Communities Promoting Health Coalition

Client Service Center
510 Cumberland Avenue
Portland, Maine 04101
800-698-4959
207-553-5800
Fax: 207-874-1155
TTY: 207-874-1013

Youth

Resources

Nutrition Website: These sites will provide resources, tools, and information to bring healthy nutrition messages and activities into your youth programming or classroom.

Get Real Get Maine- www.getrealmaine.com: You can find a local farm by town or county, access the seasonal food chart and learn ways to support Maine business.
Kid Friendly recipes- www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org: Offers lots of tips to cooking and recipes that youth love.
Lets Go- www.letsgo.org: Tons of information for youth and adults about ways to improve your health. They also have great recipes and activities for youth.
Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association: www.mofga.org: You can access tons of information about Maine farms.
Eat Maine Foods Networking Site: www.eatmainefoods.org- Home to a free networking site hosted by the Eat Local Foods Coalition and already connecting over 700 members with interest in all aspects of food. Special discussion groups generated by participants allows information sharing. A Maine Food Map with details about how to access fresh locally produced food throughout the state can be found on this website.
Cultivating Community- www.cultivatingcommunity.org- offers a garden curriculum, youth programs, resources, and much more.
Maine Cooperative Extension: www.umext.maine.edu- The Cumberland County office provides ongoing workshops on growing, cooking, and preserving foods (canning, freezing, pickling, etc.).
Kitchen Gardeners International: www.kitchengardeners.org- constant updated website with articles, resources, and video clips about gardening. You can gain a lot of information about tips and tools for growing food.
True Cost of Food: Sierra Club- www.truecostoffood.org- This site is founded by the Sierra Club to provide resources and information on a camapaign to promote sustainable food choices. There is a movie and teaching guide available to bring to your classroom or group.
My Pyramid: www.mypyramid.gov: This site offers multiple resources and teaching tools to bring nutrition education into your classroom or youth program.

Physical Activity Sites:

Teens to Trails: www.teenstotrails.org: charitable oraganization dedicated to increasing the opportunities for Maine teens to get into the out-of-doors and form their own personal connection with nature. We are increasing public awareness of the importance of that conneection to a teenager's mental and physcial well-being as we battle against Nature-Deficit Disorder.
Winter Kids: www.winterkids.org: This is an nonprofit organization committed to helping children develop healthy lifelong habits through fun, outdoor winter activity. This site will offer you great resources and a curriculum for your classrooms.
Safe Routes to School: www.bikemaine.org/safeways/: Safe Routes to School is a statewide effort among Maine comunities to increase bicycling and walking to school by improving student transportation choices, safety and health. In partnership with the Maine Department of Transportation, the BCM provides staff support and resources to schools and communities to increase the number of students walking and bicycling to school. Walking and bicycling is a great way for kids to be healthy and enjoy Maine's beautiful outdoors.
My Pyramid: www.pyramid.gov/pyramid/physical_activity.html- provides up to date information on the physical activity guidelines.
Take 10: www.take10.net: is an innovative teaching tool, for grades K-5, that capitalizes on a child's natural desire to be active. The program, developed and validated by the International Life Sciences Institute Center for Health Promotion (ILSI CHP), is designed to reduce sedentary time in the school day while promoting positive health messages about physical activity and nutrition. TAKE 10!® activities link academic curriculum requirements in math, science, language, arts, and social studies with 10-minute periods of physcial activity. The students review and learn content area information while doing physcial activity. The activities are easily adaptable for different ability levels.

Substance Abuse Sites:

The Center on Alcohol and Marketing to Youth: www.camy.org: a website full of current research on the alcohol industry and their marketing techniques toward youth. You can view sample advertisements, fact sheets and many resources on this site.
Youth in Action: www.youthinaction.org: looks at the whole environment that seems to condone underage drinking. YIA teams look for community solutions instead of focusing their attention on their peers. Teams focus on laws and policies that affect people's behavior, because that's the best place to make changes.
Above the Influence: www.abovetheinfluence.com: an interactive site for youth to explore and share their thoughts on the effects of substances. You can access podcasts, fact sheets, games, and up to date information on what youth think and want to share regarding substance issues.
Media Education Foundation: www.mediaed.org: The Media Education Foundation produces and distributes documentary films and other educational resources to inspire critical reflection on the social, political, and cultural impact of American mass media.
Maine Office of Substance Abuse: www.maine.gov/dhhs/osa The Maine Office of Substance Abuse is the single state administrative authority responsible for the planning, development, implementation, regulation, and evaluation of substance abuse services. The Office provides leadership in substance abuse prevention, intervention, and treatment. Its goal is to enhance the health and safety of Maine citizens through the reduction of the overall impact of substance use, abuse, and dependency.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration: www.samhsa.gov

Tobacco Prevention Sites:

Tobacco Free Kids: www.tobaccofreekids.org- A constantly updated site with current tobacco and legislation and advocacy throughout the country.
The Truth Campaign: www.thetruth.com An interactive site for youth to explore the facts of tobacco. This site is full of updated information, games, and videos to watch.
Partnership for Tobacco Free Maine: www.tobaccofreemaine.org
Unleash Your C: www.unleashyourc.com It's your choice! Check out Maine's new youth website for teens who want own their choices & know the facts.
Kick Butts Day: www.kickbutts.org- provides multiple youth lead anti-tobacco advocacy projects & resources.