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Knoxville Parent • June 2016
Enjoy 4 More Weeks Of Family Fun!
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KNOXVILLE
June 2016 Volume V • Issue VI Adam and Samantha Kalwas, Publishers Advisory Board
Contributing Writers
Sr. Mary Marta Abbott, RSM The Diocese of Knoxville
Jeff Ashin Jeff Comas Adam Kalwas Paul Nations, D.D.S. Erin Nguyen Mike O’Hern Juhee Shah Matthew Shanklin Michael K. Smith, Ph.D. Ashley Wolf
Marie Alcorn United Way of Greater Knoxville Mike Bailey Small Business Representative Paul Parson East Tennessee Children’s Hospital Tracey Matthews Knox County Schools Family and Community Engagement
Contributing Photos By Cedar Bluff Dental Community Hands Inc. Jeff Comas Young-Williams Animal Shelter
Elizabeth Pooley Marketing Professional Lee Tramel Knox County Sheriff ’s Department Liza Zenni The Arts and Culture Alliance of Greater Knoxville
Parent publications are GREAT places to advertise! For more information, please call: (865) 622-9680.
In This Issue... Why Do I Have to Brush “Everyone, no matter how frequently they brush, has bacteria in their mouth. This is normal.” PAGE 4
Adopt A Life, Save A Life “We have hundreds of healthy, happy pet options for your family to take home and love.” PAGE 5
Getting The Most of Practice: Part V “Music students and professional musicians (among others) are often guilty of holding unnecessary tension in the hands, arms, shoulders, neck, jaw and other areas.” PAGE 6
Contents
4 Why Do I Have to Brush
9 A Conversation With Linda Parsons
5 Adopt A Life, Save A Life
10 Rethinking Food Deserts
6 Getting The Most of Practice: Part V
12 Fit Family Challenge: The Conclusion
7 Why Do I Need To Drink Enough Water?
14 10 Terrific Books: Get Active: Awesome Athletes!
8 Reading Knoxville: This Shaky Earth
Contact Info: Phone: 865.622.9680 Fax: 888.457.9602 E-mail: KnoxvilleParent@gmail.com KnoxvilleParent.com Knoxville Parent Magazine is published twelve times a year and is distributed throughout the city of Knoxville and surrounding communities. Knoxville Parent Magazine is available free of charge, limited to one copy per reader. No person without written permission from the publishers may take more than one copy per monthly issue. Knoxville Parent Magazine may be distributed only by authorized distributors.
Knoxville Parent Magazine, LLC PO Box 52605 Knoxville, TN 37950, phone 865.622.9680 • fax 888.457.9602 The entire contents of this publication are copyrighted and property of Knoxville Parent. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the publishers. Knoxville Parent Magazine utilize freelance writers, and the views expressed within this publication are not necessarily the views of the publishers or editors. Knoxville Parent Magazine takes no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or other materials. Letters to the editor must include name, address and daytime phone number for verification. Knoxville Parent Magazine reserve the right to edit letters for space and clarity. Please keep letters within 500 words in length.
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Knoxville Parent • May 2016
Knoxville Parent Magazine
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Knoxville Parent • June 2016
Why Do I Have to Brush By Dr. Paul Nations, D.D.S, Cedar Bluff Dental
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“Everyone, no matter how frequently they brush, has bacteria in their mouth. This is normal.”
