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October 2008 |
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In This Edition...
New California Laws Passed, Opportunity for Local Advocacy Efforts! Last month Governor Schwarzenegger signed into law a number of bills aimed at improving food and physical activity environments throughout California. Now that these bills have passed the state legislature, a new phase of the work begins—ensuring statewide implementation! Click below to read highlights about the new laws and see what local and regional actions will help ensure that these laws are put in place.
SB 1420 – Menu labeling in chain restaurants AB 31 – Funding for parks in underserved and park-poor communities AB 375 – Reducing greenhouse gas emissions through land-use AB 433 – A new future for Food Stamps AB 2726 – Funding for the Healthy Purchase Pilot AB 2300 – Medi-Cal means more meals for California kids AB 1358 – The Complete Streets Act of 2007 SB12 & AB 965 – Ongoing efforts to ensure compliance with school nutrition standards SB 1420 requires restaurant chains with 20 or more locations to post calorie information on their menus and indoor menu boards by January 1, 2011. Advocates interested in accelerating menu labeling at the local level can collaborate with local health departments or city councils to encourage chain restaurants to comply with the new law before 2011. Following passage of SB 1420, YUM! Brands announced that it plans to post caloric information nationally, in KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and Long John Silver’s by 2011. Given this commitment, local advocates may want to prioritize working with these restaurants to encourage implementation well before 12011. Click here to learn more about menu labeling and YUM! Brands’ announcement.
AB 31: Funding for Parks in Underserved / Park-poor Communities AB 31 prioritizes $400 million of Proposition 84 park funds for underserved and park-poor communities throughout California. The California Department of Parks and Recreation department will be holding hearings to draft grant eligibility guidelines for localities to apply for funds. Local advocates can participate in these hearings and provide public comment on the guidelines once they are published, this winter. Once the guidelines are completed, information on grants will be available on the California State Parks website.
AB 375: Reducing greenhouse gas emissions through land-use This landmark legislation provides emissions-reduction goals around which regions can plan, thus integrating disjointed planning activities. AB 375 also provides incentives for local governments and developers to create attractive, walkable, and sustainable communities and to revitalize existing communities. AB 375 is an important piece of legislation that will have implications for regional planning efforts. Stay tuned for future information from Strategic Alliance on how local advocates can get involved in the implementation of AB 375!
AB 433: A new future for Food Stamps AB 433 removes the asset test for food stamps. Families will no longer be denied help if their assets are over the $2,000 limit (as they have been since 1977). The bill provides communities with flexibility to implement this law as early as July 1, 2009 and as late as January 1, 2010. In order to address rising unemployment and the struggles families face in this economic downturn, local food advocates can encourage their County Board of Supervisors and County Food Stamp Office to start July 1st in order to feed more families sooner. AB 433 also includes a name change to the food stamp program, to reflect the health and nutrition benefits of the program. Click here to submit a suggestion for renaming the food stamps program!
AB 2726: Funding for the Healthy Purchase Pilot AB 2726 provides economic incentives to food stamp recipients that use their food stamp dollars to purchase healthy items and provides small stores with assistance in offering fresh produce. At the local level, people can encourage their County Board of Supervisors to request to be one of the pilot counties for this program (legislation allows up to seven counties). California Food Policy Advocates is putting together a sample request letter to submit to your Board of Supervisors. For a copy of the sample letter and further details on the pilot, e-mail cathy@cfpa.net.
AB 2300: Medi-Cal means more meals for California kids AB 2300 moves California closer to using Medi-Cal data to enroll kids in school meal programs without paperwork hassles for schools or parents. The hope is that this data will eventually be added to the state food stamp and welfare data already offered to school districts. Right now, the majority of school districts do not participate in the state-wide computer match. Local advocates can encourage their school districts to participate in the computer matching system to automatically enroll students into free school meals without hassles. CFPA will be putting together resources that demonstrate the benefits of the matching system, as well as a list of school districts currently participating. For more information, contact cathy@cfpa.net.
