For 21-year-old Shanel Dewalt cooking goes beyond cutting vegetables and mixing ingredients. This is how her mind finds peace and how she is reminded of her purpose. As the oldest of five siblings being raised in a single-parent household, the Detroit native realized she had to grow up at a very young age. When her […]
Ask any parent about their child’s weight and you are likely to get a strong ” oh no, mine is fine” response. Although more than 40 percent of patients that sit in pediatrician offices today are clearly overweight, many don’t know it and if they do they have a passive attitude. It’s an easy mistake […]
The signs couldn’t be ignored. In addition to being smokers, Stephanie Brown’s parents had been struggling with diabetes and high blood pressure. When her mother suffered a heart attack, the message for Brown and her young daughter Kaija was even clearer. “I said, ‘We better do something to prevent that from happening to us,’” Brown […]
There are childhood moments that will always be cherished. Growing up in Houston, Texas, Hanifa Adjuman (AKA “Mama Hanifa”) looked forward to every summer. Her maternal grandparents lived in a small, rural town called Navasota. She remembers drinking from a creek, playing with her cousins, growing food, and eating what they grew. “My great-grandmother lived […]
Vivian Murphy and Ajani Carter spent more than a combined 30 years teaching children in Detroit Public Schools classrooms. Their professional careers also included other positions where they served the public. But when it was finally time to retire from the workforce, Murphy and Carter still wanted to make a difference in their city, and […]
Can you change a school’s culture from the inside? More than 50 Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed) partners believe it is possible and are committed to providing comprehensive school-wide programs designed to teach kids healthy habits and address childhood obesity. There’s no one-size-fits-all strategy. The goal is to tailor resources with the individual needs […]
Danialle Karmanos had goose bumps. She was watching Detroit elementary school kids work it out on yoga mats practicing alongside each other. “There was energy happening and swirling in the room,” she says. “It was giving children who often live in extremely stressful situations inner peace.” That’s the goal of Karmanos’ Work It Out yoga […]
Inside Timbuktu Academy of Science and Technology in Detroit, students can have chicken quesadillas, brown cheesy rice, mixed vegetables, and other healthy choices for lunch. Getting healthy foods at convenience stores around Timbuktu is a little different. Motor City Marketplace, located on Mack and St. Jean, is roughly walking distance from the school, is larger […]