Information and Resources for Parents/Caregivers
Free or low-cost health insurance may be available to your family through the
Children's Health Insurance Program of Pennsylvania (CHIP). CHIP provides insurance to families whose income is above Medical Assistance limits, but cannot afford to purchase insurance privately. Routine checkups, immunizations, hospitalization, dental exams, eye exams and eyeglasses, prescriptions, hearing services, and other health services are covered under CHIP. Call the Healthy Kids Network, 1-800-986-KIDS, to find out if your family qualifies for CHIP.
Nutrition.gov is a comprehensive source of information on nutrition and dietary guidance from multiple government agencies and supports the President's HealthierUS Initiative and includes information provided by USDA, the Department of Health and Human Services and others.
Newsletters for Parents
Feeding Kids, by Connie Evers, MS, RD, is a free electronic newsletter sponsored by 24 CARROT PRESS. The bi-monthly newsletter provides news and views on child nutrition for parents, educators, and health professionals.
Food Reflections , by Alice Henneman, M.S., R.D., LMNT, Extension Educator, University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension in Lancaster County, is a free monthly newsletter that provides nutrition and food, and food safety messages for professionals, educators, and consumers.
American Dairy Association & Dairy Council Mid East includes resources and materials for schools, and it's easy to use. Educators can find the latest nutrition news, as well as order classroom materials and lesson plans from National Dairy Council®. In addition, school food service personnel can find valuable tools to use in the lunchroom. Take a few minutes to explore all this Web site.
Changing the Scene - Improving the School Nutrition Environment is an action kit to help parents, teachers, school food service personnel, school administrators, and community partners identify nutrition concerns within the school environment that are in need of improvement. A free kit is available to schools that will make changes in the school nutrition environment.
"Open the Door to a Healthy Heart"
Educate yourself and your family about the link between diet and heart disease by looking in the refrigerator.
The United States Department of Agriculture's
Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion contains many valuable resources. Included on this site are Food Guide Pyramid: Downloadable Graphics and Permission Statement; Using the Food Guide Pyramid: Expenditures on Children by Families; Official USDA Food Plans: Cost of Food at Home at Four Levels; and Childhood Obesity Symposium Proceedings, among others.
Noteworthy Creations, Inc. contains fun activities for children. Each month brings a new topic; check this website frequently.
KidsHealth.org for Parents was created and is reviewed by the Nemours Foundation. Experts from the Foundation answer your questions about infections, nutrition, and more.
Nutrition Explorations is the National Dairy Council's website that provides nutrition tidbits, recipes and healthy eating ideas for parents.
Plan health-conscious meals for your family with the help of
Meals For You™
This site contains hundreds of recipes which are automatically adjusted based on the number of servings desired.
Pennsylvania Advocates for Nutrition and Activity (PANA) is a statewide coalition of more than 500 public, private, academic, professional, and volunteer groups working to promote policies and environments that support healthy eating and activity. Established by the Pennsylvania Department of Health and funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, PANA has been operating since February, 2003, to empower schools, communities and healthcare providers to improve the opportunities for better nutrition and physical activity in Pennsylvania.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) believes that schools should be taking a leadership role in helping students learn to make healthy eating and active lifestyle choices. Many schools have already made changes to their school nutrition environments, improved the quality of the foods served, and now provide students with more nutritious, healthy choices. USDA's Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) wants to encourage schools to achieve such results, and has established the
HealthierUS School Food Challenge to encourage schools to go further to recognize those who chose to do so.
Recipes and Tips for Healthy, Thrifty Meals. Meet your family's nutritional needs on a low food budget with this 75-page cookbook. You will receive 2 weeks of menus, shopping tips, basic recipes, and tips on how to trim your food budget. The cookbook costs $4.25 and is available from the Government Printing Office, (202) 512-1800.
BodyWise will help to teach your children about taking care of their body and his or her health by eating healthy foods and by staying fit. BodyWise is aimed at preventing eating disorders in adolescent girls, and can be used with young men also.
Locate a farmers' market close to your home by logging on to the
National Directory of Farmer's Markets or call 1-800-384-8704.
The Afterschool Alliance is a fledgling partnership between public, non-profit, and private groups dedicated to expanding awareness of resources for afterschool programs.& The Afterschool Action Kit was developed for parents to learn more about the benefits of quality afterschool programming. The Kit can be ordered by calling 1-877-4ED-PUBS. **Note: This Kit does not discuss the Afterschool Snack Program.
Find information about how to protect your family from food borne illness (food poisoning) at
FoodSafety.gov.
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The Eat Smart. Play Hard™ Kids web page encourages and motivates kids to make better lifestyle choices using kid-friendly entertaining techniques. The Power Panther leads kids in exploring the Town Library, Theater, Fitness Center, Power Tunes Store, Post Office, Eat Smart Grill, Fun Times Arcade, and Travel Center.