we believe it will offer access to fresh vegetables at an affordable price and in a convenient location for people interested in growing food for themselves or their neighbors,” said Robin Arbiter, a participant in the Lierman Neighborhood Action Committee. The increase in farmer’s markets and community gardens both locally and nationally aim to fill a need in food deserts - where residents are more than a mile away from fresh produce – or to help sustain a local economy. Dawn Blackman, the steward of the Randolph Street Community Garden, launched a small farmer’s market at a fish market near the garden last year to help residents in the neighborhood buy fresh food. “Some of the gas stations carry bananas and oranges and apples everywhere but here, you know, so unless they can go to north Prospect, they can’t shop for food,” she said. To support sustainability and economic development among the local food industry, Champaign County Board of Member Pattsi Petrie pushed the board to create the Champaign County Local Foods Policy Council. In March, the county board approved a resolution creating the council, which had its first meeting in June. “I view it as economic development and the kind of economic development that keeps money in the county,” Petrie said. Another goal is for preservation or to make use of vacant land, much like the upcoming community garden in Lierman Neighborhood, she said. “Local food can be on a few odd-shaped acres,” Petrie said. The local foods council is made up entirely of members from the community. Its goals include economic development for local food systems as well as small business loans and “to encourage the offering of better and fresher food locally,” according to the resolution. While generally referred to as food grown within a certain region or geography, there lacks a standard definition of “local food.” The local requirement for vendors at the Urbana’s Market at the Square is anywhere within the state of Illinois. “But because we are strict about staying within Illinois borders for our producers, people who produce really great melons 45 minutes away in Indiana can’t attend," said Lisa Bralts, director of the market. "So, that’s where the concept of local gets a little weird." Other farmer’s markets may differ, Bralts said, and may limit their vendors to a 100-mile radius, for example. The radius for defining local vendors is up to each farmer’s market. Urbana’s Market at the Square follows a guideline set by the market’s beginnings in the late 1970s. “The lack of a universally agreed-upon definition, however, does raise questions about “what is a local food” and may also provide opportunities for fraud in the marketplace with the sale of foods that are marketed as “local” when they cannot be determined to be local,” according to the 2012 USDA report. This is why Bralts verifies that every vendor grows or makes the items they sell each weekend. “Our market is a producer-only market, which means that if it’s being sold at the market then the person who made it or grew it has to be there or a representative has to be there. So there’s no resale,” Bralts said. To that end, Bralts will visit the farmers who apply to be a vendor at the farmer’s market. “Most people who visit the farmers market and buy things from a farmer even for many years will never take a trip to that farm," she said. "So, I feel like it’s part of my job to sort of be an ambassador from the farmers to the public." Bralts recently visited Blue Moon Farm, a long-time vendor at the market about 10 miles outside of town. It is one of the 45 local food producers within a 25-mile radius of Champaign, according to the University of Illinois digital tool, MarketMaker, which connects consumers with local food. Jon Cherniss, who owns Blue Moon Farm, grew up on an egg farm in Southern California and used to make regular egg deliveries to McDonald’s during his high-school and early college years. Defining local, he said, depends on a consumer’s goals. “If it’s flavor and taste then wherever you need to go to get that specific flavor and taste,” Cherniss said. “If it’s about community and your neighbor and building a stronger community, then … it gets much closer.” Food Agriculture Business Health http://willconnect.org/stories/community-gardens-grow-food-friendships http://willconnect.org/stories/community-gardens-grow-food-friendships Pam Dempsey Mon, 16 Jul 2012 18:30:25 -0500 stories Community gardens are part of the production side of our local food system. They’re places where people who don’t have space for a garden, lease, or are given, free-of-charge, a small plot of land to grow fruits and vegetables. (Funded in part by a grant from the Lumpkin Family Foundation) Champaign's oldest residential neighborhood sits inside Church, Neil and Lynn streets. Known as the Sesquicentennial Neighborhood, it’s also home to the Randolph Street Community Garden – one of 20,000 community gardens nationwide. Community gardens are shared spaces where - residents can grow and harvest their own food . Some community gardens charge a small rental fee and others, like this one, are rent free, though people are asked to donate $10 to offset a few expenses such as the portable, on-site restroom. The garden is overseen by volunteer Dawn Blackman, who also runs Culture Club, a youth program at a church nearby. “We have people who come to garden here who might not meet one another otherwise and who establish relationships and learn about because they are a part of the garden,” she said. “It also helps because so many people are I’m a renter, I don’t have a backyard, this is my backyard.” Blackman became the garden’s steward in 2006 as a way to continue the club’s garden bed when the garden faced closure for lack of staff. Today, she manages the garden beds, maintains equipment , organizes events and keeps up with the garden’s website. The garden grew from 8 beds in 2006 to 32 beds today. Neighbors near and far have staked claims on the beds. Dawn’s youth group grows produce for the Eastern Illinois Food Bank and other social service agencies. Children from the Culture Club meet once a week to get a lesson in cooking and sharing. Earlier this spring, children piled into the Church of the Bretheren building on nearby Neil Street for their weekly cooking session. They donned paper hats and aprons and got busy chopping and dicing the produce that Dawn Blackman had ready for them. It was soup day – last year, the group made more than 100 containers of soup. “Well, today is Thursday. And on Thursday, any of the children who drop in to the Culture Club make soup for the Time Center," Blackman said. "We do this as our regular Thursday activity. In the summertime, we use the vegetables from our garden. In the winter time we have to go with canned and produce that we get from Eastern Illinois Food Bank. We want to learn, we want to teach the children is that there are people who need help and there are things that they can do to help people." The kids move around the kitchen with ease and seem reluctant to move out. The weekly cooking sessions too have more than one lesson. “They’re learning skills they’ll be able to take forward with them in life. And they’re learning things that they can do at home,” Blackman said. “By the end of the season, they’ve made almost every kind of soup imaginable. And they can make them at home. And we’re not doing recipe soup where they have to do everything fine tuned. It’s not gourmet soup, but it’s really good soup.” Between growing produce and cooking it, the kids are adding something else to the list: selling it. Last year, they sold their first cash crop in front of a fish market down the street. The children who helped sell produce were allowed to keep 20 percent of their sales. “My goal is to have a cash crop for the garden so the money goes to build new beds when we need new beds, replace new tools, get hoses,” Blackman said. At the Randolph Street Garden, five-year-old Cody Sweet is learning to plant sunflowers. His mother, Clara, said that the garden grows more than food. “I would say again with the giving and the receiving part of it, helping each other and helping his friends … and dig in the mud and get dirty if they’re not really used to getting dirty and just being able to help each other and learn from each other, pretty good life lessons,” she said. Agriculture Health Food http://willconnect.org/stories/healthy-cooking-101 http://willconnect.org/stories/healthy-cooking-101 Sean Powers Sun, 15 Jul 2012 19:20:50 -0500 stories It’s easy to be swayed to turn to fast and affordable food that may not be healthy. But in Urbana, Illinois there’s a push to teach people the basics of healthy cooking on a budget. (Funded in part by a grant from the Lumpkin Family Foundation) It is easy to be swayed to turn to fast and affordable food that may not be healthy. But in Urbana, there’s a push to teach people the basics of healthy cooking on a budget. At Urbana High School, Amanda Perez teaches an independent living class that aims to prepare teenagers as they enter the “real world.” “So, we’re preparing students to live on their own,” Perez explained. “So, a lot of that is focused on the financial career aspect, but what goes into that is, ‘Ok, you’re living on your own. What kind of food are you going to eat because the kind of food that you eat kind of influences everything else you do?’" Perez is working with teenagers to help them think about think about food differently. Students in the class are required to prepare a healthy meal on a budget with ingredients that meet the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s new dietary recommendations. "So, they came up with some creative stuff,” Perez added. “We had some stir fry with whole grain rice. That was good. Some of my students made Mexican pizzas. We always tried to think if you’re using a grain and what kind of grain is a healthier choice." Kaitlyn Breitenfeldt and Miranda Bullok took the class this past year. They say they have been making a conscious effort to eat healthy for a while now – even before the class. "(Eating healthy) means eating things that are healthy for you and not just ramen noodles,” Breitenfeldt said. "Even though you don’t have a lot of money, you can still make healthy things." “Even in college, when you’re on a limited budget, you’re supposed to be studying and working hard, and you can’t do that on unhealthy foods,” Bullok added. “So, being able to make healthy stuff, and not break your budget.” But Urbana High School student Tessla Varvel, who was also in the class, is just now starting to think about the importance of home cooking. “I know it’s important to eat healthy, but I don’t really apply it as much as I probably should to my life,” Varvel said. In fact, Varvel said what she is learning in the independent living class is beginning to rub off on her at home where she is starting to talk to her parents about healthy eating. “I mean my parents, they don’t really cook,” she said. “So, they kind of poorly influence me to eat out and stuff…and also frozen pizza and I hate frozen pizza now. My parents didn’t really cook as much so it’s just grown on me.” Teacher Amanda Perez is going out in the community, studying efforts to start up cooking classes, like the Common Ground Food Co-Op’s “Eating Healthy on a Budget” class. Mary Higgs, who works at the Co-Op, said eating healthy on a budget doesn’t have to be a chore. Higgs recently led one of the cooking demonstrations where about 10 people, including Perez, showed up. “I like to make my food fun, and I get tired of food very easily,” Higgs told the group. “That’s why one of the reasons I’m trying to cook more in bulk and do a lot more freezes, so that I’m not eating the same thing literally the next day.” Common Ground General Manager Jacqueline Hannah began offering the “Eating Healthy on a Budget” classes about three years ago. Hannah said the classes are designed to be convenient, even for people leading busy lives. "People aren’t actually lazy. People do care about their food,” Hannah said. “They do care about their health. We’re told we don’t, but we have very crazy, busy lives. How are we going to fit in our lives? When we make it fit, we make it a time when they can come and get skills they want to use, they want to be there.” The Common Ground Food Co-Op is expanding in the fall, and so are the courses. In a new area of the store, there will be more space for cooking classes – equipped with an oven, refrigerator, sinks, counter tops, and cabinets. Meanwhile, a separate kitchen for the rest of the store will be located upstairs. Hannah said she has been approached by dozens of people eager to share their knowledge. ”People can come in and teach classes on how to put healthy food in children’s diets; people who want to come in and talk about eating healthy with diabetes or learn about phytonutrients and why they matter,” Hannah said. “We’ve also been approached by people who want to make cheese, as well as roll your own sushi. So, it’s very diverse.” Like any sort of home economics class, Common Ground’s teaching kitchen doesn’t have to be permitted by