Featured Stories

New ENACT Sustainable Food System Strategies!

Communities across the country are recognizing the importance of access to healthy food in preventing chronic disease. At the same time, concerns about our current food system have led to increasing interest in sustainable food systems that promote human health, protect the environment, and provide a livable income and fair working conditions for growers and laborers.  Community members are joining efforts to take action to ensure that residents have access to fresh, local, healthy foods. With funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Prevention Institute has updated ENACT to include strategies that promote both health and a sustainable food system. 

Visit the online ENACT tool to explore over 75 promising strategies to improve food and activity environments.  Each strategy includes a wealth of information including available research, promising policies and programs, specific tools, and organizations to assist in implementation efforts.  New sustainable food system strategies include:

• Support local and regional food systems by preserving farmland, creating regional infrastructure for processing and distribution, and investing in new and existing farmers
• Connect locally grown food to local retail establishments
• Adopt comprehensive food policies  that develops nutrition, health, and environmental guidelines for purchasing to ensure cafeteria meals, refreshments, and vending machines include healthy and sustainable choices
• Establish gardening and agriculture initiatives
• And much more!

ENACT is an interactive web-based tool designed to help communities improve their food and activity environments by offering a specific menu of achievable strategies divided into seven key environments:  Communities, Workplaces, Healthcare institutions, Daycare and preschools, Schools, After-school programs, and Government practices.  All ENACT strategies are complemented by available research, promising policies and programs, specific tools, and organizations to assist in implementation efforts.  Visit ENACT at www.preventioninstitute.org/sa/enact.

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 Strategic Alliance Web Forum - Save the Date!

April 16th, 2008 - Register Now!

Don’t miss this opportunity to learn more about the Strategic Alliance’s approach to prevention.  When we say “prevention” most people think about what individuals can do for themselves, not what neighborhoods can do for residents, or what we can do for each other. How can we help people understand that prevention means we have to create healthy places if we want healthy people? 

Please join Linnea Ashley from Strategic Alliance’s Rapid Response Network and Lori Dorfman from Berkeley Media Studies Group in an interactive web forum to explore what taking an environmental approach to improving nutrition and activity environments means and how we can talk about it. 

Making the Case for Healthy Food & Activity Environments will take place on Wednesday, April 16, 2008 from 10 - 11:30 am (PST) online.  Please register by April 7th at https://calcasa.ilinc.com/public/preventioninstitute.  We look forward to your participation!

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Legislative updates

Senate Select Committee Troubled by CA Governor's Inaction

Earlier this month, a Strategic Alliance special edition reported on the California Senate Select Committee on Obesity and Diabetes, which concluded that Governor Schwarzenegger and his administration have done little to uphold commitments to improve nutrition and physical activity environments throughout California.  Although the Governor's 2006 Obesity Prevention Plan - modeled after Strategic Alliance's Taking Action Platform - reflected a significant first step, initial momentum and commitment to the issue has waned.  Prevention Institute Executive Director Larry Cohen emphasized, “There are already many starting points for action.  We already have a strong strategy.  It is now a question of attention and commitment.” Read testimony and key concerns from the hearing, or to download and endorse the Strategic Alliance's recommendations to improve healthy food and activity options, click here.

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Local Spotlight

Joint Use Success in Los Angeles

Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is about to open some of their elementary school playground facilities for community use! People for Parks (PFP), a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving, enhancing and expanding parks and open space throughout L.A. County, has worked with LAUSD, City of Los Angeles, and community groups to develop a plan to green school playgrounds and open them for public use outside school hours. Although LAUSD has opened many middle and high school campuses, there are still over 400 elementary schools, many of which are in low-income neighborhoods that would benefit from having additional open and recreational spaces.

Greening school playgrounds and fields by replacing asphalt with grass and trees is an opportunity to beautify schools and neighborhoods.  Opening school property for community use creates spaces for the greater community to engage in physical activity.  It also provides a physical space and a fun atmosphere for community residents to come together. PFP President Jack Foley says, “There aren’t enough parks in Los Angeles, and minority communities have borne an unequal share of this deficit. A vibrant local park is an asset for an entire neighborhood.” For more information, please visit the People for Parks website.

LAUSD is just one of the growing number of school districts that realize that by working in cooperation with cities and non-profits to open school playgrounds and fields for community use during non-school hours, will increase access to parks and open spaces for neighborhood residents.  To learn more about collaborations between schools and communities, please visit the online Environmental Nutritional and Activity Community Tool.

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In the News

NYC Increases Fruit and Vegetable Carts in Low Income Neighborhoods

Mobile food carts that sell only fresh fruits and vegetables –– ‘Green Carts’ –– will hit the streets of New York City’s low-income neighborhoods as early as this spring. According to City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, "The communities in our city where obesity and diabetes continue to skyrocket are the same communities that lack even the most basic access to fresh fruits and vegetables.” Eating more fruits and vegetables prevents type II diabetes, heart disease, cancer, high blood pressure, and many other illnesses. The City Council voted late February to issue 1,500 new permits exclusively in the neighborhoods that need them most, saying a scarcity of fresh produce has led to high rates of nutrition and activity-related chronic disease. Read more about green carts and view the actual policy language in the ENACT Local Policy Database.

