You’ve heard about the importance of literacy for reading, for finances (“financial literacy”), and maybe even for math — aka, numeracy — but what about food literacy?
The Food Literacy Center, a nonprofit in Sacramento, Calif., is inspiring kids to become knowledgeable about food in the hopes that they’ll develop life long healthy eating habits.
It opened its doors three years ago, offering classes on cooking and all-around vegetable know-how to children and has become so popular that now, dozens of volunteers work alongside its four full-time employees — reaching 2,400 kids at public libraries, after-school programs and other nonprofits. It specializes in reaching low-income kids and those who qualify for free and reduced lunch. These families often can’t afford fresh produce, leaving their kids inexperienced in everything from carrots to kohlrabi.
At the Food Literacy Center, they learn such facts as how to distinguish fruits — including the frequently misidentified bell pepper — and why whole fruits are better for them than juices and jellies.
The founder of the center, Amber Stott, tells the Sacramento Bee, “Because kids’ eating habits haven’t been firmly formed yet, we have a great opportunity to create healthy eaters, to help these kids become food adventurers and build habits that will last a lifetime.”
The effect of fruit and veggie literacy often extends to the kids’ parents. Evonne Fisher, the mother of a seven-year-old participating in the program, says that before her daughter’s food lessons, neither of them were culinary adventurers. “Before Food Literacy, if I was scared of how a certain food looked, I wouldn’t try it,” she says. “But this has really opened me up. I never would have tried a persimmon before, and now? I love them.”
MORE: This Innovative Idea Brings Produce Directly to Low-Income Neighborhoods
Tag: Sacramento
The Leaders of California’s Most Tech-Friendly Cities Say Governments Need to Do These Three Things
It takes more than just technology to join the government 2.0 movement that’s swept the country over the past few years. Beyond big data, it takes vision and leadership to create governmental strategies that will better serve communities through a multitude of tech-driven solutions.
Discussing those tools and policies at the California Leadership Forum last week were a panel of some of the state’s public-sector innovation leaders. Highlighting some of their discussion, here are three strategies to keep in mind as more municipalities take on the task of creating a more transparent and efficient government:
Foster a cultural change in the workplace.
Encouraging employees to experiment with new ideas while at work is essential in shifting government out of antiquated practices, according to Lea Deesing, chief innovation officer of Riverside, Calif. That task is a job belonging to the new mainstay in local governments: chief innovation officers.
Jeremy Goldberg, deputy chief of staff for San Jose, Calif. Mayor Chuck Reed and head of the city’s civic innovation efforts, agrees, adding that recognizing “internal champions” who can coordinate projects with third parties in short periods of time also helps.
Engage citizens to help spur ideas.
Rather than simply highlighting success stories, officials need to focus on what changes need to happen to continue fostering a more innovative environment, according to Robert White, chief innovation officer of Davis, Calif.
“I would love to see at the state level, some kind of recognition or awarding of folks who in their daily jobs, are just changing the way we think about delivering government services,” he says. “That would be a very meaningful way to get others to be engaged and see these best practices and opportunities.”
Emphasizing an open environment and inviting residents to share ideas on a technical level is another strategy to generate more local participation, Deesing adds. One example? Riverside’s transparency portal, Engage Riverside, links to the community share tool MindMixer, which prompted a program for free computer training for low-income families.
Keep a focus on cybersecurity.
With more transparency and big data comes the concern about privacy. As governments continue to utilize data and develop online community tools, protecting it is paramount.
“It’s fun to talk about all the great things we’re about to do with technology, but if we’re not protecting our current assets, our department of justice data, our police data, our fire data, if we’re not doing that, I think we’re doing a disservice,” Deesing says.
What’s the Most Generous City in America?
We’ve always been a bit wary of reports that rank cities based on which is “The Most” or “The Best” in some particular way. But a new study published by CreditDonkey.com attempts to discover the 10 most generous cities in the U.S. If you live in one of them, permission granted to be proud.
The study focused on generosity both in terms of time and money. To examine time, the researchers studied 2012 data from the Corporation for National and Community Service. Minneapolis had the highest rate, with 36.7 percent of citizens volunteering.
To examine financial generosity, the site used recent IRS data to show which states’ citizens reported the most charitable contributions. On total dollar contributions, New York won.