the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District. That’s because the food made there is meant to stay within the parameters of the class, and not be distributed to the general public. Environmental Health Director Jim Roberts said one thing that’s missing from the cooking class is proper education about food-borne illnesses. “For example, did you know cut melons are potentially a hazardous food? That they need to be handled carefully? So, you didn’t know that, but we know that,” Roberts said. “So, if someone wants to go in there and talk about how to make something with melons, they should be aware that melons are potentially hazardous food. They support the growth of pathogenic organisms, in this case salmonella.” While Roberts wants to see his office have more of a role in public health education during cooking classes, he said there is also a need to provide a type of kitchen that can serve as a launching pad for entrepreneurs. “I think people always have dreams of entering the food business and having this regulator permitted kitchen often times as a barrier. That’s why we encourage people to go to already permitted kitchens to get started,” Roberts said. “Once it takes off, just like how they have other incubator businesses, after a period of time you let them stand alone, and then bring other people in.” A business incubator kitchen was the original intent of the Flatlander Food Foundry, a fund set up to raise money for such an effort in the area. But this year, that money was re-directed to the Common Ground Food Co-Op’s new teaching kitchen. Common Ground’s General Manager Jacqueline Hannah said a business incubator kitchen is costly, and not in her plans at the moment. But she said long-term, it’s not off the table. “It’s something I’m interested in, Hannah said. "But we just didn’t see enough demand right now to go forward with that.” Food Health Education http://willconnect.org/stories/culture-a-key-to-a-healthier-latino-community http://willconnect.org/stories/culture-a-key-to-a-healthier-latino-community Sean Powers Sun, 20 May 2012 19:34:31 -0500 stories The obesity epidemic in this country is running rampant, and it’s hitting Latinos especially hard. A University of Illinois program seeks to address that issue by focusing on how culture impacts health. (Funded in part by a grant from the Lumpkin Family Foundation) The obesity epidemic in this country is running rampant, and it’s hitting Latinos especially hard. A program at the University of Illinois seeks to address that issue by focusing on the connection between culture and health. According to the Centers for Disease Control, Hispanics have lower mortality rates due to stroke, cancer, and heart disease compared to non-Hispanics. However, deaths caused by diabetes are higher among Hispanics compared to non-Hispanics. Northwestern University Professor Aida Giachello studies health disparities in the Latino community. “That kind of paradox is the one that we call the epidemical paradox among Latino,” Giachello said. “The paradox emerges about why people who have low levels of education and income may still do better in a number of health indicators.” Giachello said the “epidemical paradox” can be seen with a variety of immigrant populations. She said Latinos are generally much healthier when they first come to the United States – they smoke and drink less, work out more. “Some cultural factors could be that they continue eating the kinds of foods that they ate back home,” Giachello said. “They’re embedded in a family system where they get emotional and social support...including money whenever they need that.” But Giachello said the health of Latino immigrants gradually declines after they come to the United States. If they don’t smoke or drink, she said they’re more likely to start. If they eat fresh fruits or vegetables, then she said they’re more likely to turn to fast food out of convenience and affordability. She also said there are other pressures that can take a toll on a person’s mental health – like being undocumented, unemployed, or not making enough money. “In other words, it is our view that living in the United States is a danger to your health,” Giachello said. However, Giachello said there is something else to think about - bad health decisions can not only affect first generation immigrants, but they can also impact second and third generations. Milagros Jerrell at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign wants to stop that from happening. Jerrell helps coordinate a wellness program for Spanish-speaking immigrant families with school-age children. The program is called Abriendo Caminos. “It’s very sad that Latinos are the race more prone to obesity for one reason or another, and we are trying to change that,” Jerrell said. “We don’t want, you know 50 years from now, to have a population of Latinos all sick.” Abriendo Caminos involves a series of workshops over a six-week period. The program promotes healthy eating, positive family interactions, and active living. So far, nearly a hundred families have participated over a two-year period. Angela Wiley is a U of I professor in human and community development. She leads the program. “The idea for us is that interventions must be culturally tailored, and so we know about the Latino community that there is a strong familialism that the culture really orients around,” Wiley said. That focus on familialism that can go a long way in this particular community. The workshops include brief lectures, discussion, hands-on demonstrations and separate 30-minute nutrition classes for parents that are taught in Spanish. Children also take part in classes taught in both Spanish and English. The curriculum is based on dietary guidelines released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which indicate that fruits and vegetables should compose half of every meal. Wiley said families are shown how to prepare meals that taste and look like the meals of their home countries. “So, they might have had a favorite fruit that they could get on a tree outside of their house for free that was very nutritious, but now that they’re here in this environment they no longer have that,” Wiley said. “One has to be almost a detective in the grocery store.” Wiley said Abriendo Caminos encourages families to spend more time together at the dinner table. They also learn about boosting physical activity through culturally relevant activities, such as Latin dancing. Michelle and Marcos Tavárez and their four-year-old daughter, Eva, took part in Abriendo Caminos in 2009 within about a year after coming to the United States from the Dominican Republic. They now live in Urbana. To stay healthy, they have made some lifestyle changes that reflect their culture. For example, dancing is now a regular routine for them around dinnertime. With Maranga music blaring from a stereo, Michelle chases Eva in the family room. "I try to chase Eva dancing, but she needs to dance Maranga to do that," Michelle said, smiling in Eva's direction. In the kitchen, all three prepare dinner. On the menu - chicken, corn, grapes, a Dominican–style red beans and rice recipe known as Moro, and a salad made by Eva. With the exception of the salad, the Tavárezes control each person’s portions. Marcos cooks the chicken, while Eva washes vegetables. “Are you all done with this?” Michelle said to Eva. Yes, mommy,” Eva replied. “Remember to wash very carefully,” Michelle said. “Mommy, I’ll wash them,” Eva said. In order to stay healthy, the Tavárezes are spending more money on food. They have also had to change their perspective on the world – moving away from the belief that overfeeding and overeating are always good to do. “My dad is almost 75 now, and when I was a kid - this is going to sound very strange for you – the way he used to compliment ladies was, ‘Wow, you really are fat,’” Marcos said. “Here if you tell a lady, 'You are fat,' I don’t think she takes that kindly." Michelle said in her culture, it was also encouraged to raise children to be overweight. “Like if you have kind of chubby kids, you assume that the kid is healthy, and it’s a myth but it’s still there you know,” she said. “If you have like a very thin little kid then these parents don’t worry about this little kid, ‘Look at him or look at her.’ ”So yeah, that’s funny now." Michelle and Marcos say being healthy in America can be a tug of war with their culture. But they say it is a sacrifice that makes sense, especially for their daughter, Eva. “We still have a strong culture, but now it’s kind of fighting the culture, changing a little bit to work harder,” Michelle said. “And then if we are healthier, then she will be healthier than us.” “I just agree with what she said,” Marcos said. “I mean like we have a lot of information now. Back in the day, our parents may not have had all the information to make a wise decision. We have no excuse.” The Tavárezes eventually gather around the table. They have plates in front of them – each with moderated serving sizes. Before they eat, they pray. Michelle leads the prayer: “Thank you God for this food, and thank you God for this wonderful moment in family. Allow us to enjoy the food and provide this food to those who don’t have anything on the table this month. In Jesus’ name...Amen.” Related Links: Abriendo Caminos Health Disparities Among Latinas Leading Causes of Death by Different Ethnic Groups Urbana Schools Expand Nutrition Education (Related) Initiative Encourages Biking, Walking to School (Related) Annual C-U Event Pushes People to Bike Ride (Related) Hospital Offers Employees Incentives to Stay Healthy (Related) Unit 4 Tries to Stay Ahead of Nutrition Standards (Related) Champaign County Schools Adopt Anti-Obesity Initiative (Related) Champaign Middle School Adds Exercise Machines (Related) Danville School Integrates Health, Wellness in Curriculum (Related) Food Health Culture Dance Music People University Of Illinois http://willconnect.org/stories/urbana-schools-expand-nutrition-education http://willconnect.org/stories/urbana-schools-expand-nutrition-education Sean Powers Sun, 13 May 2012 19:29:37 -0500 stories Snack time in elementary school may have once been a break from the day’s lesson, but now it’s part of it in the Urbana School District.. (Funded in part by a grant from the Lumpkin Family Foundation) Snack time in elementary school may have once been a break from the day’s lesson, but now it’s part of it in the Urbana School District. Christy Crouch teaches kindergarten at Thomas Paine Elementary School in Urbana. During a visit to the class, her students prepared to bravely go where some of them have never gone before - snack time with a plum. “We’re going to try something that maybe some of you have had, but maybe some of you haven’t,” Crouch tells her students. "I’m going to show you what it is and I’m going to tell you its name. We are going to have something called a red…” The class responds: “Plum!” Twice a week, students at Thomas Paine try a different kind of fruit or vegetable, and then have a discussion about it, as part of an initiative funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program. Schools are chosen for the program based on the number of students eligible for free and reduced lunches. Ms. Crouch's students look on as she points to a poster labeled ‘We Predict.’ She instructs her students to make educated guesses about the makeup of a red plum – is it sweet or sour, or does it have seeds or is it seedless? By the end of the discussion, most of the students correctly predict that a red plum is sweet, but they are nearly split on whether or not it has seeds. Then comes the moment of the truth....the taste test… “So, when you actually tried your plum, was it sweet or sour?” Crouch asked her class. “Sweet and sour!” responds the class. “So, it was sweet and a little bit sour,” Crouch said. “Did it end up having a seed? “Yes!” the kids say. In another part of the building, fourth grade teacher Brianna Garrett introduces a plum to her students, but it seems to be less of a surprise to them. Garrett said she tries to come up with different ways to expand nutrition education in the classroom. “For my older kids, I’m really trying to promote more of a healthy lifestyle more or less than just having a snack,” Garrett said. Garrett, who also teaches physical education, said she likes to emphasize the importance of exercise through different games and activities. “I separated my class into six groups for the different groups of the food pyramid. In the middle of the gym, I had note cards scattered all over that had different foods,” Garrett explained. “I did a different physical activity. You either had to run, hop to the middle of the gym, pick up a card that matched your food groups. So, if you were grains and you got a cereal card, you could run it back to your team.” Thomas Paine’s Principal, Sandra Cooper, said exposing kids to many different types of healthy foods at a young age can have a profound impact on them later in life. “We have to start now where it becomes just part of their life,” Cooper said. “Just like we teach them to say please and thank you, it’s just part of their life and they know what is good for them versus making unhealthy choices.” The Urbana School District has made subtle changes to the school lunch menu – more chicken wraps, salads, and fresh fruit. It is not yet clear how that is going over with students, but school officials say they hope the fruits and veggies program encourages kids to eat what is on their plate, rather than tossing out food that is good for them. In the school cafeteria at Thomas Paine Elementary, a group of fourth graders sit together during lunchtime. Chris Cross is 5’2 and roughly 145 pounds. He eats two hamburgers and pours syrup all over his eggs. He said he needs to lose weight, especially if he wants to one day become a professional basketball player. “I want the Heats to draft me, and then I’m going to switch to the Lakers,” Cross said. “I’m not retiring until I’m 70 years old.” Cross, who acknowledges that he is overweight, said he is going on a diet to get in better shape for his sports activities. “I’m afraid of getting symptoms, like diabetes and stuff like that,” he said. “Most of the things I like are sugary snacks. I can have like second servings, but I have to watch if it’s healthy or not.” Cross said the food changes at Thomas Paine Elementary - both in the classroom and in the cafeteria - should help him make the changes he said he needs to make. Educators in Urbana have noticed students are also talking more about healthy eating at home. One such student is Chris Cross’ friend, Nick Probst. “My dad is eating healthier, and I know that I’m going to be like him if I keep on eating this junk,” Probst said. “So, I just want to thank him for reminding me about that and I hope he stays on his diet.” Jill McPike helps coordinate the fruits and veggies program at Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School in Urbana. Twice a year, she surveys parents of King students to determine how well the program is working. “One family started eating kiwi because the student had it here,” McPike said. “I’ve also had a parent who has said their child is more interested in looking at the fruits and vegetables when they go shopping. That comes back to us, telling us that the program is working.” “I’ve been in education now for 20-plus years, and I guess thinking back I don’t think I really felt like it was the school’s responsibility to be teaching kids these kinds of things,” said Jennifer Ivory-Tatum, the principal at King Elementary. “As a classroom teacher, we always taught about the four food groups, and you taught the children the food pyramid. You gave them basic nutrition information, but not to the level of what we’re doing today.” Ivory-Tatum’s school has taken a slightly different approach to the fruits and veggies grant by tying lessons to the calendar. For example, each day in April, in conjunction with the Illinois Marathon, students tried a different healthy snack designed to boost energy for things like biking and running. “People have to go the extra mile to put those values in kids early because if we can do it when they’re in elementary then hopefully it will carry with them as they get older and go to middle school and high school and when they have their own families,” she said. That is a projection that could make an eggplant, honeydew, or a red juicy plum less of a mystery even to a hungry grade school student. Related Links: Initiative Encourages Biking, Walking to School (Related) Annual C-U Event Pushes People to Bike Ride (Related) Hospital Offers Employees Incentives to Stay Healthy (Related) Unit 4 Tries to Stay Ahead of Nutrition Standards (Related) Champaign County Schools Adopt Anti-Obesity Initiative (Related) Champaign Middle School Adds Exercise Machines (Related) Education Health Food http://willconnect.org/stories/nationwide-initiative-encourages-biking-walking-to-school http://willconnect.org/stories/nationwide-initiative-encourages-biking-walking-to-school Sean Powers Sun, 06 May 2012 15:00:08 -0500 stories There is a nationwide effort to make walking and biking to school safer and more appealing, but threats to federal funding and concerns over child safety issues could hamper it. (Funded in part by a grant from the Lumpkin Family Foundation) A nationwide initiative known as Safe Routes to School is designed to make walking and biking to school safer and more appealing. But threats to federal funding and concerns over child safety issues could hamper it. On a clear, sunny afternoon, Emily Svendsen walks a couple of blocks from her home in Urbana to Wiley Elementary School. She lives in an area of town where there are no sidewalks. Her house is located on a cul-de-sac. Still, she makes sure her kids walk to school. Svendsen is part of a network of parents in the neighborhood who take turns escorting as many as 10 kids to and from school each day. “It’s still a school bus,” Svendsen said. “We’re just a walking school bus.” Svendsen picks up her daughter from Wiley Elementary, along with several other kids. They say walking to school is a highlight of their day. “It’s usually really nice in the mornings. The cool crisp air and the frost crunching under my feet,” Erin Minor said. “I really like it. It’s just that you can get some good exercise, especially when it’s a nice day,” Isaac Lee said. “I like it because I get to spend time with my friends, and I don’t like driving in the car as much as I do walking in the mornings,” Fia Svendsen said. Fia’s mom, Emily, said in addition to the peace of mind that comes from knowing that these kids are safe, she’s made some great friendships with other neighborhood parents “You don’t really get that same sense when you’re sitting in your car, waiting for your child to come out and run to the car, but also it’s just building exercise into your day, getting fresh air on a regular basis. I just love that neighborhood school feeling, you know?” Svendsen said. To help maintain that feeling, the federal government doles out $183 million to states as part of the Safe Routes to School program...$21 million of which went to Illinois this year. The money helps support infrastructure projects and bike safety campaigns. But no matter how much money goes into efforts like a “walking school bus,” there may be some resistance from people concerned about safety. Brandy Clegg lives about a mile from Wiley Elementary. She usually drives her eight-year-old son to school. But a couple days each week, a parent of one of her son’s friends watches as the two kids walk to school. Clegg doesn’t talk to many of the other parents in the neighborhood, and doesn’t have a large network of parents to rely on like the Svendsens do. Still, she admits a “walking school bus” sounds like a good idea, but she has concerns about letting her child walk to school every day. “I worry about somebody kidnapping him. I worry about cars running him over and hitting him. We have older kids in the neighborhoods that I don’t trust. They can be mean, and the whole bully issue,” Clegg said. “I know what it’s like to be that parent and want to protect to the 9th degree,” said Rose Hudson, a coordinator for the C-U Safe Routes to School Project, an effort in Champaign-Urbana to promote physical activity. “You know, it’s just kind of natural, but you have to look at the other side and it’s like are we overprotecting them to the point of health risks?” Hudson said she hears stories from parents all the time about why they don’t want their kids walking to school. She worries not doing more to boost physical activity among youth will add to the country’s obesity epidemic. “You know, I think the big thing that people need to think about is that the habits that you instill in your kids when they are young are the habits that are probably going to stick with them into adulthood,” Hudson said. An analysis of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s nationwide travel survey conducted by the National Center for Safe Routes to School found that in 1969, 48 percent of elementary and middle school students walked or biked to school. But by 2009, that figured dropped to 13 percent. While safety and convenience are two reasons parents drive their kids to school, distance can be an issue. While in Urbana, students tend to go to school close to home, in Champaign they can usually attend any Unit 4 school regardless of where they live. That can create obstacles for students who want to bike to school, but live too far away to do it. Gabe Lewis is a transportation planner with the Champaign County Regional Planning Commission. He worked with Stratton Elementary School in Champaign to find solutions to the distance issue. He says the kids there want to walk to school, but they just need a safer environment to do it. “We have some strategies to combat that where one thing is a park and walk program where parents can park a short distance from the school and the parent and child can walk the rest of the way to the school,” Lewis said. Lewis said to help out with the park and walk program, an enhanced crosswalk will be built east of the school thanks a recent Safe Routes to School grant. Nearby, Eureka Street will also get a block of new sidewalk, and Neil Street will get permanent speed flash back signs. Meanwhile, the wheels are in motion for a regular bike education course at Champaign’s Booker T. Washington Elementary. Physical education teacher Derrick Cooper envisions renting out bicycles for all of his K- 5 students, and then going over basic safety tips before allowing them to ride on the school’s blacktop. “I’m really into doing non-traditional things like that. I started a yoga unit that was highly successful that I don’t see other elementaries really picking up on and really doing. I’m just all about the life-long activities,” Cooper said. “After they leave me, after they leave this program at Washington, how are they going to stay active?” And that’s the big question…how are these kids going to stay active? Safe Routes to School is intended to play a big part in that. The U.S. House of Representatives considered a bill this year to eliminate federal support for the program. Congressman Tim Johnson (R-Urbana) is a member of the House Transportation Committee. He introduced an amendment to preserve the funding, but it failed in committee. “I think that in terms of our effort to try to curtail childhood obesity, to provide safe routes to schools, to provide for a bike friendly, walking friendly nation, that these cuts send a very wrong message,” Johnson said. But Congressman John Shimkus (R-Collinsville) said with the nation’s economic problems, the country could - for now - go without funding Safe Routes to School. Shimkus represents the southern part of the state, but he is running for re-election in a new congressional district that includes parts of Champaign County. “I do understand how Safe Routes to School is probably pretty important to a university community that prides itself on its abilities, but it’s not that big of a deal in 33 counties in southern Illinois,” Shimkus said. “We’re rural. We’re small. We use buses and cars.” Geographical challenges aside, Margo Pedroso with the Safe Routes to School National Partnership said rural communities do have a stake in Safe Routes to School funding. “Forty-one percent of it actually goes to small towns in rural areas,” Pedroso said. “They often struggle with a state highway that runs through the middle of town, separating kids on one side from schools on the other. And even though drivers are supposed to slow down, they often don’t. And small towns don’t have the tax base to do these kinds of infrastructure projects on their own, and they don’t have the resources to bus kids.” Pedroso said road improvements that are part of this funding could help alleviate such safety concerns. Meanwhile, Champaign and Urbana have so far been awarded more than $630,000 in federal funding under the Safe Routes to School program over the last few years. The fate of the program – at least in the immediate future – rests with a special Congressional committee that is working on crafting a Transportation bill. “Our children are our treasures. I’ve participated in Safe Routes to School,” said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood. “It’s an important safety program, just like the transit safety program is, and it’s one of our top priorities. I can’t even conceive that they would eliminate the money to get children safely to school.” LaHood has said it is unlikely Congress will pass a final transportation bill until after the November elections. The conference committee begins formal negotiations May 8. Whatever happens to Safe Routes, a community’s interest in that “neighborhood school feeling” may just be the ultimate test over whether the “walking school bus” maintains legs of its own. Related Links: Annual C-U Event Pushes People to Bike Ride (Related) Hospital Offers Employees Incentives to Stay Healthy (Related) Unit 4 Tries to Stay Ahead of Nutrition Standards (Related) Champaign County Schools Adopt Anti-Obesity Initiative (Related) Champaign Middle School Adds Exercise Machines (Related) http://willconnect.org/stories/local-schools-see-deep-drop-in-white-students http://willconnect.org/stories/local-schools-see-deep-drop-in-white-students Pam Dempsey Sun, 29 Apr 2012 20:36:01 -0500 stories Public schools in Champaign County have seen a loss in white student enrollment over the past decade. Officials attribute the shift in student demographics at the Champaign and Urbana school districts to national trends mirrored by Census data. (With additional reporting by Melissa Silverberg of CU-CitizenAccess) Over the past decade, public schools in Champaign County have seen a loss in white students, but none more so dramatic than in its two largest urban school districts. Officials attribute the shift in students to national trends mirrored by census data as well as more choices in private education. “In general, the county is becoming more diverse, and it’s not necessarily the case of white families leaving Champaign-Urbana,” said Jane Quinlan, regional superintendent for the Champaign-Ford Regional Office of Education. But a review of Champaign and Urbana school enrollment data shows the drop in white students over the last 10 years has far exceeded the drop in the overall student-age white population. The white enrollment drop comes at a time when districts in Champaign and Urbana have been striving to increase diversity among its students and staff. In Champaign — through policy, a 2002 federal consent decree and federal mandates — officials pushed the district to examine the education and services provided to minority students and redistribute students among the schools to ensure diversity. In Urbana, the district increased its minority staff to better reflect its student population. But during the same period, both school systems have lost a disproportionate number of white students. A review of this year’s enrollment figures supplied by the Illinois State Board of Education shows: — The Champaign school district has seen a nearly 30 percent decrease in the number of white students since 2002-2003, while the district’s overall enrollment has remained nearly the same. — The Urbana school district has had a 34 percent decrease in white students while its enrollment has dropped about 8 percent. ——In Rantoul’s city school district, white student enrollment dropped 36 percent while its overall enrollment fell only 4 percent. By comparison, the number of white children 18 and younger in Champaign County has declined 12.7 percent, from the 2000 Census to 2010. But enrollment and the number of white students has increased in at least at one private school in Champaign County: the High School of St. Thomas More. St. Thomas More, which opened in 2000, saw a nearly 60 percent increase in enrollment — from 220 students to 350 students from 2003 to 2011. In the 2010-2011 school year, St. Thomas More was mostly white, with four black students, according to state education data. Another private school, Countryside School in Champaign, also saw a 9 percent increase in enrollment from 2003 to 2011. While more diverse — 64 white students and 40 Asian-American — it has only eight black students. Demographic Shifts The Champaign school district is seeking a racial makeup in its schools that more closely mirrors the community’s racial profile. “Obviously the numbers aren’t reflective of our total population; the numbers in our school aren’t perfectly reflected of our entire community. So what are we missing?” said Lynn Peisker, community relations coordinator with the Champaign school district. “So we’re missing some of (the) traditional white families. So how do we reach out to them?” Last fall, district staff hosted focus groups with parents to better understand how they are receiving information about the school district as well as understand why some chose to leave. They also looked at how parents were getting information about the school district and found that the traditional methods — such as fliers — were not working. Nathaniel Banks, a former Champaign school district board member, said that the United States is changing demographically, but he said that doesn’t explain the entire shift in Champaign school district’s demographics. “When people in Champaign and Urbana think about public education, what they’re really thinking about is ‘Well, that’s where all the black kids go,’” Banks said. “There is that reality of white flight.” White flight is defined as the migration of white families due to fear or anxiety about increasing minority populations in certain areas. Greater than Other Districts But new district Superintendent Judy Wiegand said that other school districts similar in size to Champaign’s have experienced similar trends. She pointed to school districts in Danville, Springfield and Bloomington, all of which have fewer white students than 10 years ago. According to data from the state board of education, each of those school districts had overall enrollment falloffs of less than 10 percent between 2002 and 2012, but saw larger declines among its white students. Overall the number of white students in Bloomington’s school district declined 25 percent, 20 percent in Springfield and 19 percent in Danville. The loss in student population cannot be explained by home school enrollment. Parents are not required to register their children as home school students with either the regional office of education or the Illinois State Board of Education, Quinlan said. “You know there’s this piece regarding diversity that we talk about in our schools, and I work with our principals on and it’s that, ‘Do you see diversity as an asset?’” Wiegand said. “And if you do, how do you build on that asset versus how do you see it as a disadvantage and that’s something you have to address.” This is in deep contrast to what is happening to some of the other communities in the rural part of the county. Tolono’s Unit 7 school district saw a nearly 15 percent increase in white students while its overall enrollment grew 18 percent. St. Joseph’s grade school district saw a nearly 29 percent increase in white students while enrollment grew 32 percent. Mahomet-Seymour school district saw a 3 percent increase in the number of white students while the overall student population expanded nearly 8 percent. Not Just About Race Banks said that the changing demographics of Champaign-Urbana schools are not just about race. Families of greater affluence may move to other districts where they believe their children will get a better education. “It’s not just white families leaving the district,” Banks said. “It has a lot to do with income. Once families of means see their children will get a good education, they’ll stay.” Banks said that the public perception just hasn’t caught up to the reality yet, however. “I think it will start to turn around and it’s already turning around,” he said. “There’s plenty of evidence that Champaign schools are doing a pretty good job.” Although the district will still be working to close the achievement gap and other quantifiable problems for years to come, Banks said, a bigger issue is that of the perception in the community. “It’s the perception of the white community that we need to work on so that white families don’t automatically assume that just because black students are there that it is a bad system,” Banks said. Sociological studies have shown that people tend to want to stay with people who look like them, Wiegand said, but 21st-century education has to envelop living in a global society. “There’s a good chance that no matter what they do after high school, they are going to encounter somebody that’s different than themselves,” she said. “And how do they know how to interact and how do they know about different cultures. I think it’s just part of our education.” The Consent Decree: Then and Now Following several complaints filed by African-American families in Champaign in 1996, the Champaign school district entered into a federal consent decree with a court monitor in January 2002. Under the consent decree, several changes were mandated and committees were formed to examine the education and services provided to minority students in the district. Although the federal case was settled and the consent decree was ended in July 2009, many have said the district has not fully accomplished its original goals and still struggles to achieve equality. “We are better as a community for having worked through the consent decree, though we have not totally realized the original goals,” said Mark Aber, a psychology professor at the University of Illinois. “So from that point of view, you could say it was a failure. But we wouldn’t be as far as we are now if we hadn’t had the consent decree. It’s really a mixed bag.” Aber conducted a climate survey in 2000 to look at perceptions of racial disparities in the district and conducted a second survey in 2009, the results of which were released last year. The survey shows that, similar to in 2000 before the federal consent decree, African-American students, staff and families still see less fairness in the system and a need for improvement compared with their white counterparts. While Aber said he believes the decline in white students likely has several causes, dissatisfaction with the terms of the consent decree and the changes to the district have been a factor. “Some families moved to St. Joe or Mahomet because they weren’t happy with what’s happening in Champaign,” Aber said, remembering that in the early years of this issue there were several families and members of the board that thought it was a mistake to sign the consent decree and have the district take responsibility for what they saw as a larger societal issue. Enrollment numbers at private schools in Champaign County do not completely account for the change in demographics from the public schools, but they are one factor. “I think we have a very, in our community, the diversity is so great, we have a very large section of community that is consumer-oriented in terms of education,” Peiskar said. “You really want to explore all the options (and they) have a lot options available to them.” More of this story from CU-CitizenAccess Education Race Community Economy http://willconnect.org/stories/annual-c-u-event-pushes-people-to-bike-ride http://willconnect.org/stories/annual-c-u-event-pushes-people-to-bike-ride Sean Powers Sun, 29 Apr 2012 19:22:23 -0500 stories Bike enthusiasts share their stories ahead of the annual "Bike to Work Day" in Champaign. (Funded in part by a grant from the Lumpkin Family Foundation) Tuesday kicks off the annual "Bike to Work Day" in Champaign-Urbana. If you don’t own a bicycle or if you have a bike that’s gathering dust, then this might be the right day to release the kickstand and take off. As part of our series on efforts in the region to increase health and wellness, Illinois Public Media’s Sean Powers recently ended a long-time hiatus from bike riding to share the stories of people in the community who are passionate about cycling. Related Links: CU Bike to Work Day Hospital Offers Employees Incentives to Stay Healthy (Related) Unit 4 Tries to Stay Ahead of Nutrition Standards (Related) Champaign County Schools Adopt Anti-Obesity Initiative (Related) Champaign Middle School Adds Exercise Machines (Related) http://willconnect.org/stories/neighbors-meet-heagin-and-roger-burton http://willconnect.org/stories/neighbors-meet-heagin-and-roger-burton Crystal Kang Mon, 23 Apr 2012 15:21:38 -0500 stories Crystal Kang interviews Urbana residents Heagin and Roger Burton. The fifth and final story in our Neighbors series is about the journey of Heagin and Roger, long-time residents of Urbana, Illinois. The couple have faced difficulties in foreign countries and raised three children. The overarching message focuses on a common issue among the youth - drugs. See below for the transcription of their interview with voice overs from Crystal Kang. "My name is Roger L. Burton. My name is Haegin Burton. And we lived Urbana, llinois since 1988, July 29." Heagin was born and raised in Seoul. She met Roger Burton, a Paxton, Illinois native, when he was in the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division and stationed in South Korea. "I was born in Seoul, Korea. And 1960, I met my husband. He was teaching me conversational English at that time. And then we became little further than just friend." "So that’s when I met my wife, and by golly, I decided right there and then that that was the woman I wanted to be with the rest of my life." The couple married and embarked on a life that would see them move often as Roger was stationed here and abroad. "And finally after 20 years, I retired from the service and have a wonderful life with this wife of mine. And she’s been through a lot, and I’m glad that she’s a book about it." In that book, The Girl with a Lotus in Her Hair, Haegin shares stories about the hardships she endured as a child and young woman. Her father had a mistress at home and physically abused his wife. While Heagin was still a baby, her mother disappeared. Haegin’s grandmother stepped in and sent her to live with a couple who cared for her until she was five-years-old. "It was kind of hard for