As visitors poured in from around the world, Cook Children’s Health Care System provided top-notch medical care not just for residents, but for traveling fans with children who may have needed unexpected care. Cook Children’s treated more than 200 visiting families in its Urgent Care centers over the course of the event.

Between the heat and the fandom, the summer games would bring the health system launched the "World Cup Wednesday" public health series. For nine weeks leading up to the tournament, this series provided families with essential resources on injury prevention, heat and water safety tips, and more.

While soccer matches in North Texas have come to an end, the impact of keeping global and local visitors safe will live long after the fans have gone home.

Families can access fresh fruits, vegetables and other nutritious foods for free at Fort Worth’s

The renovated Eastside YMCA opened January 27 with new amenities including a Good For You Healthy Hub to help fight food insecurity in the surrounding neighborhood.

The Center for Community Health, led by Cook Children’s, is funding the hub’s startup costs and the first two years of operation. The center will offer classes on nutrition, gardening and preparing meals in the YMCA’s demonstration kitchen as part of the collaboration. Education will also cover healthy lifestyle topics such as exercise, sleep and limits on screen time. 

The new hub at Eastside YMCA functions within the network of Good For You locations operated by Texas Health. Teaming up allows the YMCA to tap the library of materials, engagement opportunities and partner connections at both Texas Health and Cook Children’s. 

The Eastside YMCA, located at 1500 Sandy Lane, serves an area of east Fort Worth where the Cook Children’s footprint is growing. Just a few miles to the north on Manhattan Boulevard, a new Cook Children’s neighborhood health center is scheduled to open in May 2025. 

Cook Children’s investment at Eastside YMCA aligns with our Promise: Knowing every child’s life is sacred, we promise to improve the well-being of every child in our care and communities. It’s the latest example of the center taking action to address hunger in an eight-county region of North Texas.

Courtney Barnard, the center’s Director of Child Wellness, said area residents already know the reputation for outstanding pediatric care at Cook Children’s medical centers and clinics. By sponsoring a hub, the center takes that commitment beyond the Blue Peaks to put nutritious food within convenient reach of those in need.  

“What Cook Children’s does really well is understanding that health is not just the absence of being sick, or going to a doctor to get treated when you are sick,” Barnard said. “The joy we have at the Center for Community Health is getting to work in spaces outside of the traditional medical setting to impact the well-being of kids and families.”

The Big Picture

Food insecurity occurs whenever all people in a household don’t consistently have enough food to live an active, healthy life. They might lack the money or the transportation to buy groceries. Some people in the household might eat smaller portions or skip meals altogether so that others have enough.

According to the Cook Children’s 2024 Community Health Needs Assessment, in our eight-county service area approximately 34% of children ages birth to 17 (about 390,100 children and teens) live in households that cannot always afford to eat good, nutritious meals. This compares to 40% of children statewide and 33% nationally.

Food insecurity among children can impact:

• Physical health, including higher risk for anemia and asthma
• Mental health
• Ability to focus and learn

“The limited or uncertain access to enough food is a critical child health issue that impacts millions of infants, children, youth and families in all communities across the U.S.,” according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. “Children of all ages who live in households with food insecurity, even at the least severe levels of food insecurity, are likely to be sick more often, recover from illness more slowly, and be hospitalized more frequently.” 

Making Connections

Texas Health supports 20 Good For You Healthy Hubs in schools and community centers across Tarrant County. The hubs focus on nutrition security, emphasizing seasonal produce and nutrient-dense staples such as beans, legumes and whole grains that are necessary for living a healthy, active lifestyle. Fresh fruits and vegetables make up at least half of the food selection.

“When it comes to improving health outcomes in our community, overcoming barriers to accessing healthy food is critically important,” said Matt Dufrene, Vice President, Texas Health. “We’re proud to collaborate with Cook Children’s and the YMCA to offer innovative programs like Good For You that support the health and well-being of residents in east Fort Worth.” 

On average, each hub serves about 70-100 families per month.  As in a grocery store, clients choose the foods they want. Recipes, resources and nutrition information are also provided. Toiletries and diapers are available in some hubs.

“Nutritious food is a fundamental human right, not a luxury,” said Beverly Brown, Director of Operations, YMCA of Metropolitan Fort Worth. She thanked Texas Health and Cook Children’s for making the Good For You Healthy Hub a reality.

