STRATEGIC ALLIANCE NEWSLETTER

April 2005

Welcome to the latest newsletter from the Strategic Alliance. Issue highlights: Sign on to Taking Action, updates on California legislation, ENACT advocacy day—April 28th travel scholarships, and fast food industry news. As always, we appreciate your feedback and suggestions for future issues, and urge you to visit the website on a regular basis.

Model School Wellness Policies

In response to the new requirement of federally-funded schools to develop and implement nutrition and physical activity policies by 2006, the National Alliance for Nutrition and Activity (NANA) has developed Model School Wellness Policies on Physical Activity and Nutrition to assist schools in meeting the new requirement. NANA’s model school policy was informed by a group of over 50 health, physical activity, nutrition, and education professionals. The model policy addresses the multifaceted concerns of schools including nutrition, food service programs, meal times and scheduling, portion sizes, integrating physical activity into classroom settings, food marketing in schools, and safe routes to schools.

Taking Action For A Healthier California—Please Sign On

We are asking organizations and individuals across the state to endorse Taking Action for a Healthier California: Recommendations to Improve Healthy Food and Activity Options. Taking Action presents a clear and compelling agenda for making our schools, neighborhoods, cities and state healthier places to live and work. We ask for your active endorsement of this document as a way to demonstrate California’s growing movement to advance comprehensive and lasting solutions to improving community food and activity environments. The Alliance will utilize Taking Action to inform Governor Schwarzenegger, his administration, and civic and business leaders of the changes that are needed to stem the poor nutrition and physical inactivity health crisis. To endorse Taking Action, please visit this page.

Committee Hearing On Obesity Prevention Initiative—April 4th

The Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 1 on Health and Human Services, with Hector De La Torre as Chair, will hold a hearing to discuss the $6 million proposed for the Obesity Prevention Initiative on Monday, April 4 at 4 PM in Room 447 in Sacramento. The Schwarzenegger administration proposed $6 million for a comprehensive framework to support healthy school environments, planning and design of healthy communities, workplace changes, and access to obesity prevention and intervention services. The proposed funding would support coordination by California’s Department of Health Services and support community-based projects for environmental change, and Medi-Cal managed care prevention screening and treatment services.

Senate Education Committee Hearing On SB 965—April 6th

SB 965 (Escutia) – the Soda Ban Bill – will expand the restrictions on beverages to include high schools in California. Governor Schwarzenegger is the sponsor of this bill. SB 965 will be heard in Senate Education Committee on Wednesday, April 6th at 9:30 am in Room 4203 at the State Capitol, Sacramento, CA. Letters can also be sent to the Chair of the Senate Education Committee, Senator Jack Scott, and to Senator Escutia.

Agriculture Committee Hearing On Farm to School—April 13th

Assemblymember Barbara Matthews, chair of the Assembly Agriculture Committee, is hosting an informational hearing on Farm to School. The hearing will be held on Wednesday, April 13 at 2 PM in Room 4202 at the State Capitol, Sacramento, CA. This will be an opportunity for farmers, school food service directors and activists to educate legislators on farm to school programs.

SB 12 Passes Senate Education Committee

SB 12 (Escutia), the School Food Standards bill, passed out of the Senate Education Committee with 8 out of 12 votes. SB 12 would establish nutrition standards for schools limiting access to the sale of high fat, high sugar foods on California public school campuses.

Be Part Of The Movement—Join Us At ENACT Nutrition And Activity Day, Sacramento, CA: Thursday, April 28, 2005

New!! Please apply by April 13 for a limited number of full or partial travel scholarships, supported by The California Wellness Foundation. The Strategic Alliance for Healthy Food & Activity Environments, the California State PTA, the California Park and Recreation Society, and the California Alliance for Transportation Choices are co-sponsoring the third annual ENACT: Nutrition and Activity Day on Thursday, April 28, 2005. More than three hundred people have registered to date. Join this broad coalition in Sacramento to meet with legislators about policy solutions to the obesity epidemic. You can register online by visiting http://www.cfpa.net/ENACT2005/, or for more information, contact Jessica at 415-777-4422 x129 or jreich@cfpa.net.