me to understand what’s the whole situation was. But God has really led me up to today. You know, this kind of story is not that everybody’s ordinary story." The Girl with a Lotus in Her Hair is a story of resilience. Heagin says her grandmother taught her to love others and instilled compassion in her, which she extends to her neighbors today. "I think the good neighbor have to come out from you. The life I had living here anywhere we’d go, we had good neighbors." "Well a good neighborhood is, you know, you got to know your neighbor next door – to the left to the right. And say hi to them. And if they’re in the need, you see them out there trying to get a car started or something, offer your help." While the couple is content in their east Urbana home, they say illegal drugs are a problem. Two of their three children have struggled with addiction. One is “clean”. The other continues to struggle. "All the neighbors around here are concerned that their children is going to be exposed to drugs. And that’s a lot of what this book is about too is how our children got involved in drugs. The biggest message that I would say to parents that have children and of course it depends on their age. Children try to experiment. And the best way to combat that is to get them educated. Take them to places to show them what actually happens to people whether it be the Times Center or someplace where the guys go to get their free food or what have you. The other thing is show them how much that you have faith in God and show them that you do the right things. And the right things that you do, sometimes your children will follow." Roger Burton. The Burtons live in Urbana, Illinois. For Illinois Public Media, I’m Crystal Kang. Community Culture Housing Immigration People Urban Planning http://willconnect.org/stories/hospital-offers-employees-incentives-to-stay-healthy http://willconnect.org/stories/hospital-offers-employees-incentives-to-stay-healthy Sean Powers Sun, 22 Apr 2012 23:03:37 -0500 stories Workers at one of the largest employers in Champaign-Urbana are being encouraged to stay physically fit through financial incentives. (Funded in part by a grant from the Lumpkin Family Foundation) A growing number of companies across the country have started encouraging employees to stay healthy by offering financial incentives. Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana, which is one of the largest employers in the area, is pushing for a healthier workforce through its Charge Rewards Program. First piloted in fall 2010, Carle employees can rack up points if they do things like trying a new healthy recipe, limiting their alcohol intake, or exercising more. Enough points earned within a year can be redeemable for discounts on health insurance premiums, cash back, or paid time off. Dr. Napoleon Knight is the medical director of hospital medicine and the associate director of quality at Carle. He helps oversee the incentive program. “We take care of people sometimes in their most vulnerable states,” Knight said. “My personal view is that we need to model some activities that other people would want to model in their lives as well.” Knight said he tries to set an example for Carle employees by living a healthier life himself. He said of the roughly 5,500 employees at Carle, about 2,000 take part in the wellness program. He said for a business or a hospital that pays for part of its workers’ health insurance premiums, the financial gains for the company through reduced benefits costs can be great. “If you’re taking three or four different medicines a day times x number of employees times x number of years, what you see is that really starts to add up,” he said. One of the Carle employees taking part in the hospital's wellness initiative is Sean Williams. He works in the marketing department. In early January at the age of 32, he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. “They often call that adult onset diabetes,” Williams explained. Williams said he has always taken good care of himself, but since learning about his diagnosis, he has re-doubled his efforts. He said it can be a challenge finding the time to exercise with the demands at work. Back in the middle of February during an interview with Illinois Public Media, Dr. Knight mentioned that the hospital was considering a plan to boost physical activity during the work day by adding treadmills in different departments of the hospital. He said he was trying to identify a single department to test the idea out. Since Sean Williams handles media requests for Carle, he was listening to the interview with Knight. That is how he first learned about the hospital’s plans to add exercise equipment for employees. “I contacted Dr. Knight, and I was quick to volunteer,” Williams said. “He graciously sent on my request to those who were making the decisions on this.” Not long after Williams made his request, the hospital unveiled a treadmill in Williams’ department. In the couple of months since the treadmill was installed, Williams has walked more than 60 miles on it. Other people in his department also take turns using it. “So, on one of those days where I’m having a really tough time trying to get my blood sugar back down to certain levels, I go outside for a walk or I’ll go for a run or I’ll jump on the treadmill here at work,” Williams said. “It’s amazing how quickly my blood sugar comes down.” With Carle’s health incentive program, Williams has earned about 120 points. By the time he gets about a hundred more points, he will be eligible for $260 off his health insurance premium, or $260 cash back if Carle does not cover his premium. Another Carle employee taking part in the wellness initiative is Nursing Director Joan Plunk. She has accumulated 640 points. That puts her in the highest category of the rewards program. If employees have 600 points and get biometric screenings, which are covered by Carle, they can get $260 off their health insurance premium plus $100 in cash or 8 hours paid leave. If their health insurance premium is not covered by Carle, then they can get $360 in cash. Joan said with her work schedule, getting fast food was always a convenient option. Though it still is, she has dialed back. “If I have to eat fast food, I’ll choose like the grilled chicken and take the bun off and not have the mayonnaise,” she said. “Now, there are things that I really like, like French fries, but I eat them every now and then.” Joan said while Carle’s incentive program is still a new experience for her, she has been conscious about her health for some time – walking or swimming just about every day. “Well, to be honest it has been the last 10 years that I’ve become more into it selfishly, my own health versus taking care of other people and my family more,” she said. Joan is spending more time cooking healthy meals at home. On a recent weekend at her home, she spent time preparing a salad with ingredients, such as baked chicken, mushrooms, and craisins “It’s pretty simple, really,” she explained as she worked on the salad. “Then I’ll just add a handful of almonds.” Her husband, Tom, is a farmer, and is the on the road quite a bit for business. He admits he has not always maintained the healthiest of diets. Any food stop for him when he is out of town was usually fast food, but Joan now prepares most of his meals during the week. What she is learning about nutritious cooking from Carle is impacting her husband’s health. “Well, Tom liked to get fried chicken from the store, so now we bake chicken instead of you eating fried chicken,” she said, looking at him. “I used to eat a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken on the route,” Tom added. “So, you still have the foods you enjoy,” Joan said. “It’s just they’re prepared more healthy.” For the week, Joan said she will prepare Tom turkey slices, pot roast, or sandwiches. They have also substituted sugary soda beverages with coffee or water. “But what she’s not telling you is that I am a fan of cake,” Tom mentioned. Joan said she still makes sure her husband satisfies his sweet tooth. “Now you can make (healthier cakes) using apple sauce instead of the oil,” Joan said. A growing number of companies are offering financial incentives to boost employee health. The non-profit, National Business Group on Health surveyed more than 500 companies. It found as of this year, 68 percent of those employers offer cash, premium credits, and account contributions to their employees to encourage healthier habits – that’s up by 10 percent from a year ago. LuAnn Heinen is the vice president of the National Business Group on Health. She said companies are spending less on premiums by encouraging their employees to be healthy through various wellness programs. “So, we’re still spending a very small amount on wellness and prevention, and the companies that are increasingly interested in wellness are seeing a fairly significant return on the order of $2-to-$3 for every dollar invested,” Heinen said. Some companies have even penalized workers with premium surcharges or higher deductibles for failing to complete a required health management activity. Penalties were used by 20 percent of respondents in the survey this year – roughly double the number of companies that used penalties in 2009. Meanwhile, the U.S. Supreme Court is mulling over the legality of the Affordable Health Care Act. Whatever happens, Heinen suspects there will continue to be a strong commitment to wellness. Related Links: Read the report released by the National Business Group on Health Unit 4 Tries to Stay Ahead of Nutrition Standards (Related) Champaign County Schools Adopt Anti-Obesity Initiative (Related) Champaign Middle School Adds Exercise Machines (Related) Health Business http://willconnect.org/stories/champaign-middle-school-upgrades-with-exercise-machines http://willconnect.org/stories/champaign-middle-school-upgrades-with-exercise-machines Sean Powers Sun, 15 Apr 2012 22:59:52 -0500 stories Jefferson Middle School in Champaign recently added exercise equipment to its classrooms. (Funded in part by a grant from the Lumpkin Family Foundation) Research at the University of Illinois suggests physical activity can boost cognitive health. To test that theory, Jefferson Middle School in Champaign recently added exercise equipment for its students. Marcelon Mosley, 11, walks on a treadmill in the assistant principal’s office at Jefferson Middle School in Champaign. Mosley started off using the treadmill about three times a week for about 30-to-45 minutes. He can come off as being very calm, expressing very little emotion, but he admits he isn’t always that way. He said there have been times when he has reacted strongly to other kids’ comments about him, or just hasn’t felt motivated enough to keep up with his school work. When the school began adding the exercise equipment at the start of the academic year, his teachers thought it might be easier for him to relax and focus by getting on a treadmill a few times each week. He explains that he determines the speed of the treadmill based on his level of anger. If he is in a really bad mood, he said he may double the speed from his normal two miles per hour. “When it goes faster, it calms me down cause I have so much energy that I want to break somebody’s neck or something, and then I just use up my energy walking on the treadmill,” Mosley said. Since he started using the treadmill at the beginning of the school year, Mosley admits that he is doing a better job now controlling his anger. His mom, Cheryl Moore, has even noticed a difference in his behavior. She credits that not only to the exercise, but also to what she and school officials are doing to hold Mosley accountable when he misbehaves or doesn’t turn in homework assignments on time. “I think that it’s kind of like a coalition basically with the parents and the teachers working together,” Moore said. “What’s that famous saying? It takes a village to raise a child.” Mosley - along with five of his other siblings – all have ADHD, and he is one of two of them currently medicated for it. His mother hopes to get him off of it by the time he’s in high school, but not if that compromises his performance in the classroom. “It’s hardest with Marcelon because actually out of all of our children, he takes the most amount of milligrams,” Moore said. “He’s very overwrought, and we try to let him do lots of exercise as much as she wants to. He just has tons of energy. It’s like the wild in his eyes. When he acts like that, we’re like, ‘Do you need to go outside and play a lot more?’” Students like Marcelon seems to benefit from this exercise equipment brought in by University of Illinois Professor Charles Hillman. Hillman said there is a positive relationship between physical activity and cognitive health. Hillman, who teaches kinesiology and community health at the U of I, has already explored this connection with pre-adolescents, young adults, and older adults. After approximately one hour of exercise, he found that these age groups showed improvements in cognition and achievement. “What’s good for children is good for young adults,” Hillman said. “What’s