After the Eastside YMCA closed in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, it needed extensive repairs and renovations before reopening in January 2025. The $16 million, three-phase construction project was designed to create a Community Impact Center. In addition to usual YMCA attractions -- fitness center and swimming pool, for instance -- the transformed Eastside facility includes the hub and spaces for early learning, leadership and workforce development.

Targeting the problem of food insecurity isn’t a new goal for Cook Children’s. For years, the center has collaborated with Texas Health and many other organizations to plant community gardens and provide education around healthy lifestyle behaviors. In 2023, the center and Cook Children’s Health Plan partnered with Tarrant Area Food Bank and H-E-B Hunger Relief to roll out the R.E.D. Mobile Market, providing food staples and application assistance to receive SNAP benefits (food stamps). And, as part of a pilot, select departments across Cook Children’s are screening patient and program families for food insecurity and providing food either onsite or delivered to the family’s home.

Center program coordinator Dora Garcia described the hub as a beautiful and welcoming space, where people are respected and seen as neighbors.

“We’re providing food to meet their immediate need,” Garcia said. “Their long-term needs are going to be met through the education and resources on making good food choices, physical activity and other kinds of education to live the healthiest life they can.”

Barnard said the hub illustrates one way Cook Children’s strives to enhance the well-being of all children in the region, regardless of whether they’re patients at one of our sites.   

“It’s not just for those coming through our hospital doors, but how can we help and be present for the community as a whole,” Barnard said. “They know Cook Children’s not only as their friendly neighborhood pediatrician, but also as an organization that gives back to the community.”

RELATED STORIES:

'A Hand Up, Not A Handout': Cook Children's Center for Community Health and Health Plan Collaborate with Community Partners to Combat Food Insecurity

By Ashley Antle

If there is one thing kids know, it’s how to get dirty. So why not let them play in the dirt with purpose and create a home garden where they can experiment with growing their own food or flowers.

Experts say gardening positively impacts everything from food choices to physical fitness and even mood, and kids can reap these benefits, too.

“Gardening saved my brain,” said Dora Garcia, community health program coordinator at The Center for Children’s Health, led by Cook Children’s. “I had always been curious about growing my own food, but really got into it when I was doing a really stressful job. Being outside and digging in the dirt helped alleviate my stress and helped me relax.”

Garcia believes in the benefits of gardening so much so that she turned her stress-release activity into her day job and heads the gardening program for The Center for Children’s Health.

In partnership with the Johnson County Alliance for Healthy Kids and the Healthy Children Coalition for Parker County, Garcia advises schools in Johnson and Parker Counties on how to incorporate gardening into daily school and learning activities. The oldest coalition school garden is now seven years old, surpassing the average school garden life span of two years. 

Reap What You Sow

“Gardening is a hands-on way for kids to experience growing their own food,” Garcia said. “Research has shown that children who grow their own food are more apt to try different fruits and vegetables. They learn where food comes from and learn responsibility as they water and tend to the garden and watch their food grow.” 

Gardening also teaches patience and perseverance, as not everything planted will produce. Garcia says learning what works and what doesn’t is a part of the process and, like in life, working hard to overcome a challenge reaps reward.

Other benefits of gardening with your child include:

●     Decreased screen time and increased physical activity and exposure to mood-boosting sunshine.

●     Family bonding and team building as you work together to dig, plant, grow and harvest.

●     Interactive opportunities to explore and learn science and math concepts related to gardening.

●     Expands creativity and curiosity as kids design and build a green space where they can relax, read a book and explore. 

Bloom Where You're Planted

Growing your own garden doesn’t have to be hard, expensive, or take up too much space. It doesn’t even have to be in the ground. Gardens can be grown in pots, small outdoor beds or even bags. Garcia says to keep it simple and start small. Grow herbs or microgreens in a pot, or turn a galvanized tub into a small vegetable garden.

If you prefer sowing flowers over food, use the thriller/filler/spiller rule for planting an eye-catching flower pot. Choose one focal plant as your “thriller” to add height and drama. Pair with it “filler” flowers that are round or mounding to fill in the space around the thriller. To finish off the look, add a “spiller,” or trailing plant to soften the edges of the container.