hildren have a way of making adults consider questions that are usually taken for granted. Normal, everyday routines are interrupted with the persistent, “Why Daddy?” or “Why Mommy?” While it is tempting to deflect the conversation to another topic or introduce a well-timed distraction, considering what appears to be obvious and attempting to make things clear is far more constructive. I can remember one of these times when my kids were younger. During our normal bedtime routine, my daughter asked the inevitable question, “Why do we have to brush our teeth, Daddy?” I did my best to explain the reason in a way that she could understand and with language she could relate to as a young child. This was a great exercise for me as a dentist, and as I thought about it later, I wondered how many people really know the answer to this question. Of course, most people brush their teeth with some regularity, but do they truly understand what effect brushing has and what it actually prevents from happening, or do they simply brush because somebody told them to without explaining why? Here’s a brief and, hopefully, easy-to-understand answer to the question, “Why do I have to brush my teeth?” to share with children, relatives, or anybody challenging the wisdom of this important preventive routine. Everyone, no matter how frequently they brush, has bacteria in their mouth. This is normal. Think of them as tiny little bugs living in the mouth. These bacteria build their little bug houses in the form a sticky white film that attaches to the teeth, which allows them to live and reproduce. Commonly, this film is known as plaque. These bacteria basically eat whatever we eat, but they especially like sugar. After eating sugary foods, the bacteria living in the plaque eat the sugar that stays in the unbrushed teeth. Just as we eliminate waste after eating, so do the bacteria in the form of an acid. Now, one thing that we know about acids is that they dissolve things, and this is exactly the case with our teeth. Repeated contact with bacterial acid causes the hard coating of teeth, the tooth enamel, to break down, and this leads to cavities (or dental decay). If the plaque is not removed through frequent brushing, flossing and regular dental cleaning, it can harden and make
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teeth more and more difficult to clean. Not brushing teeth not only invites bacteria to build their house of plaque, it actually helps them build it! Brushing teeth both removes food as well as the bacteria filled plaque that causes cavities. Regular brushing helps keep plaque from forming, limits the number of times the acid is allowed to come into contact with the teeth, and it reduces the amount of time the acid has to attack the teeth. Using a toothpaste with fluoride helps strengthen teeth by remineralizing enamel that has been damaged by bacteria, plus it kills the bacteria. Because some foods like oranges, lemons, tomato-based foods, coffee, and soft drinks are, themselves, high in acid (1), be mindful of this fact when deciding to brush. Just like bacterial acid, eating or drinking something very acidic can cause the enamel to weaken. Once weakened, the enamel can actually be removed by vigorous brushing. Therefore, it is actually better to not brush right away after consuming acidic foods and drinks but to wait a bit before brushing. Another option is to brush before eating or drinking foods with a high acid content. The Mayo Clinic offers the following recommendation from the American Dental Association (2): • • • • •
Brush twice a day with a fluoride toothpaste.
Keep Your Teeth Healthy For A Lifetime! Floss daily.
Drink plenty of water, eating a heathy diet and limiting between meal sugary snacks. Replace toothbrushes every three months (or sooner if the bristles are frayed or bending).
(865) 693-693
Schedule regular dental checkups to clean teeth thoroughly and to catch any tooth decay before it becomes an even greater health risk.
So, why brush your teeth? Because, as small as they are, bacteria can cause a tremendous amount of damage. Ignoring this basic practice puts not only teeth at risk, but also general health. 1 Tosuni-O’Neill, D., RDH, BS. (n.d.). How Acidic Foods Affect Teeth and Which to Avoid. Retrieved May 16, 2016, from http://www.colgate.com/en/us/oc/oral-health/life-stages/adult-oralcare/article/how-acidic-foods-affect-teeth-and-which-to-avoid-1215 2 Salinas, T. J., D.D.S. (2016, May 3). Adult health. Retrieved May 16, 2016, from http://www. mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/expert-answers/brushing-your-teeth/faq-20058193 Dr. Paul Nations received his B.S. in Biology at Vanderbilt University and his D.D.S. at the University of Tennessee, Memphis, where he graduated with honors. He also completed one year in Advanced Education in General Dentistry residency at the University of Tennessee, Memphis and maintains a private practice at Cedar Bluff Dental Center, P.C. in West Knoxville.