good for young adults is good for older adults. Being healthy and exercising and having a higher level of fitness relates to better brain health and better cognition. And so because of that, I believe we need to act early. ” Now, Hillman is doing the same research, but this time with middle school students. “Puberty changes a lot of things. It changes body. It changes hormone production, and it changes brain,” he explained. “And so it’s interesting to see during a time when kids are actively going through puberty, what these relationships are between fitness or health factors such as body mass and cognition in children.” Hillman and U of I Psychology Professor Neal Cohen are studying students at Jefferson over a three year period. They believe that being overweight may affect parts of the brain associated with attention, memory, and cognition. As part of their research, Jefferson Middle School agreed to install exercise equipment around the school – aerobic balls in classrooms, Marcelon’s treadmill, and bikes in the library. In the school library students take turns riding on the exercise bikes. Librarian Kim Anderson said it is a challenge identifying ways the library can support students other than through literacy, which is why when she first heard about the school’s exercise initiative, she jumped at the idea. “They are actually reading when they’re working out, and we also have a couple of iPads that we set up, so that they Velcro right onto the stationary bikes so they can flip through and either read a book online or work on one of the education apps,“ Anderson said. Some of the students say 30 minutes of physical activity during gym class isn’t enough time to stay active during the school day. Eight grader Paige Ducharme said getting more exercise has helped her concentrate. “Cause you get your brain – like not really moving – but you get more energy inside of you so you find yourself awake more and more energized to be able to listen and make your brain function more,” Ducharme said. Students using the exercise equipment is part of Principal Susan Zola’s larger vision. She also plans to transform the school’s multipurpose room into an exergaming room where students would be exposed to a combination of games and exercise. In the space, Zola envisions being able to grab a heart monitor, and do a cross country virtual tour in the mountains. “So, it’s like Wii on steroids,” Zola said. “We believe it will take our students health and wellness to a whole different level.” While Marcelon Mosely and Paige Ducharme are physically fit, Zola said there are students at Jefferson who do battle their weight and other related health issues. Zola believes physical activity should be a priority for all students – even those who just want to work up a sweat. "Wellness and students' well-being and where they land in terms of their healthy living impacts us all in the future," Zola said. "So, the stronger they are in terms of their hearts their spirits their minds their academics, the stronger citizens the stronger community members, the healthier our community will be as a whole." Related Links: More about Charles Hillman's research Unit 4 Tries to Stay Ahead of Nutrition Standards (Related) Champaign County Schools Adopt Anti-Obesity Initiative (Related) Education Health http://willconnect.org/stories/neighbors-meet-max-abandja-and-lester-berrio http://willconnect.org/stories/neighbors-meet-max-abandja-and-lester-berrio Crystal Kang Fri, 13 Apr 2012 16:51:48 -0500 stories Crystal Kang interviews Shadow Wood residents Max Abandja and Lester Berrio of Champaign, Illinois. The fourth story in our Neighbors series focuses on Max Abandja and Lester Berrio, a married couple from Shadow Wood Mobile Home Park in Champaign, Illinois. See below for the transcription of their interview, which includes voice overs from WILLconnect.org producer Crystal Kang, a senior in the College of Media at the University of Illinois. Production help by University of Illinois graduate student, Azra Halilović. "My name is Lester Berrio. I’m from Colombia, South America. My name is Max. Last name is Abandja. I’m originally from Africa. The country of Gabon. Although I was born in France, but since my parents are from Africa. So I will say I’m from Africa." When husband and wife Max and Lester moved to Shadow Wood in 2004, the neighborhood’s racial and ethnic makeup was considerably more diverse. About half the families were Latino. Today, about 90 percent of the residents are Hispanic. Max describes the community as tight-knit. "What I like about the neighborhood is the fact that, since it’s very small, people know each other. And then they look out for each other. If someone notices anyone who doesn’t belong to this neighborhood wandering around we automatically, or something suspicious, we will alert the other person." Max and Lester have a small business cleaning houses. At the end of the work day, they’re happy to lend a hand to neighbors who face challenges applying for jobs, understanding legal matters and dealing with medical issues because they’re not native English speakers. They also share their faith by leading Bible studies. Here’s Lester. "We help a lot of our neighbors because they need to make doctors’ appointments. Sometimes, they don’t know what the results of the hospital are. And so they come. They knock. Sometimes, they are pregnant and they have a pain somewhere in the tummy. So they want us to call the hospital to see if there is something they can do at home or they have to go over to the hospital." The couple says residents would benefit from a community center and a storm shelter. Another concern? The rent keeps rising. "You know we don’t blame the front office because they’re just working for the owners. But the owners should be also injecting money to improving the look of the neighborhood. And so far we don’t see that." "Yes, I agree that we really need a community salon or something. A community center. So that we can have gatherings here. And also, one thing is that this place is too dark at night. The neighbors don’t have any front porch light and the city doesn’t have any either." While the crime rate has decreased in recent years, neighborhood safety is a concern for Shadow Wood residents. Most of the criminal activity comes from nearby, but outside the mobile home park. Despite their concerns, Max says they’re making the most of their living situation in hopes of a better tomorrow. Living in a mobile home is not something that I would dream. Or something that we would do for the rest of our lives. In fact, we made the decision to move here because it was cheaper. And then so we can save and eventually move to a home but more like Florida. So we need to get something cheaper to make that happen. And also to get project done in South America. Help the families overseas: her family, my family. So that’s the reason why we moved here. Max Abandja and Lester Berrio of Champaign, Illinois. For Illinois Public Media, I'm Crystal Kang. Commentary Community Crime Culture Immigration People Urban Planning http://willconnect.org/stories/neighbors-meet-thom-pollock http://willconnect.org/stories/neighbors-meet-thom-pollock Crystal Kang Mon, 09 Apr 2012 14:44:37 -0500 stories Crystal Kang interviews Thom Pollock, executive director of Crosspoint Human Services and president of the New Holland Corporation The third story in our Neighbors series focuses on Thom Pollock, a long-time resident of Danville, Illinois. See below for the transcription of his interview, which includes voice overs from WILLconnect.org producer Crystal Kang, a senior in the College of Media at the University of Illinois. "My name is Thom Pollock. I have lived in Danville almost 16 years." Thom Pollock came to Danville from Chicago where he had served in Volunteers in Service to America, or VISTA. Through his work at a mental health agency in the Edgewater/Uptown area he grew passionate about human services. Today, he serves as the executive director of the private, not-for-profit Crosspoint Human Services in Danville. "Crosspoint Human Services is a comprehensive agency in terms of human services. It not only serves persons with mental illness but persons who have developmental disabilities. Women and children who are in the midst of domestic violence. Women and children who are homeless. We have a daycare center. We have a program that covers seven counties that assesses children in their developmental stages of birth to three." Crosspoint Human Services provides a number of affordable housing opportunities for people in Vermilion County. "Crosspoint’s establishments are all over Danville. And we have 16 buildings. And we like to think of ourselves as the best neighbor on the block. So we maintain our properties very well. We make sure that the neighbors know who we are. And that in the event there’s a problem, feel free to call us. And in that way, I think we have had a very solid reputation about being a good neighbor." Like many cities in Illinois Danville has a high rate of vacant properties. Vacant properties can contribute to the decline of neighborhoods. But Thom says Danville has a strong sense of community and that holds neighborhoods together. He sees it in his neighborhood. "Recently, we had a little vandalism with our home. And one of our neighbors decided that they were going to travel up and down the alley behind our home and has done so almost on a daily basis at multiple times during the day to check to see that our home is okay. And that some folks that might be considered ne’er-do-wells are identified. So yeah, we look out for one another and have basically cleaned up the neighborhood." Thom’s home is in an old neighborhood, not far from downtown. In downtown Danville you’ll find an apartment complex that Thom and the city are proud of. Not long ago the apartments were run down and known for drugs and prostitution. Then Crosspoint Human Services, with Thom’s vision, took it on. After a long struggle they found the money and the expertise to rehabilitate the complex, now known as the New Holland. "It was rare to see historic restoration, green technology and affordable housing all put into one package. And we received national and state awards for that effort. When we first opened it up in 2005, I kind of thought that it was the newest neighborhood in Danville because all of a sudden 47 units were filled with families and kids. And it was just really neat to see school buses come up to what was once a building of ill repute and now it’s got a very solid, positive relationship to the community and to the town." Thom Pollock, who lives in Danville, Illinois, is executive director of Crosspoint Human Services and president of the New Holland Corporation. Community Economy History Housing People Urban Planning http://willconnect.org/stories/champaign-county-schools-adopt-anti-obesity-initative http://willconnect.org/stories/champaign-county-schools-adopt-anti-obesity-initative Sean Powers Mon, 09 Apr 2012 00:36:36 -0500 stories Several schools in Champaign County have adopted a nationwide anti-obesity initiative, known as the Coordinated Approach to Child Health (CATCH). (Funded in part by a grant from the Lumpkin Family Foundation) Several schools in Champaign County have adopted a nationwide anti-obesity initiative known as the Coordinated Approach to Child Health (CATCH). Carrie Busey Elementary in Campaign began the CATCH initiative in 2009. CATCH schools get state money from the Illinois Department of Human Services over a three year period. That support, which gradually decreases over the three years, is used to revamp lunch menus, add new gym equipment, or expand nutrition education in the classroom. Mariah Burt, who is a music teacher at Carrie Busey, has her class compose rap music related to health and wellness. Fourth graders Peja Rowan, Ariany Smith, and Lily Smith stand in front of the class, performing original songs about nutrition. They use body and vocal percussion, such as stomping their feet and beatboxing: “I love you. You love apples. Remix… We eat fruit…You should too…We also eat vegetables with you…That’s what you’re supposed to do.” Burt said the songs about nutrition that come out of her classroom don’t just stay in her class. “Sometimes a kid will be sitting at lunch and see another kid bring a candy bar and say, ‘Hey, remember the rap we did the other day, you’re not supposed to be eating that whoa food. You’re supposed to be eating the carrots of your platter because that’s a ‘Go food,”’ Burt said. “So, it really has become a part of who they are through the musical setting.” In the school’s cafeteria, there is a big poster outlining the three different food categories that the students learn about – ‘Go foods’ like fruits and vegetables are considered the most healthy; ‘Slow foods’ like yogurt and cheese should be eaten in moderation; and ‘Whoa foods’ like frosted cupcakes and candy are reserved strictly for special occasions. To avoid an overabundance of ‘Whoa foods,’ gym teacher Wendy Starwalt rewards students with prizes if they eat plenty 'Go foods' during lunch. She also said the school has designated