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Prevention Institute

December 22nd, 2011

We would like to correct an inadvertent error that we made in the original version of this newsletter, sent on December 21, 2011. Based on updated information, Kool-Aid is NOT on the list of items that food companies deem acceptable to  advertise to children. Popsicles and Cocoa Puffs, however, are on the list of items that would pass the ‘test’ of food industry standards. We apologize for our error.

Strategic Alliance Newsletter
December 2011



Food Industry Halts Progress on Recommended Guidelines for Foods Marketed to Kids

What “foods” do big food companies think are good for kids as young as two to eat? Kool Aid and Cocoa Puffs made the list, and food companies are using major lobbying muscle—spending over $37 million dollars in 2011—to keep them there.

The four federal agencies who make up the Interagency Working Group (IWG) have been working for the past two years to draft and finalize a set of sensible, science-based voluntary guidelines for foods marketed to kids. Their efforts have been thwarted by the food industry at nearly every step along the way.  Now, a coalition of food companies has inserted language into the house appropriations bill, requiring that the IWG conducts a cost/benefit analysis of their recommendations. This move will delay – and potentially entirely derail – federal recommendations that would have promoted healthy foods for kids, instead of foods loaded with sugar, salt and fat.

Food companies could have chosen to follow the IWG’s voluntary guidelines, and in doing so, would have taken a huge step to support the health of our kids. Instead they chose to put profits ahead of kids.

Join us in telling the President and the heads of the IWG:  our kids’ health can’t wait—we need strong recommendations that protect kids, and we need them now.


Physical Activity Spotlight

Leading by Example: First 5 L.A. Commission Gets (Physically) Active

L.A.’s First 5 Commission is committed to improving the health of the County’s youngest residents—and with their recent adoption of physical activity breaks in public Commission meetings and meetings lasting over an hour, they have also shown their commitment to making health and health-promoting practices available to all Angelenos. Learn more and download the policy.

Other agencies, organizations, and institutions are also recognizing the importance of physical activity throughout the day. Click here to read about other efforts to increase physical activity opportunities for all.


Upcoming Joint Use Webinar

Please join Strategic Alliance and Latino Health Access for the third installment of the Safe Places to Play and Be Active Webinar Series.

Increasing Equitable Opportunities for Physical Activity through Joint Use
Friday, January 27, 2012 10:30 am – 12:30 pm PST
Register today.


Just Released

Strategic Alliance partners have wrapped up 2011 with a wealth of new resources for advocates to read, use, and share. From a comprehensive physical activity curriculum to county-by-county food insecurity data, click here to see what's new.



Upcoming Opportunities

New Series of WIC Works Webinars in 2012

Join the California WIC Association for five more fun and informative webinars showing how WIC WORKS to improve public health. Each half-hour briefing will highlight new research that documents the positive impacts of WIC on infant nutrition, staff wellness, or maternal and child health. See the full line-up of webinars and register today.


Webinar: Green Places, Play Spaces, Income, and Race: How Parks and Recreation Can Support Physical Activity among Diverse and Underserved Populations

Wednesday, January 18 2012 11:30 am – 1:00 pm PST
Not all communities have adequate access to parks and playgrounds. Sponsored by the Public Health Institute and Active Living Research, this web forum will summarize the science behind the role that parks and recreation play in supporting physical activity, share examples of park-based interventions designed to get people more active, and discuss why increasing access to parks and recreation resources is a matter of social justice. Get more information and register today.


Free Health Equity Training Opportunity

Prevention Institute, in partnership with The California Endowment's Health Exchange Academy, is offering a series of free, two-module trainings for California-based organizations through March 2012. These trainings present a primary prevention approach to health inequities, and are designed to help participants understand and analyze the community factors that shape health, safety, and equity, and to develop comprehensive strategies for change. Learn more about how your organization can participate here.


On behalf of Strategic Alliance, we wish you the happiest of holidays. We are thankful to work alongside so many committed organizations and individuals, and look forward to advancing healthy, equitable, and safe community environments with you all in 2012!

Health for the Holidays: Share We're Not Buying It

Help the kids in your life become more media literate this holiday break, and engage them in standing up for health. Watch and share We're Not Buying It, a two-minute video that highlights the role of industry in shaping the foods kids eat.

Strategic Alliance Highlighted on Childhood Matters

Listen to Prevention Institute’s Juliet Sims on the radio show Childhood Matters, where she discussed Strategic Alliance’s role, and how policies and environments can support healthy eating and physical activity for kids, families, and communities.

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