"More Physical Education, better access to water, and safe routes to school." These are three of the many advocacy points raised and discussed during a Parents in Action training with more than a dozen East African immigrant parents in City Heights, a community in San Diego.

City Heights is one of the 14 Building Healthy Communities sites in a statewide initiative funded by The California Endowment to build resident capacity to improve community health through policy,

systems and environmental change.

In collaboration with the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Center for Community Health Nutrition Education and Obesity Prevention Branch (NEOPB) and United Women of East African Support Team, 15 hours of training was provided in English and Somali using CPL's Parents in Action Guide and Parent Lesson Plans.

Parents learned about the many factors that determine the health of a school's environment and how these factors influence their children's academic success. At least 13 schools in the San Diego Unified School District were represented by the participating families, leading to lively discussions of similarities and differences in access to physical activity opportunities, especially for girls, Physical Fitness Test scores and school policies regarding allowable foods and beverages for celebrations and fundraisers.

The Parents in Action training is just the beginning. Parents have pledged to continue to meet and further develop their action plan, building on the momentum, energy and excitement that resulted from learning and working together for a common cause: creating healthy school and community environments that lead to their children's success.

Congratulations to Standard School District Wellness Council as they continue to expand upon the work they are already doing to support student and community health!

On Tuesday, July 1st, California Project LEAN (CPL) participated on a panel about Local School Wellness Policies (LSWPs) and the role School Based Health Center (SBHC) staff can play at the School Based Health Alliance National Convention held in Seattle, Washington.  

Since LSWPs are usually crafted at the

Hallways to Health (an initiative

between School Based Health Alliance and Kaiser Permanente) cohort members, Mizan Alkebulan-Abakah, who works with La Clinica del Raza's SBHC's based in Oakland Unified School District in California and Sara Trivette with Albany Area Primary Health Care, working in Dougherty County schools in Georgia, provided information about the importance of school based health center staff members' involvement in LSWP efforts. By the end of the session, audience members learned about key LSWP requirements and how SBHC staff can actively be involved in the implementation of a LSWP, including action steps they can take in support of LSWPs at their schools. 

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Urge Congress to End Taxpayer Subsidies for Marketing Junk Food to Children (continued) 

Food companies spend nearly $2 billion a year advertising and marketing food and beverages to children.  While companies have made some progress reducing unhealthy food marketing to kids over the past decade, the overwhelming majority of foods advertised to children are still of poor nutritional value.  Legislation pending in Congress would end that subsidy by prohibiting companies from deducting expenses for advertising and marketing unhealthy foods to children and adolescents.  This legislation would provide an incentive for companies to decrease unhealthy food marketing further. 

We need your support to end taxpayer subsidies for junk food marketing to children.  Please urge your members of Congress to support tax policies that encourage healthy eating habits and cosponsor the Stop Subsidizing Childhood Obesity Act. https://www.cspinet.org/takeaction/#

New Research: Kids Like Healthier School Meals (continued)

The first national surveys of school leaders show that the majority of students like the new healthier lunches schools are offering after USDA's improved nutrition standards went into effect in fall 2012.  

Please share the study, to help support healthy nutrition in schools:

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The Public Health Institute (PHI) was awarded a Community Transformation Grant to implement CA4Health in 42 small/rural California counties with a population of 500,000 or less. CA4Health seeks to reduce health disparities and provides funding to 12 small/rural counties and non-financial resources to 30 others.

CA4Health focuses on the following four strategic directions:

California Project LEAN serves as the Healthy Eating Active Living Strategic Direction Lead providing support to the CA4Health counties as they work to  facilitate the adoption of healthier beverage standards for meetings, vending and procurement in places like schools, community organizations and government. Check out California Project LEAN's Beverage Standards