Featured Stories

 Local Spotlight: Congratulations to Ken Feske of Steps to a Healthier Salinas

On June 6th, Reverend Ken Feske  was recognized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for his work promoting nutrition and activity environments in Salinas, California.  Rev. Feske was one of seven recipients of the “Steps Community Heroes Award” granted to those involved with the CDC’s Steps to a HealthierUS program.

“Reverend Feske understands that prevention happens on many levels and has worked extensively to influence local policies, change organizational practices, and foster coalitions and networks that support healthier communities,” says Cheryl Ellemberg,  Health Promotion Services Branch Chief of the Monterey County Health Department.  Rev. Feske serves as a co-chair of the Steps Council for a Healthier Salinas, however he has worked to promote healthy lifestyles and communities long before the establishment of the Steps Program.  While pastoring a 300-member congregation, Rev. Feske was the first local faith-based leader to institute a wellness policy at his church. His work enabled the Steps Program to subcontract with faith-based parish nurses to continue implementing policies that focus on healthy foods and beverages and physical activity.

In his current role as project manager of the Soledad Street Revitalization Project Rev. Feske has identified infrastructure improvements as a project priority. He understands that walkable communities enhance and preserve the quality of life in neighborhoods and aims to demonstrate how the success in Salinas can be replicated in other communities throughout Monterey County. Ms. Ellemberg notes, “Rev. Feske’s commitment to improving the health and well-being of all residents has greatly enhanced Steps program activities in Monterey County and earned the respect of residents and community leaders."

Steps to a Healthier US funds 40 communities across the country to implement chronic disease prevention and health promotion programs that target three major chronic diseases—diabetes, obesity, and asthma and their underlying risk factors of physical inactivity, poor nutrition, and tobacco use.

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 Health Care Reform Briefing

On July 13, 2007, the Strategic Alliance is co-sponsoring a briefing on health care reform proposals. The event, How will healthcare reform bills keep you healthy? is organized by the California Task Force on Youth and Workplace Wellness.

Please join us for a panel discussion with invited representatives from Governor Schwarzeneger, Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, Senate President pro Tem Don Perata, and Senator George Runner, followed by a question and answer session. We will focus on the differences between the healthcare reform bills and the prevention components within these bills.

Share this event! Download the flyer.

When:  Friday, July 13, 2007

             10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Where: State Capitol, Room 112

Contact: Leah Cox at wellnesstaskforce@yahoo.com,

                or by calling 916-760-7448, to RSVP.

               (RSVP not required. Open to the public)

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Legislative updates

Over 300 Health Professionals Call for a Healthy Farm Bill

Over 300 health professionals from around the country – physicians, nurses, dietitians and public health practitioners – sent Congressional leaders a letter on June 13th calling for the 2007 Farm Bill to be a “Healthy Food Bill,” to better combat childhood chronic illness by making healthy food more affordable and accessible.  “The Farm Bill is fundamentally a public health bill,” said Dr. Georges Benjamin, Executive Director of the American Public Health Association. “Its long reach affects the food security of our nation and, in turn, our health.”

The letter, sent to Chairs and Ranking Minority Members on the House and Senate Agriculture Committees, targets policies in previous Farm Bills that have helped make the calorie-dense foods Americans already over-consume – namely cheap starches and highly processed foods made from added sweeteners and oils derived from corn and soybeans – some of the cheapest to buy.

The letter also singles out the industrial-scale production of food animals raised on grain and routinely fed human antibiotics as growth promoters, which increases antibiotic resistance. Impacts on the health of consumers, communities and the planet from the intensive use of pesticides and fossil fuels in agriculture are also highlighted.

The health professionals called for a new Farm Bill that will improve access to healthy foods (fresh fruits and vegetables, whole rather than refined grains, and better fats), help ensure better school access to healthy foods, and help to build the infrastructure to get healthy foods to low-income communities. Read the full letter or visit http://www.farmandfoodproject.org/ for more information.

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In the News

Representative Markey Calls on Major Food and Beverage Marketers to Put Junk Food Ads on a Diet

On June 19th Representative Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, sent letters to The Coca-Cola Company, General Mills, Kraft Foods, McDonald’s and PepsiCo. asking each to voluntarily implement the same restrictions on marketing to children recently announced by the Kellogg Company. Last week, Kellogg agreed to adopt nutrition standards for the foods it markets to children and to place limits on its use of licensed characters and product placements in marketing directed at children.