When combining plants in containers, whether food or flowers, be sure to pair them according to their light and watering needs. In other words, don’t put shade-loving flowers like impatiens with full-sun plants like hibiscus, or moisture-loving herbs like basil with drought-tolerant plants like rosemary. To learn more, turn to resources such as Texas A&M Agrilife Extension and local plant nurseries that can point you in the right direction on what to plant and how to care for your garden.

Porch ponds can add tranquility to a small outdoor space. Use a galvanized tub or water-tight container to house water plants and a small filter/fountain combination to circulate water. Adding mosquito fish to your pond is an effective and environmentally friendly way to control mosquitos, and your kids will love the aquatic life.

Above all, let your kids get their hands dirty and have fun with your garden, be it big or small. Together, you’ll harvest far more benefits than just healthy food and beautiful blooms.

The rising prices of eggs, meat and other foods can make the cost of groceries hard to swallow these days.

But knowing some tricks for savvy shopping could help cut your grocery bill without sacrificing the nutritional value of the food you buy.

There’s no better time than National Nutrition Month -- in March -- to talk about the importance of fueling children and adolescents with the optimal foods for the growth and development of their bodies and brains. What we eat impacts energy, the risk for obesity, certain diseases, blood sugar levels, learning and more. 

Guidelines from the U.S. Department of Agriculture lay out the core elements that make up a healthy diet: Vegetables and fruits of all types and colors; whole grains, dairy including milk, yogurt and cheese; proteins including lean meats, seafood and nuts; and oils including vegetable oils. Children and teens need a variety of nutrients, such as calcium for strong bones, protein to build muscles, iron for oxygen-rich blood and fiber for easier bowel movements.

Kaitlin Smith, M.S. R.D. L.D. meets with patients in the Cook Children’s Endocrinology Clinic for issues such as diabetes and obesity. Smith and her dietitian colleagues at Cook Children’s provide education on weight management, counting carbohydrates and other nutrition-related topics.

In recent months, she said, more families in her consultations have voiced concern about inflation driving up the price of healthful foods. When the subject comes up, Smith coaches those families on affordable ways to eat nutritiously.

“It doesn't have to look like you're buying grass-fed beef or free-range chicken. That's what a lot of people picture, is we have to buy these expensive health foods or have top-of-the-line everything, and that's not true,” she said.

Smith outlined a few strategies for nutritional value at lower cost:

• Buy frozen or canned vegetables and fruits. “You're still getting good nutrients. They’re going to last longer, and it’s usually cheaper.” Look for fruit cups with fruit juice, not syrup.
• Seek out the more nutritious versions of food – for instance, brown rice instead of white rice, whole-grain pasta instead of pasta containing refined flours. “You're getting more nutrition for your dollar.”
• Eat more beans. “Beans are so affordable and nutrient dense. Beans of any kind are a great source of protein, fiber and iron.”
• Stock up and freeze meat when it goes on sale.
• Buy generic. Name-brand labels tend to cost more for foods with the same nutrient components as the generics.

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics points to additional key steps for preparing nutritious meals on a tight budget. How? Stick with a shopping list. Incorporate meatless meals a few days each week. Buy nonperishable staples, such as dried beans and lentils, in bulk. Use produce and other perishables first. Eat leftovers the next day for lunch. Freeze what you won’t eat right away.

“The key to smart, budget-friendly grocery shopping is planning ahead,” according to the Academy. “Plan meals around fresh produce, lean protein foods and low-fat dairy items that are on sale and in season to save money while eating healthy.”

Take breakfast, for example. Smith recommends oatmeal with a little milk and fruit as a low-cost option. Lunch could be turkey and cheese on whole-wheat bread, with a side of carrots or fruit.

“We have protein, we have fiber, we have fruits and vegetables available, and that's way cheaper than if you picked up a sandwich at a drive-through place,” Smith said.

For dinner, Smith suggests stir fry using a bag of mixed vegetables and a little chicken or beef over noodles or rice. Frequent dinners in her home consist of burrito bowls made with brown rice, black beans, avocado and cheese – affordable, and yummy to her young son.

Families can stretch their food dollars by turning to recipes such as Slow Cooker Vegetarian Chili Mac - Kristine's Kitchen (kristineskitchenblog.com), which yields six servings at a cost of $1.66 per serving. Smith pointed out that a fast food meal for one person costs $6 or $7 on average. 

“For the amount of money that you're spending on fast food or convenience foods, a much more nutritious option can be made at home. You’re getting less calories, less fat, less salt from not eating as many of those highly processed foods,” she said. “And if you're cooking at home, there are usually leftovers that you can eat throughout the week, which saves you money. It’s an all-around better option.”

