Nassau County’s Nutritious Snack Attack
Written by Dave Gil de Rubio Friday, 17 August 2012 00:00
County Exec Mangano expands Fit Nassau initiative via healthier vending machine options
According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), more than 72 million adults currently are obese while statistics provided by the American Heart Association indicate that the 1 in 3 adolescents who are overweight have a 70 percent chance of becoming obese adults. With that in mind, Nassau County Executive Edward P. Mangano announced on Thursday, Aug. 9 plans to expand his Fit Nassau initiative with healthy choices in vending machines for over 100,000 students in 113 schools throughout Long Island. The program will also include snack dispensers at Nassau County parks and recreation facilities. Partnering with Mangano is Butch Yamali, president of Quick Snack, one of New York State’s top vending service whose extensive Long Island client base includes park facilities, Catholic hospitals, courthouses and more than 1,500 schools.
While half of the machines will still be filled with the typical candy bars, cookies and chips, healthier snack options including granola bars, sunflower seeds, low-calorie cookies, baked veggie chips and tomato juice will now be available in these machines. This is a move that Mangano indicated was crucial during this critical time of children’s lives.
“It’s important that government assist in fighting childhood obesity and we can do just that by providing children an opportunity to choose healthier snacks throughout their day. Healthy food choices at an early age can help children reap benefits for a lifetime,” he said before symbolically sweeping a pile of sugary candy off his podium into a nearby wastebasket.
A father of three children, Yamali’s desire to do the right thing plus his extensive civic involvement as a Merrick school board member and being past president of the Merrick Little League inspired him to get his company involved.
“The obesity epidemic in our country has gotten really bad. Adding to that is how gym class in schools is not like the gym class I grew up with where you climbed up ropes [and did other physical activities,” Yamali recalled. “Now it’s about walking laps and writing reports. And while there should always be food choices in this country, what we’re doing here is offering up healthier options not just for children, but adults who might be using our vending machines in non-school buildings. Obviously, you can’t make people eat healthier but maybe they’ll think twice about going for that candy bar.”
Wellness and Green Program Lead Ambassador Donna Martini also spoke of the importance of healthy snack options for children.
“This is a great day for our country, a huge stride for the wellness movement, and most especially for our young people, since children are so beholden to the choices we, as parents, make for them,” Martini said.
The Oyster Bay resident also announced that at 7 p.m. on October 18, she would be holding an outreach initiative for all wellness consultants and practitioners wishing to become involved in the Wellness and Green Program. It will be held at Marriot’s Residence Inn in Plainview. It’s the first of many steps Martini insists she’ll be making in doing her part for the Fit Nassau initiative.
“As the Lead Ambassador of Wellness, I will be helping County Executive Mangano bring additional initiatives to schools, and with our new Wellness Ambassador program, we will be recruiting many more health and green practitioners to blitz the county with School and Work Place Wellness,” Martini announced. “Together we will intensify and magnify our efforts in making Nassau, the leanest, greenest, healthiest county in the nation.”
News
Thursday, 23 May 2013 00:00
Kroplick and Kammerer honored
On May 8, more than 500 fashionably dressed women converged on the Garden City Hotel for the Sid Jacobson JCC’s tenth annual Friendship Circle Luncheon. Notable celebrities on hand were Good Day New York co-host Rosanna Scotto, who was also the event’s MC, and singer/actress Megan Hilty from the Broadway play Wicked and NBC’s hit drama Smash, who entertained the ladies with her favorite songs from both shows.
The Friendship Circle Luncheon was started 10 years ago by Denise Silverberg, as a way to raise money for programs providing support for adults in their 30s, 40 s and 50s that are afflicted by Alzheimer’s. Silverberg’s mother has the disease, so she understands firsthand the role of a caregiver and the stresses involved in taking care of someone who has it.
Thursday, 23 May 2013 00:00
Deputy Mayor Nicholas Episcopia attended the HUB Stakeholders Meeting held by Nassau County’s consultants on the Transportation Project. He was joined by EPOA President Judy Courtney, Vice President Chris Mullaney, and Director Leo Stimmler, as well as William Bellmer, a member of the Garden City Planning Commission, Dorothy Episcopia, past EPOA president, and former mayor Robert Rothschild. Bob Schoelle and Brian Ridgeway attended the afternoon session. Garden City is a stakeholder because a large portion of the village lies within the defined HUB area.
As presented, the currently preferred alternative transportation plan appears reasonable and eliminates the construction of a light rail system that would run from the Mineola Station, south behind Arthur Street, and east along the spur adjacent to St. James Street South, as was initially proposed. Nonetheless, as we have consistently done over the years, we will continue to monitor plans for the transportation project and strongly express our opinion if we believe any aspect of this project would be detrimental to the quality of life in Garden City.
Sports
Thursday, 23 May 2013 00:00
Boys JV lacrosse team goes undefeated
The Garden City JV lacrosse team finished the year with a stellar 14-0-1 record. Led by Head Coach Tom Flatley and Assistant Coach Brett Hepworth, the Trojans overpowered most of their opponents with explosive offensive bursts, tough-nosed gritty defense, and rock-solid goaltending. The offense averaged over 15 goals per game, while the defense allowed just over three goals per game.
The season commenced with a hard fought, triple overtime thriller against Syosset that ended in a 7-7 tie. As the team became more cohesive, most of the next few opponents, including Hewlett, Lynbrook, Carey, Roslyn, Kellenberg, and others, found themselves overmatched against this Trojan team. However, that did not dissuade Ward Melville from putting forth an inspired effort on their home turf for three quarters, before finally falling to Garden City 12-7.
Thursday, 16 May 2013 00:00
Defense keys successful lacrosse seasons
The boys and girls high school teams are both rolling and have their sights set on a long run in the playoffs. Both team have faced a number of formidable opponents throughout the season and have successfully navigated their schedules. One thing that has been consistent for both teams has been that their defenses have had to stand tall at key times and shut down very active offenses. Both Coach Finnell and Coach Chapman have made sure that the non-league schedules of their teams will ensure that their teams are prepared for whatever the playoffs can throw at them.
After going the full season last year undefeated, the boys team has three blemishes on their record with losses to powerhouses Ward Melville, Manhasset and LaSalle of PA. With a 9-3 record the Trojans are looking to wrap up the number two seed in the playoffs to force a rematch of the Manhasset game in the County finals. The boys have excelled defensively only allowing 4.25 goals against per game. And if you remove those three tough losses the goals against average drops to 3.1.
Calendar
Color Your World
Thursday, May 23
Summer Entertaining Workshop
Tuesday, May 28
Bugs Bower Lecture
Thursday, May 30
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