“These companies are some of the world’s largest food and beverage marketers, and together they have the power to play a significant role in solving the childhood obesity problem through socially responsible advertising practices. I urge them to follow Kellogg’s lead,” said Rep. Markey.  Rep. Markey asked each company to commit to at least the same standards as the Kellogg Company put in place last week and to outline additional steps that may be warranted to safeguard kids from junk food ads during children’s television programming, which have been found to negatively influence children’s dietary and nutritional choices.

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Food Security Among California's Low-Income Adults Improves, but the Most Severely Affected Do Not Share in the Improvement

According to a new statewide study released by UCLA's Center for Health Policy Research, while the percentage of low-income adults in California living in food insecure households fell from 34 percent in 2003 to 30 percent in 2005, no improvement was shown for those who experience Very Low Food Security.  Although these data show progress made in the last two years, the percentage of food insecure households across California still remain above the 2001 level of 29 percent.

"Food insecurity is a persistent fact of life for too many poor individuals and families. The health consequences for families in California are severe," says Dr. Gail Harrison of UCLA, the study's lead author. The report recommends several actions to reduce food insecurity and improve the health of Californians. Top among its suggestions are steps to increase the use of the Food Stamp Program. Although almost one in three low-income adults in California is food insecure, the state's participation in the Food Stamp Program is among the lowest in the country.

The study's authors urge state policy makers to adopt legislation to streamline the application process by closely linking food stamps to health insurance.  According to co-author Matthew Sharp of California Food Policy Advocates, "No level of hunger is acceptable in the Golden State...We encourage our Senators and Assembly Members to support measures that will reduce paperwork and increase participation in this important nutrition program."

Complete reports and the methodologies used in collecting the data, can be found at www.cfpa.net and at www.healthpolicy.ucla.edu.

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Resources

Healthy Eating & Physical Activity: Addressing Inequities in Urban Environments

On January 11-12, 2006 Prevention Institute convened From Pilots to Practice: Maximizing the impact of efforts to improve access to healthy food and safe places for physical activity in low-income communities. Funded by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and The California Endowment, the convening brought together 19 community advocates and academics from across the country to discuss strategies for improving nutrition and activity environments on a neighborhood level and how to best achieve large scale sustainability of these improvements. The resulting document, authored by Prevention Institute, provides guidance for fostering the growing momentum around improving nutrition and physical activity environments in socially and economically disadvantaged urban communities, where residents are suffering from high incidence of chronic disease. Read the report.

CANNACT Paper

Updating Nutrition Education in the Food Stamp Program: A Farm Bill Opportunity

As the U.S. Congress begins to discuss the 2007 Farm Bill, the California Association of Nutrition and Activity Providers (CAN-Act) is pursuing small but significant reforms to the Food Stamp Nutrition Education (FSNE) program which is part of the Nutrition Title of the Farm Bill.  CAN-Act released a policy paper, researched and written by Prevention Institute in order to educate policymakers about the need to update federal approaches to nutrition education.  The report outlines the evidence supporting the need for a more comprehensive approach—one that addresses changes to the environment—for improving nutrition and physical activity habits.  Read the report or visit www.can-act.net and click on “What’s New” to read more about FSNE policy reforms. 

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Announcements

National Farm to School Network Request for Proposals

The National Farm to School Network (National Network) has received support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation for a period of three years to support the establishment of a National Network of farm to school practitioners throughout the country. The Network is coordinated by staff from the Center for Food & Justice at Occidental College and the Community Food Security Coalition. The National Network is currently soliciting applications for funding Regional Lead Agencies (RLA) to support farm to school activity in eight regions of the country.

The National Network proposes to establish a viable and sustainable network to coordinate, promote and expand the farm to school movement at the state, regional and national levels, as a means to support community-based food systems, strengthen family farms and reduce childhood obesity. The National Network will engage practitioners in the farm to school arena, as well as policy makers and other public health, farming, and educational leaders at the national and regional levels.  For more information click here.

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Upcoming Events

Health Care Reform Briefing

July 13, Sacramento CA

School Wellness Conference

October 1-2, Anaheim CA

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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 Sana@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, Samuels & Associates, and YMCA of the East Bay.

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

The Strategic Alliance is reframing the debate on nutrition and physical activity--from a focus solely on individual choice and lifestyle, towards one of environmental influences and corporate and government responsibility.

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