A provision under the Affordable Care Act allows Medicare to penalize hospitals for high readmission rates within 30 days of discharge, particularly among patients with heart attacks, heart failure or pneumonia. So hospitals near and far have begun various initiatives.
The surprisingly intense pushback against a proposed ban on school bake sales in Mass. is just the latest example of how hard it is for schools to improve their nutrition — and kids' health.
There is a world of difference in how districts provide healthy school lunches. One key difference is money—both the income levels of school districts and the cost of lunch programs. Another is the food culture of diverse communities, so to speak, and what kids and their families are used to eating. In districts like Oakland, which participate in the federally and state subsidized lunch programs, the nutrition services have just $2.74 per meal to deliver a lunch that meets guidelines--and that kids will want to eat. Affluent districts such as Orinda don't participate in the subsidized lunch program and may serve catered lunches that are a lot like food they would eat at home.
Veteran food policy journalist Christopher Cook offers context on "food deserts" and how to identify and report on them in your community.
First, it was the opening of a Kroger in East Oakland. Now it's the announcement that Tesco's Fresh and Easy is heading to the Bayview. What exactly, you may be asking yourself, makes these stories major headline news?
And why is a doctor spending time writing about grocery stores too?
Three-part series on obesity in Merced County
Part 1: Merced's growing problem of obesity in life's stages
Part 2: Teens have easy access to unhealthy foods
Part 3: From binge eating to getting fit
Dr. Frazao worked several years as an International Nutrition Planner helping to develop multisectoral nutrition programs, which led to her interest in applying economic theory to nutrition-related problems.
