Santa Cruz Sentinel

Jan

2010

Compost tubs at Second Harvest Food Bank keep 7,000 pounds of waste from landfills, so far

Santa cruz Sentinel, January 22, 2010.

WATSONVILLE — The Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Cruz County not only helps the hungry, but is taking strides to help the environment, too.

Funding from Watsonville and Santa Cruz County has helped install tubs to convert the Food Bank”s kitchen scraps and spoiled produce into compost.

“It”s a nice partnership, because the food waste they were unable to use would end up in our landfill,” said Nancy Lockwood, environmental projects manager for the city of Watsonville. Read More >

Jan

2010

Santa Cruz duo aims to make a difference in Nigeria

Santa Cruz Sentinel, January 17th, 2010.

Complications kill or maim up to 30 percent of pregnant women in Nigeria, one of the highest rates in the world.

That statistic is what drew Evelyn Castle and Adam Thompson to Nigeria last summer, working with UC Santa Cruz’s Global Information Internship Program to improve maternal and child health in the West African nation.

“All of their medical records are paper, which can easily get ruined or lost,” Castle said. “The information was there, they just often aren’t able to access it.” Read More >

Jan

2010

Grant to aid in fight against childhood obesity in the Pajaro Valley

Santa Cruz Sentinel, January 12th, 2010.

WATSONVILLE — The battle against childhood obesity in the Pajaro Valley is getting some help.

The United Way of Santa Cruz County announced Monday its Go For Health! program has received $360,000 to work on the problem during the next four years.

The programs funded by the grant will “make it easier for people to make healthy choices,” said Go For Health! program coordinator Laura Young. “Right now the easiest choices are the least healthy.” Read More >