Fighting for birth equity in Maryland
Maternal and child health has been in the news a lot lately, for all the wrong reasons. The maternal mortality rate in the United States is rising, and racial disparities are widening over time. But solutions exist that can make a difference – and innovative partnerships and investments are key to driving better outcomes. Read more in this month’s blog for a fascinating conversation with our own Jennifer Holland, the Horizon Foundation’s policy and community engagement director, who is learning from partners across the country about how we can improve options for all birthing people and achieve birth equity.
Better, healthier food options coming to Howard County Public Schools
Our Healthier Choices Coalition was thrilled to join the Howard County Public School System earlier this month to announce new initiatives for healthier school meals starting this upcoming school year. Over the past year, the Coalition surveyed nearly 375 parents and students from across the county on their perceptions of school breakfast and lunch menu options. Since then, the Coalition has been working with HCPSS to address the concerns of students and their families and is excited to launch new ventures including a farm-to-table initiative, taste tests, town hall meetings and more to ensure that all students will have access to healthier, fresher and better-tasting school meals.
““The Healthier Choices Coalition has been working for the last three years to fight diabetes and hunger in Howard County and to make healthier food and drinks more accessible and affordable to everyone in our community,” said Alice Harris, lead organizer of the Healthier Choices Coalition. “We are so excited about this new partnership with the school system to ensure that our students receive healthy, nutritious meals during the school day that will help support their academic and overall well-being. We are also incredibly grateful for the support of Superintendent Barnes and for Mr. Brian Ralph, Director of HCPSS’s Food and Nutrition Services, who has been so willing to collaborate with us and listen to feedback from students and their families.”
You can read coverage of the announcement in the Baltimore Banner, WJZ and WMAR.
Learn more in our press release>>
Join the Coalition to get involved>>
Join us for our next First Thursdays community conversation on August 1
Thank you to everyone who participated in this month’s First (Second) Thursdays community conversation on July 11! We love these rich conversations with community members, and we are excited to continue connecting with one another and exploring health equity issues with all of you.
Please join us on the first Thursday of each month at 10 a.m. for breakfast and a guided conversation about key issues on the minds of fellow Howard Countians.
Our next First Thursdays conversation will take place at the Horizon Foundation’s office on August 1 at 10 a.m. If you would like to attend, please RSVP to D’Paul Nibber by July 29.
Staff picks: what we’re reading, watching and listening to
- Supporting Respectful Childbirth is Commonsense (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation)
- Allyson Felix Receives $20M Grant From Melinda Gates, Invests In Advocacy For Black Maternal Health (Philanthropy News Digest)
- Simone Biles Rising (Netflix)
- The Crucial Role of Philanthropy in Nurturing Equitable Local Journalism (Grantmakers in Health: Views from the Field)
- Sprint (Netflix)
- 25th anniversary of USWNT’s ’99 World Cup win shows progress (ESPN)