New Book On The Diabetes/Obesity Epidemic

Dr. Francine R. Kaufman M.D. released her new book, DIABESITY: The Obesity-Diabetes Epidemic That Threatens America-And What We Must Do To Stop It.  This book illustrates the reasons behind the diabetes epidemic in America.  Dr Kaufman exposes the hidden dimensions of the suffering diabetes can cause and the steps we must take to prevent its spread.

IN THE NEWS

A BIG Breakfast at Burger King
CNN/Money, March 29, 2005
Burger King introduced its new breakfast sandwich on Monday. The new sandwich has 730 calories and 47 grams of fat—more than a Whopper burger. Denny Post, chief product officer at Burger King, said they are offering the sandwich because customers wanted a more substantial breakfast. The new sandwich has a suggested price of $2.99, or $3.49 for the value meal, which comes with fried potatoes and a coffee or juice. The hash browns would add 230 calories and 15 grams of fat to the meal. Burger King's "new sandwich comes about four months after Hardee's also bucked the ‘health trend’ in fast food restaurants by offering a burger it dubbed the ‘Monster Thickburger,’ with 1,400 calories and 107 grams of fat."

McDonald’s Plans to Pay Hip-Hop Artists to Plug Big Macs
The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC) denounced the new marketing campaign by McDonald’s to pay hip-hop artists to plug Big Macs. McDonald’s has hired Maven Strategies to persuade hip-hop artists to include the fast-food chain’s signature burger in their lyrics. Hip-hop music is immensely popular among youth, ranked only second to rock ‘n’ roll, and generates an estimated $2 billion in sales a year. Advertisers understand that endorsement of a product by a hip-hop artist, especially one with a hit song, makes the product “cool” for teens and preteens. Noting the appeal of popular music lyrics, psychiatrist Alivin F. Poussaint of the Judge Baker Children’s Center and Harvard Medical School says "This campaign undermines McDonald’s claim that they are serious about combating childhood obesity."

Teens Turn on to Fresh Veggie Taste
Contra Costa Times, March 27, 2005
Teens working on the Richmond, CA EcoVillage garden were not excited about their chores. However, once they tasted some potatoes from the garden, they wondered why they tasted so good. Well, that is because they were right out of the ground, grown organically, and did not travel 1000s of miles, said EcoVillage founder and executive director Shyaam Shabaka. Unfortunately, the residents of Richmond have limited access to fresh vegetables and fruits. Therefore, Farm Stand, a joint project of Kaiser Permanente, the Richmond EcoVillage, and the Contra Costa County wellness program brings organically grown fruits and vegetables to Richmond. Farm Stand celebrates its first anniversary this month.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Save the Date! Healthy Schools, Healthy People X, November 18-19, 2005, Sacramento, CA
This is a great opportunity to connect with school health professionals. The conference will cover multiple issues including childhood obesity, physical activity, health and academic success, tobacco use prevention and violence prevention. For registration information please contact (916) 443-0218 or Stephanie@rdlent.com.

RESOURCES

Healthy Transportation Options
The California Alliance for Transportation Choices posts the latest news on legislation and policies related to healthy transportation options such as transit, walking and bicycling, visit their website at www.catransportationchoices.org.

Making It Happen! School Nutrition Success Stories
Making It Happen! delineates how 32 schools and school districts applied novel strategies to improve the nutritional quality of foods and beverages sold on school campuses outside of school meals. The reoccurring outcome from these schools is that students will buy and consume healthy foods and beverages and those schools can make money by selling healthy food options.

WHAT IS THE STRATEGIC ALLIANCE?

The Strategic Alliance is reframing the debate on nutrition and physical activity away from a focus on individual choice and lifestyle towards one of environment and corporate and government responsibility. Current Steering Committee members are: California Adolescent Nutrition and Fitness Program (CANFit), California Center for Public Health Advocacy, California Food Policy Advocates, California Pan-Ethnic Health Network, California Parks and Recreation Society, California Project LEAN, California WIC Association, Child Care Food Program Roundtable, Latino Health Access, Prevention Institute, Samuels & Associates and YMCA of the East Bay.

HOW TO BECOME A MEMBER

The Strategic Alliance is currently engaged in building a broad and diverse statewide membership. To join or for more information, please visit us on the Web, eatbettermovemore.org, or contact Karen Khamou at 510.444.7738 or karen@preventioninstitute.org. And even if you're already a member, please forward this message on to your colleagues so we can continue to strengthen our coalition. Thank you!

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

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