Blog

  • Healthy Active Communities

    Wed, 03/10/2010 - 10:57am — laiken

    Today's blog post was written by Sheree Thaxton Vodicka, MA, RD, LDN. Sheree is the Communications Manager for the Physical Activity and Nutrition Branch at NCDPH. Sheree not only talks the talk when it comes to healthy living, she sets a great example on how to live well for those who surround her.

     

     

     

  • AHA Needs Your Help!

    Wed, 03/03/2010 - 9:41am — laiken

    Many times I am asked how folks can get involved in the work of AHA. The answer varies depending on the projects we are working on and the interests of the volunteer. In addition to specific opportunities, I always provide the standard answer of "help us change our culture." People often ask me what that means.  Simply put- walk the walk, and talk the talk. Don't expect anyone to do anything you would not do yourself.  Lead by example and show others the way to good health through your actions.

  • Community Gardens--DIG IN!!

    Wed, 02/17/2010 - 3:38pm — laiken

    Today's blog entry was written by Caroline Um and Christina Wyatt, nutrition students in the School of Public Health at UNC.

    Community gardens are a growing trend across the nation and they are quickly making their way into Wake County! Join AHA partners at Marbles Kids Museum (Downtown Raleigh) Saturday April 17 from 9 am - 12:30 pm to learn the down and dirty on community gardening.  The summit will provide participants with the knowlege to start, maintain, manage and enjoy the wonderful benefits of building a sustainable garden in the neighborhood, workplace, school or worship group!Participants will also be provided with the skills to engage the community in the work of community gardening. The event  will include interactive breakout sessions led by community gardening experts, educational booths, and optional offsite community garden tours.

  • School Foods Could Soon Get Make-Over; How YOU can help!

    Thu, 02/04/2010 - 4:14pm — laiken

    The foods children are exposed to at school make a significant difference in their eating behaviors and subsequently their overall health. With childhood obesity rates skyrocketing, the time to get healthier foods in schools is now.

  • Wake County Medical Society Gets Serious About Employee Wellness

    Mon, 02/01/2010 - 9:43am — laiken

    This entry was written by Tami Hilton from Community Care of Wake and Johnston County.  She shares with us how the Wake County Medical Society has created an extremely successful (and fun) employee wellness program.     

    I have never blogged but am so excited about what the Wake County Medical Society has offered their employees this year... an Employee Health Promotion Plan!!!! It works like this:  If you choose to participate you can receive up to $200 for agreeing to incorporate some healthy lifestyle choices into your life.

  • Resources for Physical Activity in Wake County

    Thu, 01/28/2010 - 10:59am — laiken

    If you are anything like me, the short burst of warm weather gave you a bit of spring fever.  We are fortunate in Wake County that we have an extensive trails and greenways system that can be used both for physical activity and transportation. Exploring our greenways system is a fun way to be physically active. Don't forget to check out our Wake County Greenways Maps to find new parks and trails! Some of us prefer to mix some classes into our fitness routines to provide motivation and new ideas. Don't forget to check out the AHA Resource page for a list of places to be physically active. If you live in the western part of the county, the Town of Cary has several classes for both youth and adults you can try! No matter how you like to be active, we have many options in our community! Get out and use them!

  • The Food Dude and Inter-Faith Food Shuttle

    Fri, 01/22/2010 - 11:03am — laiken

    Hi there all you Advocates for Health in Action,

    We mentioned previously how the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle and AHA share a desire for healthy communities and that we work together on making it happen. For example, our Director of Nutrition Katherine Andrew and our Director of Programs Tonya Post both work on AHA committees. Katherine Co-Chairs the Community Garden Workgroup and Tonya chairs the Engagement and Inclusion Workgroup.  In honor of all the ways we work together, we created a short video to celebrate being healthy. Check out the Food Dude starring in“Energy Boost”.

     

  • Become a part of protecting our greenways

    Mon, 01/18/2010 - 11:03am — laiken

    Within several years, your greenway system in the Triangle will soon span hundreds of miles from the Falls Lake Dam through Raleigh or down the Neuse River to Umstead Park, Cary (and many more towns and cities) connecting up to the American Tobacco Trail and then to Durham. AMAZING!!!! But now the greenway system is under threat of being severed by a small group of VERY vocal neighbors in Summerfield North subdivision, (North Raleigh off Strickland Rd.) who are literally objecting to signage directing users through their subdivision on public streets and sidewalks for the 2 ½ blocks to where the greenway restarts heading south towards Shelly Lake. Staff has said they have never seen such a rude and vocal group of citizens at a public meetings shouting down our supporters and basically making a spectacle. They proposed two alternate routes that would add unnecessary time, cost and distance to a direct link though the neighborhood. (You might be reading the ongoing battle in the N. Raleigh News) They are making the same old tired arguments about crime, vandals and property values; all of which is totally untrue and in fact, the opposite is true.

  • More from IFFS...

    Tue, 01/12/2010 - 12:27pm — laiken

    Hey there AHAers,
    We mentioned last time that the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle is a hunger-relief organization and we go about our mission of feeding hungry people through a variety of programs. Food Recovery and Distribution is how we got started. It’s a simple concept, but has amazing ramifications. We rescue food that is still wholesome and nutritious but would otherwise go into the wastestream and make sure it gets to hungry children, families and seniors. In the Greater Triangle, we work with over 200 partner agencies- soup kitchens, shelters, pantries- to distribute this food. In 2009, we rescued over 6 MILLION POUNDS of food from retailers, wholesalers and other food providers. The majority of that is perishable food- healthy fruits, vegetables and grains. That’s one reason we partner with AHA; we are both passionate about helping make healthy communities.

  • A New Year and A New Blog- Meet the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle!

    Tue, 01/05/2010 - 9:43am — laiken

    Hey, this is a pretty cool way to start 2010, blogging for AHA. We’ve been excited about this for a while and look forward to spending some time on this part of the web throughout January. But first, I guess we should have introductions. We’re the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle, a hunger relief organization that serves seven counties in the Greater Triangle. How do we fight hunger? Through Food Recovery and Distribution, BackPack Buddies, Culinary Job Training, Nutrition Education, Farms and Community Gardens, to name a few. We work closely with Advocates for Health in Action on several projects. We’ll get to all that in more detail the coming weeks.

    For today, we’ve got a couple of short videos for you. The first talks about our name. You’d be surprised how much confusion “Inter-Faith Food Shuttle” can create. We hope this video clears things up.