AB 1358: The Complete Streets Act of 2007 AB 1358 calls for cities and counties to ensure that the circulation element of the general plan addresses the needs of pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit riders. Although the law does not take effect until January 2011, residents living in communities that are currently updating their general plans can encourage decision-makers to include language to ensure that streets and roads meet the needs of all users. Additionally, public health departments can approach their local planning departments to explore ways in which public health can get involved and provide input. In 2009 the California Bicycle Coalition will be hosting regional workshops to bring together groups interested in ensuring the complete streets act gets implemented at the local level. For more information, stay tuned to the Strategic Alliance newsletter or visit www.calbike.org.
Keeping the full court press on SB12 & AB SB 965: Ongoing efforts to ensure compliance with school nutrition standards In addition to legislation passed this year, school nutrition standards passed in 2005 and 2006 have yet to be fully implemented in all California school districts. There are steps that advocates can take to ensure compliance. SB 12 and SB 965 created nutrition standards for food and beverages sold on school campuses in vending machines, school stores, and as à la carte items. Though the standards were implemented in July 2007, many schools are not yet complying with the laws. At the local level, advocates and parents can play an active role in ensuring that schools are implementing the nutrition standards. Click here to use the School Foods Calculator and other resources, developed by California Project LEAN, to aid in monitoring school foods compliance.
Congratulations to everyone who worked hard to ensure the success of nutrition and physical activity legislation this year and thank you to state advocates who provided information on local- and regional-level action to ensure implementation! For future newsletters, we encourage local and regional advocates to send us information about what you’re doing to ensure that statewide nutrition and activity laws are implemented in your communities.
New Federal Menu Labeling Bill Would Pre-empt California’s Law, if Passed Last month, following the successful adoption of SB 1420, California’s landmark legislation requiring menu labeling in chain restaurants, U.S. Sens. Tom Carper (D-Del.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) introduced the Labeling Education and Nutrition Act (LEAN Act; S. 3575) in Congress. If passed, the restaurant-industry supported LEAN Act would pre-empt California’s menu labeling law, and similar laws in New York City and King County, WA.
The LEAN Act would require restaurants and grocery stores that serve prepared foods and have 20 or more locations to disclose the caloric content of the food items they serve. However, the LEAN Act does not mandate information disclosure in the same way that existing local and state policies do, such as those in New York City and California. Under the LEAN Act, restaurants would have greater flexibility in deciding how caloric information is posted. Establishments could post calories directly on the menu, menu board or in one of the approved alternative ways, such as a menu insert, an appendix to the menu, or a sign next to the menu board. Unfortunately, these alternatives mean that consumers will have greater difficulty accessing nutrition information about the food items they order.
If passed, the LEAN act would pre-empt California’s menu labeling law, and similar laws in New York and King County, WA. The LEAN Act has been referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
To read a recent editorial on menu labeling laws and the LEAN Act, see “2,000 is Really Enough,” published in the New York Times on October 19, 2008.
Stampy Award Nominations (CFPA) The 2009 Stampy Awards are coming up! Each year, California Food Policy Advocates honors the year’s best achievements in improving food stamps in California. If you know of a person that has made a significant impact in improving food stamps in California, please nominate them by December 10, 2008! Contact fsforum@cfpa.net for more details.
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Thanks for reading! The Strategic Alliance is currently engaged in building a broad and diverse statewide membership. If you were forwarded this e-mail and want to receive your own copy in the future, please click here or e-mail sam@preventioninstitute.org. And if you’re already a member, please forward this message to your colleagues so we can continue to strengthen our coalition. Thank you!
WHAT IS THE STRATEGIC ALLIANCE? The Strategic Alliance is reframing the debate on nutrition and physical activity away from a focus solely on individual choice and lifestyle towards one of environmental influences and corporate and government responsibility. Current Steering Committee members are: California Adolescent Nutrition and Fitness Program (CANFit), California Center for Public Health Advocacy (CCPHA), California Food Policy Advocates (CFPA), California Pan-Ethnic Health Network, California Park and Recreation Society (CPRS), California Project LEAN, California WIC Association (CWA), Child Care Food Program Roundtable, Latino Health Access, Partnership for the Public’s Health, Prevention Institute, and Samuels & Associates.
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