In an attempt to weed out what they refer to as a “high lack of generosity,” the researchers used FBI data to look at cities where theft was most rampant. Topping this (unwanted) list? Hammond, Louisiana.
Obviously, this study focused on a narrow form of measurable generosity — after all, community service logs don’t account for daily kindnesses paid to strangers or political activism that results in better working conditions. And tax-reported charitable contributions certainly aren’t the only way to show financial generosity. Even high rates of theft don’t necessarily indicate low generosity; they might simply indicate high rates of poverty.
That said, according to the final rankings, New York City is the most generous of all the American cities. The Big Apple has the highest per capita financial donation rate, and the Food Bank for New York City is the largest anti-hunger charity in the United States. Detroit also made the list, with an average $474 donation per person. Other cities that CreditDonkey lists as generous are Atlanta, Denver, and Dallas.
The next time you’re planning a vacation, perhaps it’s worth checking out one of these generous communities.
A Unique Class Helps Vets Find Their Footing in College and Beyond
Dealing with someone who is suicidal can have a lasting effect on a person, as Sacramento State professor Beth Erickson learned from one of her students.
When Erickson noticed that the performance of one of her “A” students, a military veteran, started to slip, she talked to him and learned that he was suffering from PTSD. “He was suicidal that day in my office,” she told Nick Janes of CBS Sacramento. She sought help for him through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and eventually, he was able to graduate. Inspired by that upsetting event, Erickson, a professor in the Department of Recreation & Parks and Tourism, decided that she wanted to help other students who happened to be veterans as well. So she started a class that’s exclusively for ex-servicemembers.
Her “Perspectives on Leisure” class has the sort of title you’d think would only appear on transcripts of students trying to coast by — but the work she’s doing with veterans is real.
The two-semester course is a part of the university’s Veterans Leadership and Mentorship Program. It focuses on writing, outdoor activities, and fostering leadership through student veterans mentoring other student veterans. Erickson told Alan Miller of Sacramento State that it’s “the most amazing course I’ve taught in 13 years…My objective is to help them translate the training and leadership they learned in the service into measurable civilian skills.”
The class includes field trips to connect with nature through whitewater rafting trips and hikes in Yosemite National Park. Erickson invites the students to reflect on their lives and experiences in their writing assignments. Upperclassmen in the course mentor students who’ve just begun their transition from the military to the civilian world to help ease their way.
Coast Guard veteran Sean Johnson, a student in Erickson’s class, said that the veterans-only approach to the course has bolstered him. “I realized these guys are my family now,” he said. “These guys are just as much as family as I had in the military.”
MORE: These Veterans Rallied to Save A Fellow Vet from the Cold
The Big, Environmental Problem with Grass and What This City Wants to Do About It
There’s something about a lush, perfectly manicured patch of green in front of a house that’s quintessentially American. In fact: about 80 percent of homes in the United States have lawns. But growing and maintaining those blades comes with a hefty price tag.
Lawn care, with its constant watering, weeding, fertilizing, and mowing is a $40-billion-a-year industry. And there’s an environmental cost, too. Lawn upkeep is a giant waste of water. The EPA estimates landscape irrigation accounts for nearly one-third of all residential water use — totaling nearly 9 billion gallons per day. That’s a figure that water-pinched states (such as California, Kansas, and New Mexico) cannot afford to squander for a money-, resource-, and time-suck crop that isn’t even edible.
Now, the Sacramento, California City Council has unanimously voted for a “cash for grass” program that will give rebates to residents for getting rid of their lawns and replacing it with drought-friendly plants. (Lovely, lower maintenance alternatives include perennials, shrubs, stone walkways or fruit and vegetable gardens.) The idea is that homeowners will receive 50 cents per square foot of lawn, up to 1,000 feet. The city has set aside $100,000 for the program and rebates will be issued in April.
MORE: How Catfish Can Help Solve California’s Water Woes
While the spending plan hasn’t yet been finalized, the Sacramento Bee reports that enthusiasm is high for the program and there’s already a waiting list of eager residents. “I think this will really help our residents make a difference in saving water,” said Councilman Kevin McCarty, who proposed the program. “I think it’s time that as a city, we help incentivize action in conservation.”
So could California’s lawns be in peril? With no end to this historic drought in sight, it’s a simple sacrifice that lawn lovers just might have to make.