Improving community environments requires a comprehensive approach that creates bridges across sectors. Over a period of roughly two years, stakeholders in the western unincorporated area of Alameda County (also called "The Eden Area") came together to identify, discuss, and debate the most important issues facing their communities and to develop a collective vision of livable communities and a prioritized set of actions.
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In 2009, changes to the WIC food package were implemented to bring it in to line with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The changes were designed to promote healthier food choices among WIC participants in order to improve birth outcomes, promote healthy child development, and prevent child obesity.
In response to data from California WIC Association (CWA) and UC Davis Center for Human Lactation
WIC Breastfeeding Peer Counselors are available in over half of the 84 local WIC agencies in California. These specially trained mothers assist other mothers, to prepare for, initiate and maintain breastfeeding.
Developed by the Seattle Housing Authority, Cultivating Communities is a neighborhood gardening program for low-income communities in Seattle, Washington. The program has provided lead-free gardening plots, increased availability of healthy food, and promoted social connections and trust between community members.
The City of Los Angeles passed its Child Nutrition Policy in 2005 requiring recreation centers and other youth-serving city departments and programs to offer more nutritious meals and snacks. With a unanimous vote in favor of the Child Nutrition Policy, LA City Council demonstrated its intention to make fresh fruits and vegetables more accessible while curtailing youth access to sugary sodas and salty, high-fat snacks.
In Escondido, California, an Interim Land-Use Policy has helped to support urban agriculture, increase access to fresh food, and create a community that supports healthy eating.
In West Fresno, a city with many low-income residents, the local school was lacking a gymnasium. Through a partnership between the New Millenium Institute for Education and the West Fresno Boys and Girls Club, students participate in physical education at the Boys and Girls Club gym to keep active and healthy.
On the rural Coeur d'Alene Indian Reservation in Plummer, Idaho, the incidence of obesity, diabetes, and other food-related illnesses are exceptionally high. Disconnected from the traditions of their native ancestors, members of this community are often left with unhealthy food choices, such as processed foods, deli foods, fast food, or microwaveable options. To tackle this issue, the Youth Activity Director, an active member in the art community, and Laura Laumatia collaborated with one another to create the One Sky/One Earth Food Coalition, with the simple goal of "making it easier for individuals to make good food choices."
In partnership with their local hospital and CPPW-funded health department, Kwik Trip convenience stores, headquartered in La Crosse, Wisconsin, joined the 500 Club, highlighting healthier alternatives to customers in all twenty-one of their La Crosse county stores.
