Category Archives: Health

The Wellness Bus

Did you know that the University of Utah has a Wellness Bus?  And that it visits our Westside communities regularly? “The Wellness Bus helps communities, families and individuals by teaching them to make healthier lifestyle choices. Learn how to manage pre-diabetes and help prevent Type 2 diabetes. The Wellness Bus travels to places you live, work, and play.” Here is a list of its weekly locations and schedule (Click on photo for larger view).

Visit the website at WellnessBus.org

 

DODI Wellness Bus Schedule Flyer_Oct18 FINAL_ENGscaled

 

DODI Wellness Bus Schedule Flyer_Oct18 FINAL_SPAscaled

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Utahns Against Hunger: Utah Summer Food Program

FreeFood flyerSummer is on the way and that means the start of the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP). The SFSP works to fill the nutrition gap between school years for low-income students who rely on free and reduced price breakfast and lunch programs. The summer food program begins after the school year ends, usually the beginning of June. Summer food sites in Utah are sponsored either by a school district’s food service program, the Utah Food Bank, or Salt Lake Head Start and they serve breakfast, lunch, and supper in parks and schools across the state. This is program is free to all kids 18 years and younger and there is no paperwork or registration required.

For the second year in a row, Utahns Against Hunger is running a literacy program on the west side of Salt Lake City.  Kids who attend the lunch program at Jordan Park on Tuesdays, Sherwood Park on Wednesdays, and Northwest Central Park on Thursdays will receive a free book all summer long!

Click on the photo for the Summer Food Service Program flyer. Our hope is that you are able to print this summer food flyer and share it with your network and neighbors. If possible, please display the summer food flyer today and leave till the end of July.

For a full list of summer food sites in your area please visit our web page where there are printable flyers and a searchable map.See a list of Salt Lake School District sites here (including Backman Elementary, Jackson Elementary, Rose Park Elementary and West High). Parks are also listed.

 

In addition, you can call Utahns Against Hunger at 800-453-3663 for assistance locating a site. You can also text FOOD to 877877 to find a location. All of this information is available on the flyer as well.

Please call if you have any questions.

Marti Woolford, Nutrition Initiatives Director

Utahns Against Hunger

801 328-2561 (office)

800 453-3663 (toll free)

www.uah.org

To increase access to food through advocacy, outreach, and education

Get your Garden on with Fairpark Community’s First Annual Plant Sale!

Got Garden?

We have just what you need to fill it up!

EventFlyerAfter months of hard work by volunteers, the Fairpark Community Council’s First Annual Plant Sale is almost here!  Almost 4,000 veggies and herb plants are being cared for by dedicated volunteers.  The seedlings are growing like wild and will be sure to enhance any garden in our neighborhood with culinary delights.

Read more here (http://fairparkcommunity.org/?p=814) about how to pre-order your plants and pick them up as early as the end of April, and view full catalogs of the availalbe varieties of vegetables and herbs, as well as a full color listing of the vegetable seeds that will be given away at the May 14 event.

How did this all start?

The FCC Board decided to take advantage of the Salt Lake City annual Signature Event Fund application in fall of 2015. The FCC Board decided that a fun event would be a plant sale and education event.    The scope of events that happened after that was amazing!

IMG_2154A donation of a structure that looks very much like a bus shelter was timely.  Volunteers dismantled the structure over a weekend in late February and the following weekend rebuilt it at All Chay restaurant (1264 W 500 N), the proprietors of which graciously donated space for the project. The next 6 weeks were busy with fine tuning the structure with materials to make it a functioning greenhouse, planting seeds, separating seedlings, watering the plants and generating interest in our community for the project. Tom King, project lead, appeared on KRCL Radio’s Punk Rock Farmer show on April 15 to discuss and promote the project.seedlingseparation

The next few weeks will be spent continuing the care of the plants, advertising and promoting the event, taking pre-orders with the culminating plant sale event at Northwest Community Center, Saturday, May 14 at 10am.

As a special incentive to get people to attend the May 14 event, we will be offering free seeds for lettuce, carrots, zucchini, cucumbers and more! There will fun be activities for kids of all ages.

View the full color listing of the vegetable seeds that will be given away here.

IMG_2980Left over plants from the May 14 event will be taken to the Get Into the River Festival from 5-7pm, at the Fairpark Amphitheater, 155 North 1000 West.

We are very excited about this community building/enhancing project.  We hope residents will become more interested in growing their own food, sharing their stories about gardening, sharing samples of their edibles, and develop sustainable habits that will improve health and lifestyles for years to come.

Garden on dude!

PLANTSIGN

Dirt2Table: A Great time of year!

Don’t you love it this time of year? I certainly do. Everything from the buds swelling on the fruit trees, dandelions blooming, willows and others flowering, to the birds getting more active, it sure feels like spring.

seedlingseparation
I just hope that a late frost doesn’t get some of our fruit trees this year. As you may know if you read these columns, the Fairpark Community Council is hosting it’s First Annual Get your garden STARTED Plant Sale. We are starting dozens of varieties of peppers and tomatoes. Lots of heirlooms as well as several varieties of Basil. In fact, as of March 7th some of the Lettuce Leaf basil is already up from seeds planted 8 days ago.

Continue reading

Pedal in the City: Bike Commuting ~ One of the Best Ways to Stay Healthy

Working out at the gym has its benefits, but consider something that might bring more enjoyment along with those health benefits: Bike commuting.pedalcity

A 2013 article in Grist Magazine by Jay Walljasper discusses the health benefits of bike commuting.

“Biking for transportation appears more helpful in losing weight and promoting health than working out at the gym.

This means I can spend less time wearing a grimace as I endure mind-numbing exercise routines at the Y — and more time wearing a smile as I bike to work, shopping, and social events. Just what I always thought.”

Citing a study on commuting by bike vs. car, Walljasper highlights the fact that exercise for transportation my have better health benefits than weekly exercise routines. Continue reading

Salt Lake County Offers Free “Lead Safe Housing” Program

If your home was built before 1978, you may want to look into the “Lead Safe Housing” program with free services from Salt Lake County. Services are free if you
qualify (see eligibility requirements here).

Salt Lake County administers grant funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to qualifying homeowners, renters, and landlords to make homes lead safe for children.  All services are free.

The focus of the program is to remediate lead hazards in homes built before 1978, where children under the age of six reside or visit frequently.

NOTE: The Salt Lake County Health Department recommends all children under the age of six be tested for lead exposure.  The Salt Lake Lead Safe Housing Program provides testing for children under the age of six who live in qualifying properties.

For more information, contact:

Lead Safe Housing
2001 S State Street S2-810
Salt Lake City, UT 84114
Phone: 385 468-4892
Fax: 385 468-4894/ Email