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Dear CanDo Coalition Member:
Happy March!
Spring
is literally just around the corner and, with the warm weather we have
been having, our thoughts turn to gardening, spending time outside, and
longer days. It’s a bit early to start planting outside, but March is
the perfect time to start thinking about our local food system and how
beneficial it is to our community. How lucky we are to have the
Northern Colorado Food Cluster, an organization that was formed to more
efficiently connect the food system work of the region, build a formal
network to enhance economic opportunity, and proactively address food
security. All businesses and organizations that interface with the food
system or share the Food Cluster’s mission are invited to participate.
Besides being the convener for local food in Northern Colorado, the
Cluster operates the Winter Farmers Market through the end of April. Click here for more information.
Another
busy group in our local food system is our local farmers. Dozens of
farms in the area offer CSAs so we can all take advantage of fresh,
locally grown produce and March is the best time to purchase your CSA
share!
What is a CSA?
CSA,
which stands for Community Supported Agriculture, is a system for
helping farmers sell direct to consumers. Consumers pay at the beginning
of the season, when the farmer needs capital most (for seeds,
fertilizer and other seasonal startup costs), and receive farm raised
goods later that year, typically on a weekly or monthly schedule. CSA
programs are also called farm shares, because consumers are buying a
share of the farm’s production. There is also an element of risk
sharing—the crop is poor, share members agree to receive less; the
converse is also true—the farm produces a bumper crop, share members
will get more.
Not Just Produce
CSAs
aren’t confined to produce. Some farmers include the option for
shareholders to buy shares of eggs, homemade bread, meat, cheese, fruit,
flowers or other farm products along with their veggies. Sometimes
several farmers will offer their products together, to offer the widest
variety to their members. For example, a produce farmer might create a
partnership with a neighbor to deliver chickens to the CSA drop off
point, so that the CSA members can purchase farm-fresh chickens when
they come to get their CSA baskets.
Once
you’ve joined a CSA, you pick up your share once a week or month from
the farm or another designated location. CSAs happen during prime
growing season (in Colorado, they tend to run from June to October, but
every state, type of share and farm is different).
Most CSAs
offer different size memberships depending on how many family
members/individuals will be enjoying the produce. Buy one for your
family, or share one with your neighbor(s). What’s more, many CSAs offer
the opportunity to sponsor part of a share for needy families.
Don’t wait…many memberships sell out by the end of March, so do your research, choose your farm, and start dreaming about green!
Click on this link for information on local CSAs with links to local farms and resources.
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Call To Action
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Over
the past 18 months, a main area of focus for the CanDo Coalition has
been to advocate for the incorporation of meaningful health policies
into the updated Loveland Comprehensive Plan. To date, the health
policies that we collectively support have been well received because
they align with the community’s vision and values.
Updating the Comprehensive Plan represents a critical opportunity
to respond to community needs and to institutionalize community values
through health-related policies. We’re reaching out to ask for your
help in our final push. During February and March of 2016, we anticipate
that the Comprehensive Plan will enter its final phase. First, it will
be presented to the Planning Commission for a recommendation and then
it will be presented to City Council for formal approval and adoption.
Our elected and appointed officials have stated they want to hear from
Loveland’s citizens, so now is the time to reiterate the value of your
participation and your voice.
UPDATE:
After seven meetings since December 2014, on February 22, the Loveland Planning Commission unanimously recommended approval of Create Loveland to the City Council. Create Loveland will be presented to City Council during a study session on Tuesday March 22nd, 2016.
Between now and final adoption of the comprehensive plan, here’s how you can help:
If you choose to take action, please let Kelly Haworth know. We’d like to track efforts in our community for our grant and program reports and we’d like to offer help if needed.
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CanDo and Vida Sana Meeting Schedule
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Vida Sana
Our next meeting will be Monday, March 21 from 10:30-12:00 at Northside Aztlan Community Center (112 Willow St., Fort Collins.)
Built Environment Work Group (BEWG)
Our next meeting will be Tuesday, March 22 from 3:30-4:30pm at Lincoln Middle School (1600 Lancer Drive, Fort Collins, CO 80521)to conduct a walking audit with SANE (School Advocates of the North End.)
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Vida Sana
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Vida Sana Events
Vida
Sana and Healthy Hearts are currently hosting a program onsite at Lago
Vista Mobile Home Park in Loveland to educate and support the Vida Sana
community around heart health.
Several
Vida Sana staff and coalition members will be attending Health Equity
on the Hill on March 8 to speak about the role of policy in promoting
health equity in Colorado.
On Saturday, May 14, Vida Sana will be hosting a health fair at Poudre Valley Mobile Home Park. More information to come.
