*The ideas presented in this case are fictional.

NEWS RELEASE

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Contact: Justin ParkPhone: 303.315.5866E-mail: justin.park@ucdenver.eduTitle: Marketing and Outreach Coordinator

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Can YOU Bring Your “A” Game to Munroe Elementary?

Denver, CO, July 9, 2010— Do you like a little friendly competition? Enter the Munroe Elementary Back to School Cook-Off challenge and the winning recipe will be incorporated within the school’s lunch menu for the fall semester of 2010. Also, the winner of the challenge will be featured in the local newsletter, My Neighborhood, My Health. This friendly contest is open to the residents of Westwood and encourages families to join the competition together. By utilizing healthy recipes and integrating them into Munroe Elementary School’s lunch program, hopefully residents will gain insight for a healthy lifestyle.

Residents of Westwood have become socially active within their community by working hard to have a healthy way of life. By being located in what’s known as a “food desert”, which is an isolated geographic area where mainstream grocery stores are absent or distant, it’s been challenging for members of the Westwood community to have an active, healthy standard of living. The Westwood Initiative has made it a point of how important it is to maintain this particular way of living to this community. And so far, every program has been a success.

Other programs The Westwood Initiative has partaken in this community ranges from cooking classes to gardens to dance lessons. Community members have been flocking to each class, lesson and garden with enthusiasm. In Westwood, there are teams called Wellness teams. Teresa Flores, a participant in a wellness team, states, “It makes me feel good and happy that I can help other people.” These wellness teams gather together to form functions, parties and healthy activities for the residents of Westwood.

Backyard gardening is becoming an extremely popular activity among the community. From the project starting about two years ago, there were around twenty-eight backyard

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*The ideas presented in this case are fictional.

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gardens that were formed within the first year. There are also nutritional cooking classes for adults in the community. They are able to gather together to learn how to cook healthy on a budget. The community has formed its own little farmer’s market to sustain its healthy lifestyle by using vegetables and such from the backyard gardens for the cooking classes.

To get more information about the Back to School Cook-Off challenge, or The Westwood Initiative, please call 303-315-5866 or email livewellwestwood@ucdenver.edu.

We are LiveWell Westwood (LWW), a community supported project that works with residents and community members in Westwood to reduce barriers to and increase opportunities for healthy eating and active living. LWW is a project of Learning Landscapes, a forward-thinking, grant funded non-profit program at the University of Colorado Denver’s College of Architecture and Planning.

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