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Knoxville Parent • June 2016
Adopt A Life, Save A Life
By Jeff Ashin, CEO, Young-Williams Animal Center. Photo by: Young-Williams Animal Center
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re you or your child thinking of adding a furry friend to the household? Please consider adopting from Young-Williams Animal Center. We have hundreds of healthy, happy pet options for your family to take home and love. In 2015 alone, 5,524 animals from our shelter went to forever homes. When you adopt a pet, you save a life. When you buy a pet, you not only deny a homeless animal a home, you also support an industry that can short-change the welfare of animals. One example are puppy mills. Most puppy mills that sell to pet stores are in business to make profits, so they breed puppies and kittens as often as they can. These animals can be in bad health due to genetic defects from inbreeding and have poor socialization skills because of lack of human companionship. Pets purchased at a store also come with a hefty price tag. For example, a store-bought puppy with a pedigree can cost between $1,000 and $3,000. At Young-Williams Animal Center, you can adopt and save the lives of 26 adult pets for $2,000. Even better, you could sponsor the homeless pets’ adoption fees which would encourage a faster adoption. The adoption specialists at Young-Williams Animal Center get to know and understand the temperament of each pet. Directors evaluate each animal’s health and behavior for our adoption program. They can tell you what to expect from an adopted pet. However, stores often don’t provide support if you have questions or problems with your new pet. When you adopt, especially from a rescue group, you know what you are getting because the group has a history on the animal. You or your child instantly will learn what it’s like to make a difference in the animal welfare community by choosing to adopt. Young-Williams Animal Center’s adoption fees range from $50 to $150, depending on the age of the animal. Some of our adoptable animals have been “sponsored” through our Furry Friends program, which means their adoption fees have been pre-paid. Jeff Ashin is the CEO of Young-Williams Animal Center, a 501 (c)(3) not-for-profit animal welfare organization and the official shelter for Knoxville and Knox County. The center offers pet adoption at two locations and affordable spay/neuter solutions. For more information visit www.young-williams.org
“We have hundreds of healthy, happy pet options for your family to take home and love.” Determining where to get your new furry family member is a big decision and with the right information, it can be made rather easily. All of our animals at Young-Williams Animal Center are in need of a second chance. They have been lost, surrendered or abandoned. They deserve a permanent home. You give them new life by adopting. And you can teach your child the importance of adopting rather than purchasing from a breeder or store. We have more than just dogs and cats, too. Other pets, such as rabbits, ferrets, hamsters, guinea pigs and birds, are available for various adoption fees. Please call our main center at 865-215-6599 for more information about adoptable pets, or visit young-williams.org.
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Knoxville Parent • June 2016
Getting The Most of Practice: Part V By Jeff Comas, Director of Knoxville Academy of Music
Tension and The Physicality of Performing
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his article is about performing music, but the concepts can be applied to other activities like sports, dancing, acting, even writing or doing crafts. In part one of this series I discussed letting the learning of music be easier by studying and music in small segments, which can be learned faster and with greater ease. In this section I’ll discuss more of the physical element of playing music. Music students and even professional musicians (and people doing other activities too) are often guilty of holding unnecessary tension in the hands, arms, shoulders, neck, jaw and other areas. Over the years, if left unaddressed, this can become seriously damaging to the body and can lead to Repetitive Strain Injuries such as carpal tunnel syndrome. There can be a variety of reasons for tensionfilled playing; fear of mistakes, overuse of force & required tension, and poor performance posture are common culprits. Truth be told, I had problems with these issues well into my professional playing career. When I went back to college to get my music degree I was in my late 20’s. Between practicing for school, playing gigs, and teaching lessons, I probably had a guitar in my hand eight hours per day. I had been experiencing some pain with practicing/playing and as I approached my junior year recital, I was practicing so much with bad habits that I became unable to play at all without severe pain. I was advised to stop playing until the pain subsided, and then to practice in periods of no more than 20 minutes with out a break. This was (and is) good advice and it got me through my junior recital pretty well. However, this was a turning point for me. I began a journey down a path to a better understanding how to play music (and do other activities) with greater ease and enjoyment. I want to share what I have learned so that you (or your child) will be less likely to suffer with unnecessary performance tension. I will start you with one simple method to ease practice and performance tension and anxiety. KEEP BREATHING
