Farmers markets

Grant County, NM

rosalie — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:53:18 -0600

For all the sweeping natural beauty of Grant County—majestic mountains, fragrant pine forests, high desert grasslands—there is also the triple challenge of poverty, isolation and infrastructure.

The county covers 3,900 square miles, but its population, divided almost evenly between Whites and Hispanics, is less than 30,000. Nearly half of all residents live in small rural communities distant from the county’s four incorporated towns. Thirty-eight areas are designated as colonias because of substandard housing, water and sewage systems and streets.

San Felipe Pueblo, NM

rosalie — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:48:51 -0600

Nestled halfway between Albuquerque and Santa Fe, 3,200 people live as a sovereign nation in the Pueblo of San Felipe (Katishtya). Theirs is a historic tribe, first recognized by the federal government in the mid-19th century but with traditions that date back more than 400 hundred years. Yet theirs is also a challenged community, as pertains to the health of their children and the resources available to help youth eat nutritious foods and be physically active.

Rancho Cucamonga, CA

rosalie — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:33:36 -0600

Rancho Cucamonga originally was a small agricultural community of 50,000 tucked into Southern California’s San Bernardino County. Today, after several decades of rapid growth, it is an ethnically and racially diverse suburban community of 175,000. Vineyards and citrus groves have been replaced by sprawling housing and retail development, including an abundance of unhealthy food outlets.

These environmental changes have helped to create a perfect storm for obesity and related health problems, particularly in the southwest section of the city.

Phoenix, AZ

rosalie — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:32:35 -0600

In less than 20 years, tremendous growth has turned Phoenix into the nation’s fifth-largest city. But the expansion of critical infrastructure has not kept pace with its surge in population and land development. The imbalance is particularly acute in older neighborhoods, where there are too few safe and accessible parks, playgrounds, streets, bike paths and public pools for the burgeoning ranks of children.

Omaha, NE

rosalie — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:22:51 -0600

With more than 500,000 residents, Omaha easily claims the title of Nebraska’s largest city. During a growth spurt in the 1950s, its middle class left the older eastern end of the city for the developing suburbs to the west. A diverse, largely lower-income population filled the void. Today, this section of Omaha remains has a median household income that is about half that of households in the rest of the city and surrounding Douglas County.

Nash and Edgecombe Counties, NC

rosalie — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:20:45 -0600

Obesity comes early in Nash and Edgecombe counties: 29 percent of young children in the two North Carolina jurisdictions are obese or overweight before kindergarten.

It’s an extremely troubling pattern and one that only gets far worse with age. Among men and women here, nearly three out of every four are obese or overweight. The adult rate places Nash and Edgecombe among the top five heaviest counties in North Carolina.

Moore and Montgomery Counties, NC

rosalie — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:18:14 -0600

The beauty of gentle pine-dotted hills hides an acute impoverishment through the southern midsection of North Carolina. In Moore and Montgomery counties, for example, one out of every five children ages 5 to 17 lives below the federal poverty level. An equal number also lives close to that edge.

For all too many young people here, their health reflects these rates. A project called Healthy Kids in the Carolinas will work in five communities in the largely rural region where overweight and obesity among elementary school students exceeds 50 percent at times.

Lake Worth, Greenacres and Palm Springs, FL

rosalie — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:14:19 -0600

Palm Beach boasts sparkling white beaches, beautiful hotels and mansions of some rich and famous. Drive just a few miles south, and it’s no longer a tourist’s postcard world. The affluence and privilege disappears, to be replaced by the social and health problems of economically compromised communities.

Poverty. Homelessness. Illiteracy. Obesity. They’re all too plentiful within the trio of cities wedged here between the Atlantic Ocean and Florida Turnpike.

Kingston, NY

rosalie — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:12:05 -0600

It’s a historic city that was New York’s first capital, a gateway city to the outdoor fun of the Catskill Mountains. Yet here on the banks of the Hudson River, Kingston is also a city trying to recast itself—as a community that helps its residents be physically active and healthy.

With nearly a fifth of its population of 24,000 living in poverty, and about 44 percent of youth overweight or obese, this aspiration will not be easy to achieve.

Kansas City, MO/KS

rosalie — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:10:51 -0600

Only a state line separates Missouri’s Kansas City from Kansas City, Kan., but like most big metropolitan areas, this one is a mix of neighborhoods with sometimes similar, sometimes distinct characteristics. Take Argentine, a mostly Latino community on the Kansas side of the line, and Ivanhoe, a predominantly African-American neighborhood on the Missouri side. The flavor of each is very different, but they share one thing in particular when it comes to health: Both communities suffer from high rates of childhood obesity.