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America’s Best Cities for Walking

What makes a city walkable?  According to Prevention.com and the American Podiatric Medical Association (APMA), criteria including green space, public transportation, crime rates, and pedestrian safety are key indicators of America’s best walking cities. This year’s panel of walkability experts rated the 10 largest cities in each state and placed Cambridge (MA), New York City (NY), and Ann Arbor (MI) in the top three slots. San Francisco was the only California city in the top 10. Whether for fun, fitness, commuting or errands, walking is the most common form of physical activity, and people are more likely to walk when they live in walkable cities.  Yet people living in low wealth communities and in communities of color are less likely to experience key features of walkability, such as ample green space, low crime rates, and good air quality. 

Next year we hope the APMA continues to highlight the importance of walkabilitiy but also brings greater attention the intersection of land use, equity and walkability.  In the meantime, if you would like to see more information about the study or if you are curious about how your city ranks, click here. For a list of the top cities based on certain characteristics (safe streets, desirable destinations, green space, etc), click here. To learn more about what makes a community healthy, take a look at the Good Health Counts report, which synthesizes the key factors, including walkability, that contribute to community health and health equity.

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Resources

Prevention is Primary One Year Anniversary

March marks the one-year anniversary of Prevention is Primary, the academic text on primary prevention from Prevention Institute. In just one year, Prevention is Primary has already sold nearly 3000 copies!  The text is written primarily for current and future public health, public policy and social welfare professionals to underscore the value and promise of prevention and to frame its practice as a key social and economic justice issue. Prevention is Primary provides future practitioners with a strong foundation in primary prevention by defining the elements of quality prevention efforts, identifying best practices and illustrating the application of prevention principles in a multitude of settings.

Prevention is Primary: Strategies for Community Wellbeing is co-edited by Larry Cohen and Sana Chehimi of Prevention Institute along with Vivian Chavez of San Francisco State University. The text is published by Jossey-Bass in association with APHA Press.

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PBS to air Unnatural Causes beginning March 27

Is inequity making us sick? California Newsreel's ground breaking series, Unnatural Causes will be aired on PBS starting March 27.  This series describes how the public and certain populations' health and well being are adversely impacted by social and physical factors. California Newsreel worked with national and local county Health Officers in the planning and development of this series, which focuses on non-biological and non -behavioral causes of poor health and disparities. For more information on the series, go to the website at http://www.unnaturalcauses.org/. Want more after you watch?  Check out the Strategic Alliance’s Unnatural Causes webpage to learn more about an environmental approach to health equity and ways to create positive changes in your own food and activity environments. Read yesterday’s San Francisco Chronicle article on the documentary and on what the Alameda County Public Health Department is doing about the issue.

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Announcements

Safe Routes Partnership: Call for Steering Committee Nominations

Looking for a way to make a difference in the way children get to school and influence the decisions made about our streets?  The Safe Routes to School National Partnership is now accepting nominations for several Steering Committee positions representing government agencies, non-governmental organizations and professional associations. The Steering Committee, a diverse group of up to 21 members, functions as the Partnership's Board of Directors and holds decision-making responsibility for the Partnership. The deadline to apply is May 2, 2008. For more information and to download the application, click here.  To learn more about Safe Routes to School, please visit the Safe Routes to School website or the Safe Routes to School strategy in the ENACT tool.

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Childhood Obesity Prevention Program and Policy Nominations Requested

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are seeking nominations for programs or policies that fall into the following 4 areas: 1) Comprehensive School Physical Activity Programs; 2) After school or Daycare programs or policies; 3) Access to healthier foods in supermarkets/ convenience stores/ restaurants; and 4) Land Use and Transportation Policies/Projects for Physical Activity. The submission deadline is Monday, March 31, 2008. Contact Nicola Dawkins at Macro International at Nicola.U.Dawkins@macrointernational.com or 404-321-3211 for more details.

Select programs or policies will be chosen by an Expert Panel to receive an “evaluability assessment,” which consists of a 3-day site visit where trained project staff assess program implementation, data collection, and intended program outcomes. As part of the site visit, a limited amount of on-site technical assistance will be provided to each site.

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Now Accepting Applications for the 2008 Bay Area Dietetic Association Community Nutrition Grant

The Bay Area Dietetic Association is beginning the search for its 2008 Community Nutrition Grant recipient. The Community Nutrition Grant program began in 1988 with the intent of fostering and supporting community nutrition demonstration projects that would benefit at risk populations. BADA has proudly provided 22 organizations with funding for small-scale nutrition projects. This year, the award recipient will receive $750 towards implementation of their project.  Please help us find a deserving local nonprofit organization who could benefit from this grant by forwarding the application to qualified organizations. The application deadline is April 4th! Download the application.

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Upcoming Events

Documentary: Unnatural Causes…Is Inequality Making Us Sick?

Watch on PBS March 27th, April 3rd, April 10th, and April 17th

How to Educate Your Elected Officials on Hunger and Poverty

Trainings March 27th-April 17th at different locations in Los Angeles region

True Urbanism: Designing the Healthy City

June 1st-5th, Santa Fe, New Mexico

The Path to Healthy Communities: Place-Based Solutions to Achieving Health Equity

Various dates and locations throughout CA from April 9-28

More Events

~       Spring       ~      Summer      ~     Fall          ~

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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 carol@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.

The Strategic Alliance is supported by funding from The California Endowment.

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