“Music students and professional musicians (among others) are often guilty of holding unnecessary tension in the hands, arms, shoulders, neck, jaw and other areas.” That’s it. Just keep breathing. Next time that hard part comes up notice to see if you are (or your child is) breathing, or holding your (his or her) breath. Allow yourself (remind your child) to breath. The oxygen feeds the muscles and the mind. Keep the flow steady and you will have better muscle control and clearer thinking. Lets now look at some ways to deal with performance tension caused by of fear of mistakes and overuse of force & required tension Overcoming Fear of Mistakes Mistakes and fear of mistakes usually comes from a lack of clarity/confidence on the part of the performer. As discussed in Part I, clarity and confidence can be gained by; learning to imagine, in great detail, all that is required to play the music, practicing at a tempo slow enough to allow the student to play without mistakes, and learning the music in small parts and repeating correctly until they are easy. When one can clearly imagine the music (or whatever activity) and how to perform it, confidence is high, success is likely, and fear is reduced. Over Use of Force/Tension Over use of force is a common problem with developing musicians. I believe this is usually because perceptions and habits developed as beginning students. I’ll use an example about stringed/fretted instrumentalists, since that is what I know best. When guitar students first start playing guitar they perceive that it takes a lot of force to push & hold the string to the fret. This is mainly due to yet to be developed muscles, sensitive fingertips, and the unfamiliar feeling of the new requirements of the hand. The result is often that the student feels they have to push the strings down as hard as they can. Over time the student becomes stronger and the fingers less sensitive, but pushing hard is what has become familiar. Only now the student is using more force than necessary. Solution- practicing backing off of the force until it is not quite enough, then adding just enough pressure back and practice playing with that much finger pressure. Keep trying until this becomes your new habit. Do these things in your practice, I promise you will like the results. Jeff Comas started playing music at 5 years of age. He is the Director of Knoxville Academy of Music. He has been a music educator since 1989, and has given over 40,000 music lessons.
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Knoxville Parent • June 2016
Why Do I Need To Drink Enough Water? By Juhee Shah, Team Manager and Health and Fitness Coach for Greatness Fitness
“Drink at least seven glasses of water a day, plus four glasses for every hour of exercise.”
Health Benefits of Water:
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bout 60% of your total weight is made up of water. Two thirds of the total water in the body is inside the cells and the rest of it is outside the cells so that the cells can move around and the other chemicals floating around in the body, such as vitamins, minerals, hormones, electrolytes, etc. can get into the cell. Water is needed for many physiological processes and biochemical reactions, including: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
digestion absorption blood circulation nutrient transportation metabolism regulation of body temperature waste removal and detoxification There are many health benefits of water, including: better mood better physical performance weight loss less joint pain flush out waste and bacteria prevention of headaches better skin
Water Intake Recommendations: Water is involved in every single reaction that happens inside your body and when there isn’t enough in your body you are not functioning to your fullest capabilities and many things suffer. You wouldn’t even think to run your car without the proper amount of oil in it and your car can be replaced when it breaks down! Drink at least seven glasses of water a day, plus four glasses for every hour of exercise. Individual water needs vary. In general, this
recommendation is the minimum requirement. Your needs will increase depending on many factors including exercise, intensity of exercise, environment, health conditions, food choice, quality of air you breathe, time spent talking and the list goes on. There are many ways your body signals that you need to drink more water. The most obvious is the feeling of thirst, however keep in mind that by the time you feel thirsty, you are already in the early stages of dehydration. Other signals that you need to pay attention to include: • • • • • • • • • • • •
fatigue/dizziness brain fog/lack of concentration/confusion muscle cramps dry skin/wrinkles infrequent urination/dark colored urine bad breath mood swings chills joint aches constipation headaches sugar cravings/hunger pangs Juhee Shah is the Team Manager and Health and Fitness Coach for Greatness Fitness. She has both a B.S. in Kinesiology and a M.S. in Exercise Physiology. Juhee has received her certifications from the National Academy of Sports Medicine. She is a certified Personal Trainer.
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Knoxville Parent • June 2016
Reading Knoxville: This Shaky Earth Book by Linda Parsons Marion, Reviewed by Michael K. Smith, Ph.D.
