Healthier Campus Initiative
Going off to college signals a time of newfound independence for young adults, who are suddenly able to make all of their own choices. The habits they form during these years – including what they eat and how much physical activity they get – can last a lifetime.
But research shows the choices many are making can hurt them in the long run: 95 percent fail to eat the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables and more than 60 percent report not getting enough physical activity, according to a study published in 2014 in the journal Preventive Medicine.
Recognizing this, PHA partners with colleges and universities across the nation to create campus environments that encourage and support greater physical activity and healthier eating habits. Each college or university partner has committed to meeting 23 of 41 guidelines within three years. The guidelines were developed by PHA in collaboration with some of the nation’s leading nutrition, physical activity and campus wellness experts.
North Carolina State University was the first to meet all 23 of those guidelines, taking steps that included offering wellness meals three times a day; highlighting healthier options in vending machines; offering group fitness classes and outdoor fitness areas; and opening a food pantry for food-insecure faculty, staff and students.
Some colleges offer programs that reach beyond campus to students’ families. For example, Central New Mexico Community College opened a mobile food pantry for students offering food boxes ample enough to feed a family of four. And Florida International University’s food pantry allows students to take home up to 10 pounds of food once a week.
To date, our Healthier Campus Initiative includes more than 50 diverse colleges and universities across 29 states and the District of Columbia, including several historically black colleges, as well as those on tribal land. We are proud to say that through programs like these, PHA and campus partners encourage healthier living now and for generations to come.
Learn more about the Healthier Campus Initiative and how your campus can get involved here. View a list of campus partners.
Partnership for a Healthier America’s Healthier Campus Initiative will celebrate its fifth annual #HealthyCampus Week (HCW), sponsored by MINDBODY, Columbia and Sodexo the week of September 23-39, 2019. This weeklong push is focused on promoting the great work PHA campus partners are doing to make healthier choices easier for students, faculty and staff across the country.
Our Work In Motion
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School Meals Are a Daily Lifeline
School meals are a daily lifeline for millions of families who cannot afford consistent, nutritious meals for every member of their household. See them in action at one Mississippi elementary school.
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Filling the Summer Food Gap One Family At A Time
In the summer, millions of children lose access to meals they typically get at school, and family food budgets are stretched thin. That’s what’s called the summer food gap — and it can have devastating, long-term consequences for children. One way PHA is helping to fill the summer food gap is through our Good Food for All produce box program which provides families facing barriers to access with 50 servings of fresh and high quality fruits and vegetables for 12 weeks.
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Indianapolis Mayor, Instacart, and Partnership for a Healthier America Celebrate Expanded Nutrition Security Program Connecting Indianapolis Families with Nutritious Food
New Instacart technology connects families in need with free food delivery and monthly funds to spend on produce. Kicking off in Indianapolis, new Instacart and PHA partnership to bring Fresh Funds to cities across the country.
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Taking SNAP Benefits from Families Perpetuates a Cycle of Inequitable Access
As PHA works with partners across every sector to improve Food Equity - from the charitable food system to local, state and the Federal government - it's important to protect critical programs like SNAP that help millions of families access nutritious good food every day. That's why we were so disappointed to see the reduction to benefits starting March 1, that cut monthly food benefits as much as 40% for many working families and seniors on fixed incomes that rely on the program.
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Food Equity Bright Spot: Lincoln, Nebraska
Partnership for a Healthier America has launched its Food Equity Opportunity Map, highlighting where improving access to good food would make the greatest impact and allowing everyone to see what Food Equity looks like in their community for the first time. This blog is part of an ongoing effort to highlight bright spots around the country where PHA is working to increase equitable access to good food.