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School Wellness
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Thompson School District and Poudre School District
Congratulations to the following schools for being named 2016 Healthy School Champions
Lincoln Elementary School - TSD - Excellence Award, $500.00
Beattie Elementary School - PSD - Excellence Award - $500.00
Shepardson Elementary School - PSD - Promising School Award - $300.00
This program recognizes Colorado schools for their successes in
creating healthy school environments and implementing effective school
health efforts.
Click here for a full list of Champion Schools statewide.
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Poudre School District representatives help reshape federal Child Nutrition Act
Poudre
School District representatives traveled to Washington, D.C. on
February 21-23 to help shape and revise the Child Nutrition Act, the
primary federal legislation which regulates nutrition in local
educational agencies.
Read more about their trip in this Coloradoan article.
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Action for Healthy Kids
AFHK’s 2015-16 Wellness Wednesday Webinar Series
Looking for practical tips about healthy classroom parties, taste tests, yoga in the
classroom and other wellness activities? Don’t miss our Wellness
Wednesday Webinar Series. Join us live from 2-2:30 MT on the second
Wednesday of each month. Register, view archived webinars and learn more.
- September 9 - Not a Brain Break, But a Brain Energizer (archived)
- October 14 - Having Fun with Healthy Classroom Parties (archived)
- November 11 - Getting Kids to Try Healthy Foods with Taste Tests (archived)
- December 9 - Motivating Students with Yoga in the Classroom (archived)
- January 13 - Bringing Play Indoors when the Weather Gets Bad
- February 10 - How to Host a Health & Wellness Fair
- March 9 - Growing Your School Garden
- April 13 - Volunteer for Healthy Schools
- May 11 - Walk and Bike to School Programs that Engage Kids and Families
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Built Environment
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Built Environment Work Group
During
our February meeting, we presented some new and potential data sources
that can inform advocacy for an FC walks position. Kristin Kirkpatrick
will be finishing up her review of City policies in June, which will
shed some light on the current inclusion or omission of health within
these policies. Furthermore, FC Bikes has just put in a BFO request for a
community-wide travel behavior survey that could provide data to inform
the new transportation plan. We also discussed the need for research
that can inform a unified method of data collection for
underrepresented neighborhoods. Neighborhood-level data in Fort Collins
would help us understand the barriers to health for smaller segments of
the community.
For
the remainder of the meeting, we looked over some funding opportunities
that call for partnerships between BEWG and other community groups to
improve built environments. The Colorado Clinical and Translational
Sciences joint-project grant calls for an academic-community partnership
that meaningfully engages community partners in the
research process, improves research translation at a community level,
and decreases health disparities. BEWG and IBE hope to partner with Vida
Sana to pursue this grant and inform how built environment
interventions can work at a community level.
For our March meeting, we will be venturing out to Lincoln Middle School on Tuesday March 22nd at 3:30 p.m.to
conduct some walking audits with a few friends from local community
groups. This should be a great way to meet and work alongside fellow
advocates for safe pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure. Please join us
and extend the invitation to other interested community members. If you
have any questions or have suggestions for walking routes to be audited
near Lincoln Middle School, please contact Katie Vega at katherine.vega@colostate.edu. See you all there!
BEWG
would like to encourage members of the community to take part in these
discussions around pedestrian advocacy. Through diverse representation,
we can better understand and address the needs of our diverse community
members.
Please contact Colin Day at the Institute for the Built Environment for more information. Colin.day@colostate.edu or (970) 491-5041.
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Worksite Wellness
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Health LinksTM is a nonprofit initiative based at the Colorado School of Public Health that helps businesses build sustainable workplace health and safety programs. Health LinksTM
provides expert advising, Healthy Business Certification and connection
to resources and local preferred providers that offer health, safety
and well-being services. Get recognized as a champion of worker health
and safety today and get connected to a local community advisor. Visit HealthLinksCertified.org to get started.
We invite you to join us for any of our upcoming events - contact Michelle at michelle.haan@healthlinkscolorado.org for questions and to get more information.
Colorado Culture of Health Conference - April 27, 2016**
**The
Governor’s Council for Active and Healthy Lifestyles will be handing
out their Governor’s Award for Workplace Wellness at this year’s
Colorado Culture of Health Conference. Apply for Healthy Business
Certification Today and be eligible to win!
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Local Food and Gardens
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 Northern Colorado Food Cluster
Fort Collins Winter Farmers Market
When: 10:00am-2:00 pm
Where: Downtown Fort Collins at the Opera Galleria, 123 N. College Ave.