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“This Shaky Earth takes the reader on a powerful emotional journey from memories of childhood to reflections of being a grandmother through poems whose feelings pulse from every page.”
oetry enables us to know what it ‘feels like’ to be alive in the world,” wrote Cleanth Brooks and Robert Penn Warren in Understanding Poetry. “What does it ‘feel like,’ for instance, to be in love, to hate somebody, to be conscience stricken, to watch a sunset or stand by a death-bed, to be willing to die for a cause or live in a passionate devotion to some chosen ideal?” Linda Parsons Marion, in This Shaky Earth, takes the reader on a powerful emotional journey from memories of childhood to reflections of being a grandmother through poems whose feelings pulse from every page. In “On Russell,” the poet revisits her grandmother’s house through presence and memory: “Rooms that spoke my first language--…Rooms calling me once more before I abandon this shell of earth…” In “My Grandmother’s Housecoat,” the poet reflects on this keepsake in the closet (“Housecoat, she would say, not robe) occasionally slipping it on: Sometimes I sink into its rag batting, dwarfed by cuffs and waist. I drape myself in its tired embrace, used Kleenex still balled in the pocket. Parents often struggle with thoughts of how they could have raised their children differently. In “Jesus Bread,” her daughter “refuses the Easter bun” leading the author to speculate on what she could have done differently.
Had I led my daughter to the well more often— the pew, the font, the hymnal—to Mount Olivet and the multiplied loaves, had I swallowed my own stiff-necked resistance, she might take this offering forged of past and present, raise Sunday’s cup to her lips. Parents also bear the burden of caring for their aging parents whose memories can be ravaged by time. In “Yes, Yes,” the author visits her father in an assisted living facility:
In the darkened room, my father dismisses lunch, waves me away like the kitchen help. Yes, go on now. Miles to go before he sleeps, nothing about me says daughter.
In “This Shaky Earth,” the author is stranded on the side of the interstate with a flat tire, screaming for help from the thoughtless traffic (“I’ve run out of verbs on the shoulder of I-75”). She had just left her aunt in Georgia who was coping with a husband with MS and her own health problems.
Be still, my heart, we called, both needing to be shocked from time to time on the side of the treacherous road.
In “Where the Wild Dreams Are,” the author inhabits the imaginary world of her granddaughter’s books,
In the land of wild things I rattle the pages I read to my granddaughter, where monsters roar their terrible roar and roll their yellow eyes and curl their awful claws.
only to have this dream turn into a nightmare (“My oldest daughter, who rarely sheds a tear, pierces the petrified air”). The poems in This Shaky Earth passionately evoke the feelings of time and memory that define our existence, seeking answers to the questions of what it feels like to be alive. “Only poetry…can help us to answer such questions,” Brooks and Warren noted, “and help us, thus, to an understanding of ourselves and of our own values.” This collection fulfills all of Brooks and Warren’s criteria for great poetry. Michael K. Smith, Ph.D., is owner of TESTPREP EXPERTS (www.testprepexperts.com ) which prepares students for standardized tests such as the ACT and SAT. He is also a consultant to Discovery Education Assessment. He can reached at mike@testprepexperts.com.
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Knoxville Parent • June 2016
A Conversation with Linda Parsons By Michael K. Smith, Ph.D.
