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January 2008 California Convergence eNewsletter - Healthy Food Retail |
| Dear California Convergence Participant, |
Welcome to the January issue of the California Convergence eNewsletter! To highlight the work of California Convergence partners, and to better support local policy work, all of our eNewsletters now focus on specific policy topics. This month's issue focuses on Healthy Food Retail, the second policy priority identified by California Convergence community leaders. Please take a look at the stories highlighted below that give an overview of the current opportunities and challenges within Healthy Food Retail. We have also included a number of excellent resources and individuals you may contact to learn more. Be sure to take a look at the upcoming California Convergence events and also browse the updated funding and grants opportunities section.
With increased awareness of the importance fresh produce and healthy food to maintain their health, California residents are opting to visit their community's farmer's market and spend more time in their local grocery store's produce department. Many residents, however, especially those in lower-income communities, do not have the opportunity to patronize these fresh produce retailers because they simply do not exist in their area. Advocates of Healthy Food Retail are working hard to bring healthier and more fresh food options to these "food deserts" so that all California communities may have the access to the foods that support better health.
Residents living in food deserts often have access only to what is available in their local corner store or market. These stores frequently sell little or no fresh produce or healthy food options due to the real or perceived lack of profitability on such items. Healthy Food Retail advocates have begun supporting and educating these stores so that they may better serve the community they operate in. We have highlighted below a number of successes and challenges these advocates and business owners face when attempting to "convert" these corner stores.
We have also highlighted below the importance of the new Special Supplemental Nutrition program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) food backage. WIC serves hundreds of thousands of families throughout the state by providing them with redeemable checks they may use for specific nutritious foods. Recently, the state of California expanded the WIC offerings to include more healthy options such as fresh fruits and vegetables in more stores throughout the state. The changes aim to better serve the communities who need the fresher options the most. Take a look at the overview of the opportunities the new WIC Food Package presents to Healthy Food Retail advocates all over California.
Next month's California Convergence eNewsletter will focus on obesity prevention opportunites that address Climate Change. If you would like to share resources, success stories or challenges related to Climate Change please contact Kevin Cloud at Kevin.Cloud@partnershipph.org. As always we also appreciate any feedback, comments, or ideas you may have on this eNewsletter. And be sure to check out Ning, where you can share resources, best practices, join the discussion boards, or simply network with other advocates working to improve food and physical activity environments. | |
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| Corner Store Conversion - A Success |
Thank You to the West Modesto/King Kennedy Neighborhood Collective for sharing this information
"Find a common ground, build a safe, nurturing environment, and you will have happy and healthy children." This vision of the West Modesto King Kennedy Neighborhood Collaborative has served as their back bone when answering to the communities most pressing needs. Chronic illness and an obesity epidemic in this community have lead advocates and community members to find new ways to give their residents more access to healthier options like fruits and vegetables.
A year ago, Collaborative staff approached owners of seven different convenience and corner stores to inform them of the importance of healthy nutritional practices and how this community has limited access to affordable fruits and vegetables. Through these discussions the store owners were asked to support their community by selling affordable fresh fruits and vegetables with the understanding that each store would be supplied with an initial basket of fresh fruits and vegetables and other promotional items: they agreed.
Over the next several months, Collaborative staff performed regular check-ins and hosted dialogue on how to partner with other stores to increase their buying power and reduce their cost of purchasing healthier options. Six months later these store owners were still selling fruits and vegetables. The news traveled fast and the community residents began frequenting the neighborhood stores. Soon thereafter, five of the seven stores expanded their selections to include refrigeration for the produce.
In appreciation of their efforts, the Collaborative provided each store with in-store promotions, posters, educational materials, live radio remotes, food demonstrations, and full page advertising in the local newspaper outlet. Although store owners were extremely excited about the free promotion, the Collaborative knew what they really needed; a way to sustain the produce and to keep it at an affordable price. Through exploring a number of options for partnerships, the Collaborative discoverd Heifer International who was eager to supply produce year round to these local venders. This partnership is a large piece of what has allowed these corner stores to remain commited to better serving their consumers.
