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Related Programs: Comprehensive School Nutrition Policy A coordinated school nutrition policy provides the framework for ensuring that students attending schools in Philadelphia receive nutrition education messages that are reinforced throughout the school environment. Kindergarten Initiative This initiative targets low-income kindergarten students through the classroom, supplying a curriculum that integrates nutrition into their daily lessons and offering healthy snacks grown by local farmers.

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Healthy Times

The Healthy Times project engages children in some of the most pressing nutrition and health issues facing their generation today. Federal data indicate the percentage of children who are overweight has roughly tripled in the past generation. In 2004, 43% of children in Southeastern Pennsylvania ages 2 to 17 were overweight or obese, up from 38% in 2002, according to Philadelphia Health Management Corp. research.These children are at increased risk of developing heart disease, type 2 diabetes and other chronic illnesses.

The Healthy Times newspaper project empowers youth to research and report on nutrition, physical activity and other health topics that most interest and concern them. The project teaches children basic journalistic skills so they can report on health-related activities and topics. The student reporters learn to gather information for their stories through interviews with school staff, students and outside experts. They also conduct taste tests, review books and research topics on the Web.  The young journalists create a tangible, accessible source of health information for other students and the entire school community.

The project builds on an initiative that began at Hillcrest Elementary School in Upper Darby in 2003, and has published more than 20 issues. Marian Uhlman, a former Philadelphia Inquirer staff writer specializing in health issues, developed the project with a Hillcrest second-grade teacher. She now directs the project for The Trust.

The Trust launched three healthy newspapers in the fall of 2006 in Norristown and Reading elementary schools as part of an ongoing pilot project. The publications are distributed through classroom teachers to nearly 2,000 children and their families. The Trust plans to add several newspaper sites in schools and after-school programs in the next year.  The goal is to build a student-driven health newspaper model that can be replicated and adapted by schools and community groups in the Philadelphia region.

To find out more about the Healthy Times project, please contact Marian Uhlman at muhlman@thefoodtrust.org