“B
eing in exile helped me discover myself,” Linda Parsons told me one Saturday morning at Panera Bread. Linda was born in Nashville, but her family moved to Wisconsin for her high school years. Attending high school so far away from where she was raised highlighted what it was “to be Southern” and helped her develop her own streak of independence. She eventually migrated back South to Knoxville where she earned a BA and MA in English from the University of Tennessee. Along this path she discovered she wanted to be a writer. Linda said that novels like F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and the poetry of T. S. Eliot “opened my eyes to the beauty and power of language.” Arthur Miller’s play Death of a Salesman was particularly influential, not only due to the powerful dialogue but also because her father was a traveling salesman facing many of the same struggles as Willy Loman. Linda has become a renowned poet, essayist, and playwright and is an editor at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. She is author of four collections of poetry: Home Fires (1997), Mother Land (2008), Bound (2011), and the just released This Shaky Earth (2016), which is reviewed in this issue. Many of her essays and poems have been published in the anthologies Sleeping with One Eye Open: Women Writers and the Art of Survival (1999), Her Words: Diverse Voices in Contemporary Appalachian Women’s Poetry (2002), and Listen Here: Women Writing in Appalachia (2003). Her column “The Writing Well” appeared in New Millennium Writings from 1995 to 2000. Her recent play, Under the Esso Moon, was selected for the Tennessee Stage Company’s 2016 New Play Festival. Linda told me that this play, partly autobiographical, depicted the birthday week of a young girl turning thirteen. The girl and her relatives live in an apartment above the Esso gas station. “This is a coming of age play,” Linda said, as the protagonist confronts her own budding adolescence and family secrets. Linda has also co-authored, with Jayne Morgan, Macbeth Is the New Black, a tense play centered on female inmates in an East Tennessee juvenile detention center, performing Shakespeare’s Macbeth amid abuse by the facility superintendent. Her new collection of poems, however, garners most of Linda’s attention as she begins a promotional tour. She admitted that writing these poems revealed “the tectonic plates of our lives and how we tread across the shaky earth of our existence.” The poems range from reflections on her own grandmother to the feelings associated with being a grandmother herself. The poems share the experience of how things in life come apart but then coalesce into new patterns. Linda and I both share interests in local writing groups particularly the Knoxville Writers’ Guild. As we left Panera Bread on that sunny Saturday, we promised to talk more at one of these local meetings. Michael K. Smith, Ph.D., is owner of TESTPREP EXPERTS (www.testprepexperts.com ) which prepares students for standardized tests such as the ACT and SAT. He is also a consultant to Discovery Education Assessment. He can reached at mike@testprepexperts.com.
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Knoxville Parent • June 2016
Rethinking Food Deserts
Written for Community Hands Inc. by Matthew Shanklin (Knoxville Parent) and Ashley Wolf (The Current Sauce News)
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resh produce is awesome. Most anyone who’s eaten a salad of fresh red kale with cranberries and sweet vinaigrette knows that you can’t beat a meal made with fresh, quality ingredients. Unfortunately, more than 2.3 million families may not have the pleasure of eating a delicious kale salad because they live in food deserts, poverty-stricken areas where families do not live within a mile of a grocery store and do not have access to a vehicle. Parents in these areas often resort to taking their kids to any of the multiple fast food restaurants in town or buying their food from corner stores. Some may roll their eyes at the comparison between an abundance of cheeseburgers and an actual desert. Just like a desert lacks life-giving water, a food desert lacks life-giving nutrition, and according to The Institute of Medicine, a poor diet is linked to heart disease, obesity, high blood pressure and other health issues. Food deserts aren’t a far-away problem. These wastelands are right here in Knoxville, Tennessee, according to the USDA map for food deserts. An organization called Community Hands Inc. works with communities to fix this problem. Shana Strevel of Community Hands agreed to speak with Knoxville Parent to shed light on the problem and how we can fix it. According to Shana, there are two mindsets in communities that normalize foods like French fries and snack cakes as viable options for our kids: 1) that fresh produce isn’t convenient, and 2) that fast food is not only more convenient for our lifestyles, but it tastes better. In order to unravel these mindsets, we need to understand the root of the problem, which is mainly economic. When the median household income in a city falls below $30,000 there isn’t a demand for large-scale businesses. This keeps supermarkets from setting up shop in lowincome areas, and keeps the flow of French fries and snack cakes coming in. Even with access