Through constant dialouge with store owners, listening to the needs of the community and developing partnerships with outside vendors, the West Modesto/King Kennedy Neighborhood Collective have succesfully converted, sustainably, several corner stores in their community. To learn more about this collaborative and the success and challenges the project faced, please contact Carole Collins with HEAL at (209) 522-6902. |
| Youth Ambassadors Lead the Way In Corner Store Conversion |
Thank You to the South LA HEAC Collaborative for sharing this information
As is the case in West Modesto and many communities throughout California, fresh produce markets in South Los Angeles are scarce. Local independently-owned corner stores are the main outlets for buying food but offer little to no healthy food options. Several students from the Accelerated School (TAS) in South LA collaborated with the HEAC team and HEAC partner Public Matters on various projects to improve access to healthy foods in their community.
Building on last year's conversion of a local corner store, HEAC Youth Ambassadors began transforming two additional corner store to feature healthier options this summer. Using innovative methods such as video and other media these youth aimed to promote awareness of the issue of Healthy Food Access in South LA and to motivate action towards bringing healthier choices to their community.
Aside from successfully converting two corner stores (and moving forward with a third), an immense awareness of Healthy Food Retail was created by, and spread throughout, this community's youth. Throughout the last year these teens created the vision of obtaining better access to healthy options, educated the community on the importance of the issue, negotiated with business owners concerned about added cost, and even carried through their plan to the details of the physical layout and logistics of setting up better food access in these corner stores.
Furthermore, because of their hard work, the South LA HEAC Collaborative is now able to move forward with a mulititude of lessons learned as they develop a new Corner Store Conversion Toolkit, which adovcates and community members alike can look forward to using this Spring.
For more information on the Youth Ambassadors of South LA, and Corner Store Conversion in general, please contact Pri Desilva at pdesilva@ph.lacounty.gov. |
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WIC - New Package, New Opportunities |
Thank You to Laurie True for sharing this information
As the third largest federal nutrition program in the nation, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) serves over 1.4 million people in California, providing monthly checks redeemable for specific nutritious foods, direct nutrition counseling and breastfeeding support, and referrals to health and social services. Since 1974, WIC has been a popular and effective public health nutrition program - and it is about to get even better.
In October, 2009, California's WIC food packages will be updated to include a much healthier selection of food choices, with freshness and variety finally available to California's ethnically diverse WIC population. These changes hold potential for transforming the retail food landscape in low-income communities across the state and present excellent opportunities for both food advocates and store owners alike.
Currently, there are over 4100 WIC-authorized grocery stores spread throughout the state, including nearly all of the big supermarkets, a large cross-section of independent markets and corner stores, and over 600 specialty markets, the so-called "WIC-Only" stores, which cater almost exclusively to WIC customers. The nearly $800 million worth of WIC checks that are spent at these stores represent sizeable consumer purchasing power that will drive demand for more nutritious foods.
Because all WIC-authorized stores will be required by the new federal rules to carry an array of fruits and vegetables, low fat dairy products, whole grains, and soy foods, these healthy options will be available not only to WIC participants, but to all low-income shoppers.
For community food advocates and corner store owners alike, the WIC changes present three potential opportunities. First, there is a stronger incentive for more retailers to become authorized as WIC vendors. Corner or convenience stores may be more interested in seeking WIC customers (who shop for other foods and increase foot traffic) by upgrading their offerings based on the new packages. These stores could use technical assistance from advocates as they navigate the WIC vendor application process and improve their stock.
Second, family farmers or small local growers seeking new markets for their fresh specialty crops may want to explore California's many "WIC-Only" stores. For the first time, these WIC specialty retailers will be looking for affordable, appealing, and even ethnic-specific wholesalers of fresh fruits and vegetables. Advocates with the right contacts may want to form and nurture new "farm-to-WIC" linkages in this unique retail niche.
Finally, until recently, "WIC-Only" stores were effectively off limits to non-WIC shoppers, because they only stocked WIC foods and accepted WIC checks. However, some owners are now experimenting with accepting cash, and more will do so when the changes occur. If more shoppers could visit their neighborhood WIC-Only stores for some fresh produce and whole grains for dinner, as well as milk and cereal for breakfast, access in many of California's food deserts would certainly improve. Advocates should ask local WIC-Only store owners to do their part to increase healthy food access in their communities, by accepting cash and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly Food Stamps) cards, as well as WIC.
To learn more about the specifics of the new food package and the implementation process, please visit www.wicworks.ca.gov and www.calwic.org. |
| Healthy Food Retail Tools and Resources |
A Vision for California's Healthy Purchase Pilot
This document provides a brief background on the Healthy Purchase Pilot and AB 2384, the legislation passed in 2006 that requires the department of public health to increase the sales of fresh fruits and vegetables in low income communities. This document also details what California Food Policy Advocates see as the most importanat design elements in implementing the project. Please click here to access the full document.