days once a month for birthday treats. “It was hard for parents to understand why their child couldn’t bring cupcakes on their birthday, and we had to help our kids understand why that was happening,” Starwalt said. “So, now we’re three years into that already, and a lot of teachers on the actual birthday have come up with celebrations that don’t involve food.” Starwalt came to Carrie Busey a few years ago after teaching at Dr. Howard Elementary School in Champaign. That was the first school in Champaign County to test out the CATCH initiative. But after it ended, the school wasn’t been able to sustain it. Starwalt said that is because only a few staff members were trained to teach a curriculum centered on health and wellness, and those teachers - like Starwalt - left the school. To avoid that from happening at Carrie Busey, all employees went through CATCH training. Second grade teacher Elizabeth Well is in her second year of teaching the CATCH curriculum. A few times each year, she follows a prepared set of instructional course material that is designed for CATCH schools. During a recent classroom discussion, she talked about the importance of fiber. “Fiber cleans the places in your body where food passes, and fiber is great because it makes the chances of getting some types of cancer go away, “Well said. Well demonstrated how to make a high-fiber snack. “Now this is rice and corn flakes,” she said as she lift up a plastic bag full of Cheerios. “We know this is high fiber even though it doesn’t say in big letters like on Raisin Brand that it’s fiber because it is from wheat…and we learned fiber are things that are grown, but doesn’t come from an animal.” As the class makes their snacks, a couple of the students demonstrated their knowledge about fiber. “Well, it cleans your body and it also helps you to get healthier,” David Cardaronella said. “It lowers our chances of getting cancer,” Zakyah Billings added. When the bell rings, the kids head out, taking their bagged snacks. Well said after a year of teaching CATCH courses, she thinks more of her students are aware about what they are eating. “Honestly, as an adult after teaching this for a year, I’m a little more aware and conscious of what I’m eating and looking at the labels and cereal boxes and things like that,” she said. “So, it’s even helped me as an adult.” After school is over, about 40 kids pack into the music room. Music teacher, Mariah Burt welcomes the group to the first day of Dance Club. “Now you are all part of a healthy team and a healthy family that’s going to help each other feel good about what we’re doing and make sure that you help other people follow those directions,” Burt said. After going over the rules of Dance Club, Burt leads the class in some movements: “Five…six…seven…eight…stomp, stomp, clap, clap….one…two…three…four.” Out in the hallway right outside of the music room, a group of parents watch as 11-year-old Grace Rispoli teaches her peers the dance moves, mimicking what their teacher was just doing. “Stomp, clap, clap, stomp, clap,” Rispoli said. “Now, remember the thing is that even I forget the second stop. We have to remember that otherwise it won’t look the same, and we can’t clap first. We have to stomp first.” Nikiki Hillier, who is a program coordinator Program in the Division of Wellness and Health Promotion at the Champaign Urbana Public Health District, monitors the CATCH initiative in Champaign County. So far, five elementary schools in her area have taken part in CATCH: Carrie Busey, Dr. Howard, Unity West, Thomasboro, and Fisher. While Hillier said the work to educate kids about nutrition may start at the schools, it shouldn’t end there. “You don’t want to undermine everything that you’ve done all day at school by sending them home, and they’re having fried foods and pop for dinner,” Hillier said. “So, it’s very important that the parents are on their journey with us.” After all, once these kids grow up, it will be up to them to teach the next generation about what it means to make healthy choices, one step at a time. Related Links: More about the Coordinated Approach to Child Health (CATCH) Chart of 'Go' 'Slow' and 'Whoa' Foods Unit 4 Tries to Stay Ahead of Nutrition Standards (Related) Dance Music Education Fitness Health Children http://willconnect.org/stories/neighbors-meet-gloria-thompson-brown http://willconnect.org/stories/neighbors-meet-gloria-thompson-brown Crystal Kang Mon, 02 Apr 2012 19:14:08 -0500 stories Celeste Quinn talks with Danville resident, Gloria Thompson-Brown. The second story in our Neighbors series focuses on Gloria Thompson-Brown, a long-time resident of Danville, Illinois. See below for the transcription of her interview, which includes voice overs from WILL's Celeste Quinn. “My name is Gloria Thompson-Brown. I moved to Danville in December 1963 coming from the state of Florida.” Gloria has lived in the neighborhood she calls home since 1994. “This is what they call the old part of Danville and what I mean by that is that Danville started from this area.” Gloria, her husband, Huey Lee Brown, and two of her grown children live in a house they rent on Robinson Street. Ask her about her home and she lights up. She likes the backyard and the enclosed front and back porches, and she loves the fireplace. Family photos and mementos are proudly displayed on the mantle. They rent the house through Section 8, which is, essentially, a voucher program administered by public housing agencies to eligible people with very low incomes. “I think I stayed in public housing 22 years and then a program called “Operation Bootstrap” – you pull yourself up by your own bootstraps, so to speak—enabled me to become a participant in the Section 8 program and that was in 1989.” While she lived in public housing and raised her children, Gloria worked for the housing authority. “I started to work in the office. It was Carver Park Houses and I became the Community Services Advisor on staff there. And that gave me a broad spectrum of knowledge on both sides of the fence – as a resident and a Danville employee. I feel so well-educated (laughs) if might say that – in speaking on housing issues.” Today Gloria Thompson Brown is the Resident Services Coordinator at Green Meadows Apartments a privately owned, low-income housing complex, “and one of my main jobs is to bring as many on-site services that’s conducive to the families there in that area. Residents have the right to live in safe, sanitary and decent living conditions.” Gloria is also an advocate for her neighbors and her neighborhood. Gloria’s neighbors get together and talk to the city about their concerns which have included dilapidated housing and prostitution. They may also write letters to the editor. Gloria says as a result, prostitution has been greatly reduced and problem properties cleared. She’s been in the neighborhood for about 16 years. The neighbors feel comfortable calling on one another, lending one another a hand when needed. They keep an eye out for one another and the safety of the neighborhood. When her husband’s bicycle was stolen, a neighbor saw it and returned it. Gloria can count on neighbors to help shovel snow or give her a lift, if she needs a ride. Another of her neighbors: "Has some young sons who know that my husband and I love fish. They go fishing and they’ll drop off fish if they don’t want to clean them. They know we’ll clean them and eat them, too.” Gloria Thompson-Brown of Danville, Illinois. Interviews People http://willconnect.org/stories/unit-4-makes-lunch-menu-changes-ahead-of-federal-standards http://willconnect.org/stories/unit-4-makes-lunch-menu-changes-ahead-of-federal-standards Sean Powers Mon, 02 Apr 2012 10:58:45 -0500 stories New federal standards for school lunch menus kick in this year, and the Champaign School District is trying to stay ahead of the regulations. (Funded in part by a grant from the Lumpkin Family Foundation) The U.S. Department of Agriculture this year unveiled new nutrition standards for school meals. It’s the first major nutritional overhaul of its kind in more than 15 years. The Champaign School District is trying to stay ahead of new federal regulations taking affect this year and beyond. Mary Davis is the Director of Food Services in the Champaign School District. She and her staff prepare about 5,500 meals a day. In her year and a half on the job, Davis has introduced more fruits and vegetables, and by next fall fruits or vegetables will be required on every school lunch tray. Davis has even added tofu as another option for high school students, despite the added expense. “Tofu is quite high if you get a regular serving,” she said. “But we’re willing to take those costs on because this is the way we’re headed and we want to be ahead of other districts, ahead of any mandates and regulations that they may enforce.” The USDA currently requires schools to offer proteins, grains, vegetables, fruits and dairy. In the Champaign School District, elementary school students are required to have all five components, but students in other grade levels can pick three of the five components for their meals to meet federal mandates. Based on the federal requirements, a complete meal can be milk, juice, and vegetable, or it can be two Bosco Sticks and a milk, since that includes grains, dairy, and proteins. Kris Light Branaman has a son at Edison Middle School. She said her son talks about school meals the same way she did at his age. “That is to complain all the time about it,” Branaman said. “But I think that here they seem to have a good balance of choices. I know that’s one of the difficulties of adolescence is he has to make the choice, and there’s a lot of pre-packaged stuff that I hope doesn’t choose, but I know he probably will.” Stopping by some of the lunch tables at Edison, the attitudes about nutrition among the 6th, 7th, and 8th graders run the gamut. Tyler Thompson credits his parents for encouraging him to be healthy. “Like when they were younger they didn’t eat healthy, but now they’re eating healthy, so they’re like a role model to me,” Thompson said. “So, I’m just going to be a role model back.” But for some students, like Erika Sepich and Mackenzie Williams, nutrition isn’t a factor. They say their parents don’t really talk to them about why it is important to eat healthy. “It’s our body and if we want to eat unhealthy foods, then it’s on us,” Williams said. Mary Davis said offering healthy options can be one obstacle because of the added cost, but she said another challenge can be getting students to willingly eat the food. “Students are in a hurry,” she said. “They want to get outside, or they want to talk to their friends and they haven’t eaten until the bell rings. So, they’re throwing a lot of their food away, except for maybe their chocolate milk.” Davis said pushing for health and wellness is a team effort. At Carrie Busey Elementary School, she recently removed sugary items from the breakfast menu, substituting whole grains, bagels, and white milk for donuts, certain cereals, and flavored milk. But Davis said it is the teachers who must play an important role in encouraging students to appreciate nutrition. Carrie Busey physical education teacher, Wendy Starwalt is trying to get her students to think differently about nutrition. During a recent lunch period, she scans the lunches of kindergartners. She rates their meals on a sliding scale – ‘go foods’ like fruits and vegetables are considered the most healthy, ‘slow foods’ like yogurt and cheese should be eaten in moderation, and ‘whoa foods’ like frosted cupcakes and candy are reserved strictly for special occasions. Students who eat plenty of ‘go foods’ can win a prize. “I will make my way through and tell you the go food, the fresh fruit or vegetable, healthy food that I would like you to eat today to get your name in the raffle,” she said as she walked around the cafeteria. Starwalt began rewarding students for eating healthy three years ago. She gives out prizes, such as basketballs, pedometers, and a water bottle. “If I call your name you may pick one thing,” she tells them. Starwalts said based on conversations she has had with parents, many of her students are conscious about eating the ‘go foods’ not just at school, but at home. While the Champaign School District does sell ala carte items at the middle and high schools, it does not sell those snacks at the elementary schools. Meanwhile, vending machines are only accessible to students at the high schools. Even though some students may fall off track at times, Starwalt said what they learn about nutrition at a young age sets a foundation for the rest of their lives. “People used to only drink soda pop like on a Saturday night,” she said. “Well, now if you go to a high school, you’ll see soda pop all year, all day along, including Gatorade and Propel, which are just as full of sugar. We have to shift our kids to know that that’s a treat. If you’re going to have that, you can’t have that all the time.” Many of the nation’s schools are working to provide healthy meals. The Obama administration this year announced new guidelines for government subsidized free