In partnership with the Alliance for Health Equity, Ann & Robert Lurie Children’s Hospital is collecting feedback to help us create a plan to improve the health of your community. If you live in Chicago or suburban Cook County, please take this five-minute survey to share what’s most important to you about your community’s health. We want to know what you think is going well, what needs to be improved and how COVID has impacted you and your family. Once you’re finished, please share the survey with your neighbors and networks!

From CSPI - Most kids’ meals at top US restaurant chains fell short of nutrition standards because they exceeded calorie or sodium recommendations, according to recent analysis by the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

The report, Selling Out Kids’ Health: 10 Years of Failure from Restaurants on Kids’ Meals, examined food and beverage options offered in children’s meals in restaurants. Researchers analyzed the menus and compared the meals from the top 50 restaurant chains by revenue in 2008, 2012, and 2018 to a set of nutrition standards based on CSPI’s Guidelines for Responsible Food Marketing to Children. Researchers found that 71.9 percent of meals failed to meet nutrition standards in 2018 when they factored in the number of outlets for each restaurant.

This indicates no improvement compared to 2012, when 71.8 percent of kids’ meals failed to meet nutrition standards. The report also found that 17 of the 38 restaurants (45 percent) offering kids’ meals in 2018 did not have a single meal that met CSPI’s nutrition standards.

The new Equity Commission will advise the Secretary of Agriculture by identifying USDA programs, policies, systems, structures, and practices that contribute to barriers to inclusion or access, systemic discrimination, or exacerbate or perpetuate racial, economic, health and social disparities. The Equity Commission will be composed of 15 members appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture for a two-year term and may be reappointed for up to two additional terms.

The Division of Family & Community Services is seeking to hire a dynamic administrator and independent and critical thinker who is organized, detail-oriented, and a conscientious learner with the ability to communicate vertically and horizontally to oversee Commodity and Special Nutrition Programs for the Department of Human Services. The Administrator will plan, develop, organize, control, and manage statewide Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Education and Outreach services. The Administrator will also lead a team of professionals responsible for highly technical research, interpretation and analysis of federal and state statutes, regulations, administrative rules and Department policies for evaluation, identification, and resolution of systemic problems. The Division’s mission is to assist Illinois residents by connecting them with public assistance programs and services. Through its programs, services, and prevention efforts, the Division improves the health and well-being of individuals and promotes self-sufficiency and integrity of families of Illinois.

America SCORES Chicago (ASC) is a nonprofit organization that provides after school and summer programming combining soccer, poetry, and service-learning. ASC’s mission is to inspire youth to lead healthy lives, be engaged students, and have the confidence and character to make a difference in the world. Currently serving neighborhoods in West and Southwest Chicago, ASC provides programming for students in K-8th grade. The Resource Coordinator is responsible for the overall implementation and management of the 21CCLC site at Plamondon Elementary, located at 2642 W 15th Pl. The RC maintains the bridge between the school and community and provides leadership for the collaborative process and development of a continuum of services for students and families. The RC strives to integrate and align programming at the school by working with school leadership, teachers and staff, Local School Council members, families, and community members to develop a vision and strategy for programming that reflects student and family interests and addresses gaps/community needs.

Join Trust for America’s Health for a virtual congressional briefing and national webinar, State of Obesity 2021: Better Policies for a Healthier America. 

The briefing will explore findings from TFAH’s recent report, which examined how the social and economic factors linked to obesity were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The 18th annual report found that 16 states had adult obesity rates at 35 percent or higher, up from 12 states the year before.  

Speakers will cover the latest data on obesity and its impacts, highlight promising approaches to ensure healthier communities, and offer policy recommendations that can help all Americans lead healthier lives.

Connect with CLOCC's network of nearly 3,000 childhood obesity prevention advocates by listing your organization's upcoming events or current job openings on the Consortium's website. Upon submission, postings will be approved by CLOCC staff; events and careers applicable to the CLOCC network may also be featured in this newsletter. If you have questions or are not able to access the webpage, contact info@clocc.net. CLOCC will not publish for-profit services or events, or products for sale.

For questions related to testing criteria and general information about COVID-19 and children, please contact the COVID-19 Call Center at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital at 312.227.5300. The Call Center is staffed by Lurie Children’s nurses and is available Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM CT, and Saturday, 8:00 AM to 1:00 PM CT.

The COVID-19 pandemic has made it clear that parks and green spaces are a vital part of a healthy community. Yet, due to systemic racism, parks are still not enjoyed evenly. A 2020 study found that parks serving communities of color are—on average—half the size of parks located in majority-white communities and five times as crowded. The unequal distribution and investment in parks—and the unjust experiences that many people of color have in the outdoors—can be righted.

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is currently seeking letters of interest from community-based organizations and base-building groups working to increase park equity and advance racial justice through local policy and systems change in urban, low-income communities of color across the nation. This effort is part of People, Parks, and Power, a joint initiative with the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation led and managed by Prevention Institute. Learn more about eligibility and selection criteria here. The LOI deadline is November 4th.

Data Across Sectors for Health (DASH), with the support of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), in partnership with the Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS), is launching the second round of the Learning and Action in Policy and Partnerships (LAPP) program. To build new opportunities for more sustainable efforts by local or state governments in collaboration with community partnerships, DASH will grant $80,000 each to five awardees to promote data-sharing and data-integration aiming to improve health, equity, and well-being in local communities and identify learnings for how states can support community data sharing through policy. Learn more about this opportunity here. The application deadline is 2:30 PM CT, Friday, November 12th.