Healthy Selection Campaign in Baldwin Park Chain and Corner Stores
Written by Christina Cardenas and Rosa Soto, this is an excellent summary on the success of the Healthy Selection Campaign in Baldwin Park and includes contact information to learn more about Baldwin Park's corner store conversion success and challenges. Click here to read the story.
California WIC Association
Take a look at this website, an excellent resource for all things CalWIC. Includes background and contact information and is a great way to learn more about the opportunities that are up and coming with the new WIC rollout package. Click here for more. Hannah Laurison of Planning for Healthy Places, a project of PHLP, has graciously offered to be a resource to anyone interested in learning more about Healthy Food Retail. Hannah may be contacted at hlaurison@phlpnet.org . A special thank you to Hannah for assisting in putting together this newsletter.
San Francisco Literacy for Environmental Justice
A great resource for environmental justice, conservation, and food justice. Specifically, their Good Neighbor program was adopted as a statewide model for corner store conversion via AB 2384, the Healthy Food Purchase Program. You can take a look at their website here. |
| Events for Food and Physical Acitivty Advocates |
California Convergence Policy Strategy Meeting
February 3, 2009
Site Leaders from the participating Convergence communities will be meeting in Los Angeles to discuss Policy Strategy. Please check out Ning after the meeting for updates.
Planning for Healthy Communities: Advocating for Equity in Planning Decisions.
February 11, 2009
10:00 am to 2:00 pm
Trinity Cathedral
2620 Capitol Avenue in Sacramento
Hosted by CPEHN and PHLP, this interactive workshop will bring together local advocates, community leaders, and public health experts and give you the tools to create healthier communities.
To register, go to http://www.cpehn.org/events.php
Unlocking the Playground: Achieving Equity In Physical Activity Spaces
Many of our communities lack safe and accessible spaces to be physically active. Join CPEHN in looking at opening up public facilities, such as schools, as a solution; hear how your fellow community members have developed joint use agreements with their local organizations; and strategize on local and statewide advocacy on this important, emerging issue.
April 9, 2009 - Fresno
April 21, 2009 - Oakland
April 28, 2009 - San Diego
May 4, 2009 - Los Angeles
Registration and more information will be available in March. Please contact Ruben Cantu at rcantu@cpehn.org if you are interested in being a local co-host.
California Convergence Second Anual Conference
June 9th, 2009
The California Convergence program will hold its second annual conference on June 8th as a preconference session the day prior to the 2009 Childhood Obesity Conference, June 10-12. Check Ning for updates leading up to the conferenece. |
| Funding Opportunities for Food and Physical Activity Advocates |
Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities - The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Deadline: Feb 3, 2009
Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities is a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) whose primary goal is to implement healthy eating and active living initiatives that can support healthier communities for children and families across the United States. The program places special emphasis on reaching children who are at highest risk for obesity on the basis of race/ethnicity, income and/or geographic location. This initiative will advance RWJF's efforts to reverse the childhood obesity epidemic by 2015.
Through this call for proposals RWJF will award approximately 60 grants to help local community partnerships across the United States increase opportunities for physical activity and improve access to affordable healthy foods for children and families. Special consideration will be given to communities in 15 states where the incidence of or risk for childhood obesity is the greatest. Please click here to apply online.
The Praxis Project is proud to announce the Call for Proposals for Communities Creating Healthy Environments (CCHE)-a new grant initiative funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to support community organizing and policy advocacy to increase access to healthy food and safe places to play in communities of color. CCHE will provide funding and technical assistance for up to ten local community organizing groups and
indigenous nations with grants of up to $250,000 over three years. Youth led organizing groups in communities of color are strongly encouraged to apply. Please visit this Praxis Project website for more information on these opportunities.
Cruise Industry Charitable Foundation -- Improving Communities Grants
Deadline: Rolling
The Cruise Industry Charitable Foundation supports programs that help to improve the quality of life in the communities served by the cruise industry and projects that help to meet the needs of economically disadvantaged populations. The Foundation's areas of emphasis include: 1) Civic and Community Development; 2) Educational Assistance and Training Programs; 3) Public Health Programs; and 4) Environmental Programs.
Eligible applicants are nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) status. Proposals that incorporate partnerships with community groups and local organizations are encouraged.
Contact the Cruise Industry Charitable Foundation directly for complete program information and application guidelines. | |
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Partnership for the Public's Health
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