ENACT Interactive!

The Strategic Alliance for Healthy Food and Activity Environments is pleased to announce a new interactive element to the Environmental Nutrition and Activity Community Tool (ENACT). ENACT is a web-based tool designed to help communities improve their nutrition and physical activity environments by offering a specific menu of achievable strategies divided into seven key environments complemented by available research, model policies and programs, specific tools and organizations to assist in implementation.

ENACT users can now create free user accounts for the purposes of storing, tracking and compiling status and priority assessments for chosen ENACT strategies. We encourage you all to take some time to learn more about this powerful new way of improving your local nutrition and physical activity environments.

Dive right in: ENACT

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Legislative Updates

ENACT: Nutrition & Activity Day 2006

The fourth annual ENACT: Nutrition & Activity Day was held on May 2. Many thanks to our funders and sponsors (including The California Wellness Foundation, The California Endowment, the California Optometric Association and SunRidge Farms) who made it possible for more than 120 Californians from all over the state to participate in the day’s events.

Participants included parents, dieticians, park & rec staff and others who want our state to create healthy nutrition and eating environments for all. For the first time, ENACT also welcomed a high school civics class to the morning training. After the morning training, all ENACTers made legislative visits to their elected officials to encourage them to improve California’s nutrition and physical activity environments.  ENACTers urged their legislators to support access to breakfast at schools—AB 1916 (Garcia); access to healthy foods in low-income neighborhoods--AB 2384 (Leno) and SB 1329 (Alquist); and the inclusion of local parks as part of infrastructure initiatives.  To learn more about these bills, visit the ENACT Advocacy Day 2006 website. To find out how to get involved with ENACT Advocacy Day next year, please email jreich@cfpa.net.

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In the News

Sodas Fizz Out

Nutrition advocates are celebrating new wins in the fight against soft drinks in schools.

Connecticut lawmakers, following California’s example, passed a bill in April prohibiting the sale of sodas and sports drinks at public schools. The passage of this law made its way through the Connecticut legislature despite pressure from the beverage industry to oppose the bill. Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal charged Coca-Cola Bottling Company with offering financial incentives for the sale of its “junk soda” drinks by providing schools with a sales commission at least 25% higher for the sale of sodas than for Coca-Cola’s healthier drink options. Other charges against the Connecticut-based soft drink company include encouraging Teamsters officials to warn legislators of potential job losses and threatening to sever contributions to schools, such as sports equipment and scholarships.

On a national level, the William J. Clinton Foundation announced on May 3rd that the nation's largest beverage distributors have agreed to halt nearly all sales of sodas to public schools.  This is good news for advocates who have targeted soda as a significant contributor to the epidemic of poor nutrition and physical inactivity. more...

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Upcoming Events

Farm Bill Listening Session hosted with Food First, Berkeley

May 18, 2006; 6-8pm; 2939 Ellis St., Berkeley, CA
With the Farm Bill only a year away, our partner, the national Community Food Security Coalition, is in the process of developing legislation to support small farms and ensure that everyone has access to safe, healthy, affordable and local food.

RSVP to info@CAFoodJustice.org or call Heather at 310-822-5410.

Healthier Food for Healthcare Facilities

May 24, 2006; 1- 3 pm; UCSF Parnassus Campus, San Francisco, CA

A meeting for healthcare staff, food and nutrition services, chefs, food purchasing, dieticians, environmental health and safety, and others interested in better food for patients, staff, and visitors –come learn how to bring healthier, more sustainably produced food choices to your facility. RSVP by May 12th to cmargulis@cehca.org, (510) 594.9864 or jeffery.liang@sfgov.org, (415) 355.3766.

Michael Pollan's Upcoming Bay Area Events

May 31 - June 8, 2006; Bay Area, CA

Join Michael Pollan as he explores the implications of modern society's cornucopia of food choices on our health and the health of the planet in his newest book, The Omnivores Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals.

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Resources

Competitive Food Brief

Samuels & Associates has just released the Competitive Food Brief, published jointly by The California Endowment and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The brief offers a look at the nutrition environments in California schools and how these environments contribute to childhood obesity rates.  Also highlighted are policy recommendations that can be adopted to improve these environments, as well as lists of foods found in the schools that both do and do not comply with state nutrition standards.  This document and the companion Beverage Brief create an important snapshot of where California is and what changes need to be made in order to achieve full implementation of the state nutrition standards for competitive foods and beverages.  Both can be found on The California Endowment website.

Obesity: Dietary and Developmental Influences

The University of California, Berkeley's Center for Weight and Health recently published "Obesity: Dietary and Developmental Influences," a book intended to provide researchers, health practitioners and policy makers alike with the latest evidence about the prevention of obesity. The book investigates all major lines of evidence and clarifies common misconceptions, while identifying behaviors to target in addition to dietary factors that show the most promise for prevention.  Order it at the CRC Press.

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WHAT IS THE STRATEGIC ALLIANCE?

The Strategic Alliance is reframing the debate on nutrition and physical activity away from a focus on individual choice and lifestyle towards one of environment and corporate and government responsibility. Current Steering Committee members are: California Adolescent Nutrition and Fitness Program (CANFit), California Center for Public Health Advocacy (CCPHA), California Food Policy Advocates (CFPA), California Pan-Ethnic Health Network, California Park and Recreation Society (CPRS) , California Project LEAN, California WIC Association (CWA), Child Care Food Program Roundtable, Latino Health Access, Prevention Institute, Samuels & Associates, and YMCA of the East Bay.

HOW TO BECOME A MEMBER

The Strategic Alliance is currently engaged in building a broad and diverse statewide membership. To join or for more information, please visit us on the Web, www.eatbettermovemore.org, or contact Sana Chehimi at 510.444.7738 or Sana@preventioninstitute.org. And even if you're already a member, please forward this message on to your colleagues so we can continue to strengthen our coalition. Thank you!

The Strategic Alliance is supported by funding from The California Endowment.

The Strategic Alliance is reframing the debate on nutrition and physical activity--from a focus on individual choice and lifestyle, towards one of environment and corporate and government responsibility.

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