Education alone is not sufficient to reduce poor eating and exercise practices leading to under-nutrition, overweight and the early appearance of chronic disease risk factors in children and adults. The California Nutrition Network for Healthy Active Families (Network) embarked on a series of projects to generate support for and adoption of organization decisions by public and private sector policy makers to promote healthy eating and physical activity in their institutions or spheres of influence. Projects include: 1. A collaboration with the Berkeley Food Policy Council and PLAN (the Progressive Los Angeles Network) to encourage the rise of the food systems approach and the use of food policy councils in the state. 2. Establishment of the California Children’s Coalition for Activity and Nutrition (CCCAN), administered by the California Elected Women’s Association for Education and Research (CEWAER). 3. Collaboration with the California Department of Social Services to facilitate the conversion to Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) for food stamps and improve food stamp outreach. A pilot project to encourage the use of EBT at farmers markets will be discussed. 4. In addition, this paper will discuss the results of a policy colloquium on food security – From Research to Action. 5. This paper will describe the factors that policy makers are interested in and bills/other policy activity that occur in 2001. This leadership model may be helpful to advocates for improving nutrition and physical activity in other states.
Learning Objectives: After this session, the participant will be able to: 1. Describe projects that lead to legislative and policy maker concern about nutrition/physical activity. 2. Identify policy solutions that are likely to be endorsed by a broad cross-section of child/youth/adult advocates, including elected officials and agriculture.
Keywords: Legislative, Child/Adolescent
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.