It's time for us to ride off into the sunset.     Hey there! So, as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. Our funder, Blue Cross Blue Shield has recently changed it's funding priorities, and will no longer be funding Catalyst. So sadly, we are closing up shop May 31, 2012.    Also, there will not be a Catalyst summit this year. Sadly there was not money left in our budget...

read more

So we're really excited to announce our magazine! We've been working on it for a while, and our goal is to show all the cool projects Catalyst students have been working on, and also feature projects going on around the country! Please check it, It's full of interesting stories, bio's from our youth board, and lots more!     Open publication - Free publishing - More catalyst

read more

  I'm no food scientest, but the more I look at the above image, the less it looks like a carrot. But apparently the U.S. Congress think it does.  Congress just sent a clear message that protecting the food industry is more important to them than protecting children's health.  Congress passed an Agriculture spending bill that weakens the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) ability to implement strong, common-sense standards for school meals.  As a result...

read more

  We wanted to celebrate all that is awesome about biking and walking to school, so we got some fun people together and shot a killer video. Hopefully it will inspire you to ditch the car or bus and hop on your heels, bike, or some other type of human-powered transportation. Enjoy! Thank you to the Twin Cities Fantasy Factory and Dustin Grice for speading the word. Thank you to the Twin Cities Unicycle Club...

read more

For our third episode of Ask Catalyst! we sought to answer a question posed by our friend Kate. Kate asked, “What are some healthy options at fast food restaurants?”To figure out the answer, we brought in Kate herself, and our friend Emily, a local registered dietitian. Together, they scoured the menus of three popular fast food restaurants: Taco Bell, McDonald’s and Dairy Queen. We found a few tasty treats that will satisfy your fast food...

read more

We need YOU for the next Catalyst video shoot! It's true. We're filming a new video, and you can be the star. Here are the details. It's a video focused on getting more of your friends to walk and bike to school. We're going to meeting at Henry Sibley High school and you need to bring a few things with you. First, a backpack, because in the video you're going to be going to school....

read more

2011 Catalyst ACTIVATE: U Mini-Grants - Due Oct. 3 2011Catalyst is excited to offer our Activate: U Mini-Grants for the second year! The grants will support youth involvement in nutrition and physical activity initiatives. Catalyst is about teens in action, so we will give groups of motivated teens up to a $1000 to take healthy action in their schools and community. Groups applying for the 2011 grant are required to outline their idea in the...

read more

Digging Up the Dirt: Crosswinds Students Rock Gardening ClubStudents at Crosswinds Arts & Science School aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty; at least not those in the garden club. For the past few months, a group of dedicated students has been meeting after school (yep, Crosswinds has school year-round!) to plant, weed and harvest their very own school garden. Catalyst helped fund the gardening club through it's mini-grant program. Crosswinds' super cool garden consists...

read more

  So what is Catalyst?Catalyst is about action. Catalyst is Minnesota’s statewide youth movement committed to creating positive change around public health issues across the state – especially those in your own school lunch! Catalyst is open to all high school students in Minnesota. So what is the Catalyst Youth Board?The Catalyst Youth Board is leading this movement!  Youth Board members help plan the Catalyst summit, other fun events, and travel the state with Catalyst staff...

read more

On April 10, 2011, nearly 100 students dragged bags of cans, and poured them into a giant bar graph portraying the rising rates of American obesity in the past 30 years. During the past few decades, obesity in America has skyrocketed from about 15% in 1980, to a whopping 34% today.* Download the High Res Version of this Slide The consumption of soft drinks in America has skyrocketed as well. From 1980 to today, the...

read more