Dates:
The
primary mission for the Fort Collins Winter Farmers Markets is to
support local food producers, to provide an outlet for direct sales to
consumers, encourage season extension and increased supplies of fresh
produce and whole foods in the region, and to educate consumers about
the variety of local foods that are produced and sold during the fall,
winter and early spring. The Winter Farmers Market facilitates the
creation of relationships between producers and consumers. Click here for market updates.
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Partner Events
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City of Fort Collins - FCBikes
Gear up for bicycling year round with classes, special events, and resources for spring riding.
Scavenger Hunt by Bike
Explore your city by bike, March through April!
Spring is a perfect time to ride a bike, so grab your bike and roll
around town on this fun, family-friendly, and self-paced adventure.
Follow FC Bikes on Facebook and Twitter for weekly clues, or download clues. Submit your completed adventure by May 2 for a chance to win prizes!
Bike Share Launch Ribbon Cutting and Celebration
Friday, April 15:00-7:00pmJoin us
Friday afternoon for a ribbon cutting ceremony to officially launch Fort
Collins Bike Share, at the Downtown Transit Center from 12:00-1:00pm. A
group ride will follow for those interested in taking the new system
for a spin. Drop by Old Town Square Friday evening for our Launch
Celebration.
Did you know we also offer classes by request for businesses or organizations? Check out the Bicycle Ambassador Program website for more information.
Bicycling Classes
Sign up for Spring Bicycling Classes like Bicycle Friendly Driver Certification and Everyday Cycling. Registration and information is available through the Recreator or by calling the Recreator registration desk at (970) 221-6256. ______________________________________________________________________
Food For Life - Nutrition and Cooking Classes
The Power of Food for Cancer Prevention and Survival
With
generous support from Fort Collins Senior Center, Food for Life
instructor Sapna Von Reich is delighted to bring valuable, life-saving
nutrition information to the Colorado community.
Join Sapna in exploring how a diet rich in vegetables, fruits, grains, and legumes can enhance your health and support your overall wellness goals. Learn how to gain control of your health through simple steps in the kitchen.
Classes start on March 29. For more information and registration, please click here.
For more information and registration, click here.
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Food Bank for Larimer County
THE TASTE
With flavorful food, complementing beverages and a passion for
helping the hungry, the area’s top chefs, restaurants, wineries and
breweries gather for THE TASTE, a major fundraising event for the Food
Bank for Larimer County. You won’t find another opportunity to try a
wide variety of fabulous food and delicious drink under one roof!
All guests at THE TASTE enjoy unlimited tastings of delicious food
and fabulous drink and the opportunity to chat with local chefs, wine
experts and brew masters in a fun-filled cocktail party atmosphere.
Guests also have an opportunity to vote for their favorite restaurant to
award the “Toast of THE TASTE.” Live music and a silent auction filled
with fun items and experiences donated by local businesses round out the
evening.
April 14, 2015 - 6:00-9:00pm at the Hilton Fort Collins
(5:00pm VIP entrance, 6:00pm General admission)
For more information and to purchase tickets, click here.
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Local and National HEAL News
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Imagine Colorado
IDEAS Challenge
Imagine Colorado is a first-of-its kind statewide open innovation “ideas” challenge, presented by the Colorado Innovation Network and LiveWell Colorado,
asking the question “How would you connect Colorado’s youth to a
healthier lifestyle?” Imagine Colorado is an ideation challenge where we
will reward the top ideas regardless of the submitter’s ability to
execute. We believe innovation can happen anywhere and we are seeking
YOUR best ideas to help us answer one of our state’s most pressing
challenges.
The
goal for Imagine Colorado is to spur civic imagination and innovation
from across our state. We believe the answers to our greatest challenges
exist within our people and Imagine Colorado is the platform where good
ideas can be collected. Imagine Colorado
is an active innovation lab for healthy lifestyles inclusive of all
residents. What does it mean to ensure everyone has an equal opportunity
to lead a healthy lifestyle? What input would Colorado residents
provide as they imagine healthy lifestyles for their families and
neighborhoods?
All
Coloradans can submit their ideas. You can submit an idea as an
individual or as part of team, classroom, company or community. We will
recognize the top ten finalists and award $25,000 worth of prizes to the
winners at a high-energy event in May 2016.
Coloradans, ages 7 and up, have until March 31 to submit their best ideas at
www.imagineco.us.
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Looking at Policies Through a Health Lens
Good health doesn’t start just at the doctor’s office. Where we live, learn, work, and play can influence healthy behaviors.
While
an individual can take steps to change her behavior - for example, to
exercise more - it takes individuals and organizations working together
to reshape the physical environment, such as through policies related to
playgrounds and reliable public transit, to help create healthy,
vibrant neighborhoods.
Click here to see how policies can affect how physically active we are. |
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