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“Food deserts aren’t a far-away problem. These wastelands are right here in Knoxville, Tennessee.” to a grocery store, fresh produce still comes at a high cost for low-income families. Grocery stores have an almost 50-75 percent markup on fresh fruits and vegetables. Nutritional food and fresh produce can make its way into mini marts, but Shauna says it would require small business owners to “use their creative skills to think outside the box” and to provide farm fresh produce at a lower markup. It seems that poor families are set up to live in a wasteland of junk food, doesn’t it? But even so, it’s not all about economics here. Eating foods high in carbohydrates, sugars and fats releases endorphins that make you feel good temporarily. A bag of chips is a temporary and fast solution to hunger that can cause long-term health problems over time. Food deserts trap people into a cycle of quick fixes, but these quick fixes will build up into permanent problems if we can’t reverse the cycle. So the question is this: how can we provide parents with the resources to affordably feed their children nutritious meals? Shana believes that, for low-income families, “It becomes a balance of time, money, knowledge, and how to combine all those for a healthy food choice.” The first step toward educating low-income parents is to show them that they can afford to eat healthful, and that investing in healthful food is worth it in the long run. Additionally, once parents learn that switching out McDonald’s for some fresh vegetables is just as affordable and more nutritious. Community Hands teaches parents how to cook healthful and delicious foods that are relevant to their cultures. “Food is culture. It’s how we as a society come together in good times and bad around the dinner table. When a family is grieving, we bring them a dish. If you look at birthday parties, barbecues, things like that,” Shana said. “A person’s culture can dictate the food that they like, their eating style, and that can have consequences nutritionally.” In the South, we have a largely agrarian society, and our food reflects that. In the past, those who labored in the fields all day needed a high fat diet to keep up with the calories they were burning. Fried chicken, fried okra, country ham and other Southern staples comprises our regional diet. These same foods are now killing people. Switching to smaller portion sizes and preparing these foods in healthier ways like grilling and sautéing with nutritious oils will keep the culture in our meals, and will cut the health risks caused by eating food containing high sodium and high fat. Community Hands also helps provide access to fresh produce by teaching low-income families the benefits of community gardening and selling and delivering fresh produce to families and businesses throughout the Knoxville area. Here in Knoxville, there are community gardens at Hardy Park and in the Park Ridge community, as well as many others. Community Hands hosts week long summer workshops called The Science of Food at Pelissippi State College and the Muse of Knoxville that educate children on food and gardening. Also, if you like their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/CommunityHandsInc/, you can read interesting articles about gardening and food preparation, find out how to sign up for classes, or contact them to volunteer in local community gardens. The benefits of community gardening are not just that they provide fresh produce for healthy eating, but gardens can save money and provide supplemental income, making them an economically viable option for low-income families. In an age when kids don’t know where all of their food comes from, they can develop a deeper appreciation for food and nutrition. Community gardens help families build stronger bonds as they work together to build healthier lives. Community Hands Inc. is working to build these bonds and establish a culture that doesn’t have to live in the quick fix cycle of food deserts. “You think that…this is a third world problem,” Shana said. “It’s not. It’s right here in America, and it’s right here in Knoxville , Tennessee.”
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Knoxville Parent • June 2016
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Knoxville Parent • June 2016
My Fit Family Challenge: The Conclusion By Adam Kalwas, Publisher and CEO of Knoxville Parent Magazine
T
he My Fit Family Challenge is a no-cost program dedicated in promoting healthy living to not only families, but to anyone that is willing. The Fit Family Challenge is brought to you by Coca-Cola! We are half way through the Challenge currently, and the 300 participants from the Greater Knoxville area have logged close to 25,ooo mintues (in the month of May alone) of physical activity so far! As part of the Challenge, Knoxville Parent has been working closely with two Spotlight families (the Childers and the Eldridges). These two families volunteered to work togerther as a family unit to accomplish goals they have set for themselves. Knoxville Parent is also blessed to have two brilliant minds (and current Knoxville Parent contributors) at the disposal of our two Spotlight families. Juhee Shah, Fitness and Nutrition coach, and Dr. Paul Nations, D.D.S, have been providing our Spotlight families and Tennessee Fit Family participants with guidance and shared wisdom, so that they maybe be able to not only better obtain particular health goals, but also learn something that they may have not known, such as how chronic gum disease can lead to heart disease. One of the most unique aspects of My Fit Family Challenge is that participants are not awarded just for doing long, strenuous workouts. The Challenge is