Smith encourages families to take small steps to improve their nutrition routine. Changing too much all at once probably won’t establish a lasting habit, she said.

“Healthy eating does not have to be perfect,” she said. “Even if we swap out one to two fast food meals per week, that is still progress. Incorporate a vegetable into one meal every day, and then just build off of that. Just try to make realistic goals that are attainable for your family.”

National Nutrition Month highlights the importance of wholesome foods – and the dietitians who help children and teens make informed choices about what they eat. 

“I love simplifying healthy eating for my patients and reminding them that it doesn't have to be about a fad diet or expensive supplements or expensive health foods. I just love when I can empower people to take ownership of their health and make those small consistent changes to reach their overall health goals.”

During routine yearly checkups, we ask about your child’s nutrition including soda consumption. When I ask this, parents often respond, “no doc, we don’t give him/her soda," but add that if they do drink soda, it's clear, such as Sprite, 7up, Sierra Mist), etc. But parents wonder, are clear sodas really healthier than dark sodas?  It looks clear, it’s not brown, it smells like lemon-lime…it must be OK, right? Not so much. Let’s look into this a little further.

So first let’s first start with the simple fact that clear sodas are still soda! We discourage sodas for several reasons but mainly for the sugar content. For example, a can of Sprite has 38 grams of sugar and a can of Coke has 39 g of sugar. So you can see there’s not much of a difference between the two. That’s about 9 teaspoons of sugar in one can!!

Studies show that kids who drink more than 10% of their daily calories from added sugar are more likely to have abnormal cholesterol levels and a higher chance of getting Type 2 diabetes.

The other main reason we discourage sodas is the caffeine content. It is true that clear sodas do not have caffeine. However, there are many other options for a hydrating drink without sugar such as good old-fashioned water. If your child does not like water, try adding fresh fruit or mint or from time to time try a zero-sugar sparkling water to satisfy that craving for “fizz.”

So what about diet sodas?  Most experts would recommend that children should avoid diet sodas in kids. Many diet sodas are sweetened with artificial sweeteners and long terms effects are still not clear.

There you have it! Clear soda is not a healthy choice for a drink. Opt for water!

But I hear from my patient families all the time that it's anything but relaxing.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends doctors ask parents three questions about mealtime:

1. How anxious are you about your child’s eating?

2. How would you describe what happens during mealtime?

3. What do you do when your child won’t eat?

When offered a healthy, well balanced meal with fresh fruits, vegetables, and lean proteins, kids will stop eating when they are full. Children will naturally refuse to eat when they are not hungry. We often describe these as normal appetite slumps. We can disturb children’s natural satiety cues by either forcing them to eat or by offering foods high in added sugar or salt when they won’t eat. This results in a child who will “only eat chicken nuggets.”

Parents are most successful in feeding their children more fruits and vegetables when they model healthy eating, set appropriate limits, and have a positive attitude at mealtime. “The parent determines where, when, and what the child is fed; the child determines what to eat.” ⁽¹⁾ In other words, “parents provide and kids decide”. ⁽²⁾ 

Here are some tips on eating mindfully and encouraging your kids to eat in a manner that gives them more energy and helps them avoid chronic disease. These are easy ways to change your lifestyle that don’t involve a ton of work and expensive supplements.

1.Drink more water. Kids should not drink juice or soda except on special occasions.

2.Drink milk with meals. Children from age 1-2 should be on whole milk. After the age of 2, low fat or skim milk is recommended.

3.Vitamin supplements are not needed unless your child does not drink milk. Vitamin D is essential for bone health and immune function and may play a role in prevention of chronic disease.

4.Serve 5-9 servings of fruits and vegetables daily. Encourage your children to at least take a bite of everything you serve. Remember that children will need to taste a food 10-15 times before they decide they like it. Lean protein like fish and baked chicken might be better accepted if you add ketchup as a condiment.

5.Add healthy protein likes nuts (for older children) and legumes. Peanut butter is fine for younger children and new allergy immunology guidelines suggest that early introduction of peanut may actually decrease the risk of peanut allergy.

6.Eat more meals at home. Keep staples such as eggs, whole grain pasta, pasta sauce, yogurt, carrots, frozen vegetables, chicken breasts, and fruit stocked at all times so that in a pinch you could throw together a simple meal.