and reduced meals – of which more than half of Unit 4 students qualify. Among the changes, meals will have calorie caps, sodium will gradually decrease over a decade, and flavored milks will have to be nonfat. Some changes will be in place by the fall while others will be phased in over time. Related Links: Chart of 'Go' 'Slow' and 'Whoa' Foods School Lunches To Be Healthier: Have More Fruits, Vegetable What's Inside The 26-Ingredient School Lunch Burger? http://willconnect.org/stories/rents-rise-in-champaign-vermilion-counties http://willconnect.org/stories/rents-rise-in-champaign-vermilion-counties Pam Dempsey Sun, 25 Mar 2012 01:37:53 -0500 stories The income of residents in Champaign and Vermilion has not kept pace with the increase of rent and as a result affordable housing is becoming harder to find. (Former University of Illinois journalism graduate student Landon Cassman contributed to this report) The income of residents in Champaign and Vermilion has not kept pace with the increase of rent and as a result affordable housing is becoming harder to find. Census data from 2000 and 2010 and recent housing studies shows there are more renters, but that many can’t afford to pay fair market rent. The data and studies also reveal that the number of vacant units has skyrocketed. “The housing needs haven’t changed. In fact, they’ve gotten worse for the people who need them,” said Thom Pollock, executive director of Crosspoint Human Services. A comprehensive review of local housing studies, Census data and federal reports show that across Champaign and Vermilion counties shows that between 2000 and 2010, fair market rents for a two-bedroom apartment in the two counties have increased more than 30 percent. For Champaign County, it’s gone up from about $600 to more than $800 for a two-bedroom apartment. In Vermilion County, it’s increased from about $400 to $600 for a two-bedroom apartment in. Meanwhile, median household income has increased less than 20 percent – from about $37,600 in 1999 to $45,200 in 2010 in Champaign County and from about $34,200 in 1999 to about $38,200 in Vermilion County A review of the studies and Census data also shows: - The number of vacant housing units increased 43 percent between 2000 and 2010, from about 6,200 vacant housing units to nearly 9,000 vacant housing units . In 2000, about 7 percent of nearly 88,400housing units were vacant. In 2010, about 9 percent of 101,600 housing units were vacant. - Renter-occupied properties increased 20 percent over the past 10 years from 36,200 to 43,200 while owner-occupied properties increased about 8 percent from about 46,000 to nearly 50,000. - Minorities making up a disproportionate percentage of the renters and are concentrated in areas with low housing value and quality. While minority groups make up 29 percent of the total population, they make up 35 percent of the renters across the two counties. Officials from Champaign released a county-wide housing study as part a report to the city council in October that looked at housing needs across the county. The study found that nearly 12 percent of the county’s housing stock is substandard and over 10 percent of its households are “overburdened” – meaning households that pay more than 30 percent of income to rent and basic utilities. “Probably the biggest issue that it pointed to was the lack of affordable housing, rental housing, for extremely low-income people,” said Kerri Spear, neighborhood programs manager at the City of Champaign. “When you are earning less than 30 percent of the median family income, the ability for you to pay for your market rent in Champaign-Urbana is impossible.” College Students Lift Prices Local college students not only drive up the rental price in Champaign-Urbana, but typically get the best pick of rental units in the best condition, Spear said. “I think what we see here in Champaign-Urbana being a college community is that landlords can charge more because when you bring in two or three college students, each of them technically may be low-income, but they’re usually supported financially living elsewhere, Spear said “ And so, students can obviously pay more.” The county-wide housing study adjusted for the student population when assessing the area’s needs. “The effect of the student population in both the Cities of Champaign and Urbana is significant. If left in the housing need numbers, the students would be responsible for overstating need by nearly four times in the City of Champaign and by over twice as much in the City of Urbana,” the report stated. It added that the housing need is nevertheless still great in those Urbana and Champaign two communities as well as in Rantoul. The housing study found that the majority of the county’s lowest income population and minority populations are located within Champaign and Urbana, even with the student population removed. While these two cities grapple with higher housing cost, its neighbor, Danville, also struggles with providing quality affordable housing. Danville Housing Lower Priced, But Substandard A study by the City of Danville released in September showed that while housing in Danville is “very low-priced … much is in substandard conditions.” The Danville report states that nearly half of the homes in Danville were built before 1947 and homes built within the past 20 years make up less than 5 percent of the housing stock. “Old housing stock is in some cases an impediment (to fair housing choices) where city-wide depressed housing values limit reinvestment, maintenance and modernization and make new construction economically impractical," the report stated. “Too much of the affordable housing is in substandard condition,” the report stated. Gloria Thompson-Brown is a housing rights advocate and works to educate low-income residents on their rights and responsibilities. “Landlords have been lax in keeping their properties up,” Thompson-Brown said. “And when there are residents living in these (properties), if there are problems, they tend to blame it on the residents when landlords should be held more responsible for the upkeep of the properties.” Over the past decade, Danville lost just over 1 percent of its housing units, according to Census data. Renters make up about 36 percent of Danville’s housing market. Without residents, though, there is no rental business, Thompson-Brown said. “They’re the most important commodity in the business,” she said. “So I think they should be treated as such and know that (they) are needed here. And it should be a two-way street.” New Danville project gets awards The New Holland apartment complex in downtown Danville is a renovated five-story historic affordable housing project that has garnered several awards for its designs as well as large-scale energy-efficient geothermal system. “We decided to kind of push the envelope,” said Thom Pollock, executive director of Crosspoint Human Services and president of the New Holland Corp. “We wanted it to be green. We want it to be historically correct, and we wanted it at the end to be affordable for the tenants. And I think we achieved all three.” The nearly 50 apartments units in the building are subsidized and rents range anywhere 40 percent to 60 percent of fair market rent. Residents cannot make more than 60 percent of the area median income to live at the New Holland. Barbara Donaldson, 77, moved in to a two-bedroom apartment at the New Holland six years ago. Once a homeowner, Donaldson had sold her house before moving to Israel. But a series illness and subsequent operation cut short her plans for a permanent stay in Jerusalem and Donaldson moved home. “And so, just gradually, I was still working some after that,” she said. “But my strength in the recent years has kind of decreased because I’m not, of course, as you know, as young as I used to be.” With a depleted savings account and limited income, Donaldson’s housing options were stifled. “My options would probably be that I would be with one of my children,” she said. “That probably would be about it. Because at this point, at my age and so forth, I’m not able to really make a lot of money.” Donaldson said she was out hunting for a new place to live when she saw the New Holland and “thought in my heart, this is where I want to be.” “I love this majestic building,” Donaldson said. And that is what Pollock hoped to accomplish. “Affordable housing should be quality housing, safe housing. Something that you and I would like to live in,” he said. “And in this case that’s what we aim to do at the (New Holland) and I think we’ve achieved that.” Housing Economy http://willconnect.org/stories/pettigrews-story-about-her-life-in-rabbittown http://willconnect.org/stories/pettigrews-story-about-her-life-in-rabbittown Crystal Kang Fri, 23 Mar 2012 14:36:00 -0500 stories Mary Ann Pettigrew shares stories of growing up in Danville. The first story in our Neighbors series focuses on Mary Ann Pettigrew, a long-time resident of Danville, Illinois. See below for the transcription of her interview, which includes voice overs from WILL's Celeste Quinn. "My name is Mary Ann Pettigrew, and I have lived at this address since 1962 when I bought this house." The neighborhood is known as Rabbittown. The name goes back to the 19th century - inspired by the large number of wild rabbits living in the area. Most of the neighborhood's homes -including Mary Ann’s- were built prior to the 1920s. Mary Ann grew up in a house her parents, John and Sarah Pettigrew, rented. There were nine children – six girls and three boys. Her father worked three jobs. "I grew up within about five blocks of the present location and went to school at St. Pat’s Catholic Church, which is a few blocks away. We always walked to school. They were wonderful neighbors. Established neighborhood. A close-knit neighborhood. Everybody watched out for the kids. If we did something wrong, we found out that our parents knew it before we got home." For a number of years, the house she and younger sister Pat Pettigrew call home today housed her parents and some siblings. Mary Ann spent a number of years working as a Registered Nurse for the Santa Fe Railroad, for an oil company in the Middle East and St. Francis Hospital in Peoria. She came back to Danville in the early 1970s and has lived at the house on Buchanan Street ever since. She’s seen many changes overtime – most recently the recession and slump in real estate. They have taken a toll on the neighborhood. "We’ve had some young people move in. But I think the biggest issue is that some of the homes that have not sold are standing empty and others that the larger homes that have been turned into apartments. And I think that’s one issue that has been a problem with the apartments. People are there for maybe a few months, and they’re gone. And then somebody else comes in. They’re there for a while and then they’re gone, too. So there’s really no sense of ownership as such. The issues that concern us as a whole are probably not unique to any city. These times are hard on everybody." Neighbors, the neighborhood and Danville have always been important to Mary Ann Pettigrew. She is active in her Neighborhood Association and encourages young families to join and bring their children when they can. She knows there are many demands on families, but she says being a good neighbor is rewarding. "In my opinion, a good neighbor is one who you know is there for you. They’re friendly. They know that you can help them whenever they need it. And you know, without being intrusive. We had a neighbor lady. Her name was Margaret. We always called her Bunny. She used to drive a station wagon. And she was great. She taught Catechism at school. And she told us after church one day, she said, “Now when I give up my car,” she said, “would you take me to church?” We said, “Sure, Bunny. We’ll take you to church.” So she finally had to give it up, and she said, “Okay.” She said, “I had to take my driver’s license three times last year.” She said, “I’m not even going to try this year.” So, she was in her 90's then." Mary Ann Pettigrew of Danville, Illinois. I’m Celeste Quinn. Community Culture Economy History Housing People Urban Planning http://willconnect.org/stories/ui-professor-tackles-obesity-diabetes-in-immigrant-communities http://willconnect.org/stories/ui-professor-tackles-obesity-diabetes-in-immigrant-communities Rachel Otwell Fri, 06 Jan 2012 12:07:00 -0600 stories Angela Wiley, a professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, is trying to curb obesity and diabetes rates among immigrant communities. Obesity is hitting Latino children in the United States harder than any other demographic, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Angela Wiley, a professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, is trying to curb that trend in immigrant communities living in Illinois. She heads the Up Amigos project, which looks at how biological, social, and environmental factors affect rates of obesity and diabetes. Illinois Public Radio's Rachel Otwell talks with Wiley about her research. Health University Of Illinois People Interviews Immigration Health Care Latin America