“The Challenge is set up so that anyone is able to participate, and in fact, points can be earned from practicing healthy habits (limit screen time, lower sugar intake, drink 4-8 glasses of water, etc.).” set up so that anyone is able to participate, and in fact, points can be earned from practicing healthy habits (limit screen time, lower sugar intake, drink 4-8 glasses of water, etc.). It’s seriously that easy! My wife and I have been logging our minutes and healthy habits, and not only are we having fun, but we also feel in more positive spirits. Our Spotlight families have been enjoying themselves since taking the challenge, as well. The last two months, Knoxville Parent, shared their stories and what goals they were looking to accomplish. How Did Our Spotlight Families Do? The Eldridge family has been working hard to make more time to spend with one another. Work is something that takes up a great deal of time as any working person can tell you, but Kelly and Joshua have worked together to become better planners. They make it point to do something active as a family for 20-30 mintues (anything from playing soccer or going on a jog) at least three times during week days. Beatrice and Austin are finished with school for the summer, so their schedules have opened up with makes it easier to spend time with their parents. The Childers family has also found the Challenge to be quite a success! Since Courtney and John have two very young boys (4.5 and 1.5 year olds), they wanted to create a more positive and healthy environment for them. They did this by working on their own eating habits such as cutting out junk food (chips, candy, and fast food) as much as possible. Fast food is the one that has been the hardest, though, because of it’s convenience and affordability. Both John and Courtney are happy with they way they have helped each other during the Challenge. The My Fit Family Challenge started May 1st and will last for 4 more weeks (ends June 26th). Knoxville Parent encourages others in the Knoxville community to follow in the footsteps of our Spotlight families and take the Challenge themselves! It’s not too late to sign up even if you start now. Register online at www.myfitfamilychallenge.com for chances to win weekly prizes. All that is required is logging you and your family’s minutes online at least once a week. Being active just got a lot more interesting! I wish you and your family a safe and eventful summer break! Adam Kalwas is the Publisher and CEO for Knoxville Parent Magazine. He is a proud husband, and he wants to shed positive light towards families in the greater Knoxville area for many years to come. Adam is a graduate from the University of Tennesse with a BS in Advertising.
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Knoxville Parent • June 2016
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Knoxville Parent • June 2016
10 Terrific Books: Get Active: Awesome Athletes! Compiled by Erin Nguyen
Children’s Department, Knox County Public Library
How to Build a Birdhouse by Colleen Hord K-2nd Learn how to make a simple birdhouse using household supplies in this title from the Step by Step Projects series for beginning readers.
Animals Mash-Ups by Vicky Franchino 2nd-4th Learn about the fascinating topic of hybrid animals, like ligers (part lion, part tiger) and wholphins (part whale, part dolphin).
Remote Control Planes by Joanne Mattern 1st-3rd This book is perfect for young scientists who have ever wondered how remote control planes work.
Glow: Animals with Their Own Night-Lights by W.H. Beck 1st-4th This book is an introduction to bioluminescence, or the ability of some creatures to glow, with brilliant photographs accompanying the informative text. Cool Parks & Trails: Great Things to Do in the Great Outdoors by Katherine Hengel 1st-4th Young adventurers looking for outdoor activity ideas will find it in this title and others in the Cool Great Outdoors series.
Supercars: A Celebration of Iconic Marques by Devon Bailey 3rd-6th Take a look at some of the world’s most impressive cars, known as supercars because of their speed, design, and high cost.
The Wonderful Worlds of a Video Game Designer by Ruth Owen 3rd-6th Video games are fun, but readers find out about the scientific knowledge and skills that go into creating them in this eye-opening title.
For library information in your area visit: www.knoxlib.org/
A Career as a CIA Agent by Daniel R. Faust 4th-6th This revealing title explores what it means to be a real spy and how to pursue a career in the CIA.
Be a Survivor by Chris Oxlade 4th-6th This entry in the Go Wild series of books about exploring the great outdoors focuses on important survival skills for any hiking or camping trip.
Robots & Cyborgs by David Kassnoff 5th-8th One of several titles in the Greatest Movie Monsters series for young film buffs, this book is an overview of the history and variety of robotic movie creations.
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Knoxville Parent • June 2016
Keep Your Teeth Healthy For A Lifetime! (865) 693-6933
Don’t Let Your Kid’s Brain Turn To Mush This Summer! 16
Knoxville Parent • June 2016
Keep The Mind Active With Music Lessons.