7.Double your recipes and freeze 1 meal at the same time that you cook the other meal. This will save you from making a trip to a fast food restaurant when you have that go to meal in your freezer.

8.Serve only whole grain breads and pastas.

9.Avoid buying, eating, or serving processed foods (chips, cookies, cakes).

10.Avoid fried foods and fast foods.

To read more about nutrition needs of children at different ages, I highly recommend the book “Nutrition: What Every Parent Needs to Know" available on the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) online bookstore.

See choosemyplate.gov for more information about how your child’s plate should look at meal time.

Realize that children’s tastes will change over time. They will sometimes refuse foods they readily accepted in the past, and they will readily accept foods that they refused in the past. Involve your children in shopping and meal planning. Let them help in the kitchen! Take them to a local farmer’s market and let them choose something new for everyone to try.

Take a matter of fact and pleasant approach to meal times and ENJOY YOUR FAMILY! Create wonderful childhood memories.

References:

1. “A Practical Approach to Classifying and Managing Feeding Difficulties” Pediatrics Volume 135, number 2, February 2015

2.Nutrition: What Every Parent Needs to Know. AAP

I, and I’m sure many others who care for children, were excited by the news. It was with great interest that I read the news article and began to examine the story more closely. The news while exciting deals with a relatively small number and specific population of children.

The study examined obesity rates in pre-school children, age 2-4 years old whose families received WIC assistance (The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children). Not all of the states submitted information. Of the 41 participating states, 18 states showed modest declines in the number of obese preschoolers from information collected from 2008-2011. The remainder of the 41 states showed no change or even increases in obesity rates.

The challenge is understanding what this information means and placing it in the proper perspective. Experts in the field of childhood obesity believe the positive numbers reflect changes in the WIC program beginning in 2008. The program was changed in an effort to increase fresh fruits and vegetable purchases as well as other health options such as whole grains and low fat foods. Additionally, encouragement of breastfeeding is thought to help contribute the improvements.

The news validates the central importance of healthy eating in weight management. I believe that fresh ingredients and home preparation of meals is a major key in overall health and weight management. I have slowly continued reading the book, Salt, Sugar, and Fat, and am increasingly convinced of this belief.

As discussed in the article, challenges remain. One in eight pre-schoolers remain obese. And unfortunately, the likelihood is high for these children that obesity will persist into adulthood.

For more information:

• Cook Children’s Endocrinology and Diabetes Program
• Obesity where we live
• The Center For Children’s Health
• Checkup Kitchen
• Overweight and Obesity
• Keeping Portions Under Control
• How Can Families Be Healthier?

About the author

As a self-described ‘techie,’ Joel Steelman, M.D., has a keen interest in the wise use of technology to improve medical care. Since 2001, he has helped implement electronic medical recordkeeping in two endocrine practices. He still loves to write, and he is a regular contributor to the Physician Perspective page on the Cook Children’s Web site.

I was immediatley interested when I chanced on a recent radio interview with the author, Michael Moss, who has written a new book about the inner workings of the processed food industry. The book deals specifically with the reasons that these companies use three key additives – salt, sugar and fat – in the processed food they create and market.

The term processed foods sounds somewhat sinister, but some of the ways that food is processed such as pasteurization or freezing are quite beneficial to people for both health reasons and convenience. The primary goal in most processing of foods is creation of a food product that is near ready to eat and is stable on the shelf or in our homes for a long period of time. This particular goal and the goal of making tasty processed foods according to Mr. Moss is where the problem begins.

In the book, Moss interviews food scientists in many of the large processed food companies. These scientists are tasked with making tasty food products that apeal to a large group of people. Moss describes the use of the three key additives to mask odd or bitter flavors that develop during manufacturing and to hook consumers on taste.

Moss argues that company pressures to create new appealing snacks, grow market share and improve profitability often result in unhealthy foods that contribute to the U.S. and global obesity epidemic.

The interview concluded with the debate about what steps can be taken to reduce these activities and make healthier foods. The debate no doubt will continue between different philosophies of strict government regulation and independence of consumer choice.

I’ve downloaded the eBook and look forward to learning more and examining different viewpoints. In the meantime, my family and I will continue to see fresh ingredients and discover new recipes.

More information is available if you are interested with links to the NPR interview and the book.