Network for a Healthy California - Bay Area Region

The Network for a Healthy California – Bay Area Region provides resources, training, technical assistance and support to all Network-funded projects and other nutrition and physical activity providers/professionals across the Bay Area.

The Network is a statewide effort of the California Department of Public Health, in partnership with the United States Department of Agriculture, providing nutrition education and physical activity promotion for low-income Californians.

The Network consists of Campaigns and Programs that focus on the needs of low-income populations. Currently, there are six campaigns and programs operating in the Bay Area:
· African American Campaign
· Children’s Power Play! Campaign
· Latino Campaign
· Retail Program
· Worksite Program
· Physical Activity Promotion

In addition, the Network supports a regional collaborative of public and private agencies and organizations working in health promotion in the Bay Area. The Bay Area Nutrition and Physical Activity Collaborative (BANPAC) uses the collective expertise and influence of its members to engage individuals in local efforts to realize systems or environmental changes that shape nutrition and physical activity behaviors.

Mission
The mission of the Network for a Healthy California – Bay Area Region is to forge creative partnerships that enable low-income Californians to embrace healthy eating and daily physical activity as part of a healthy lifestyle. The Network is also dedicated to promoting food security for low-income communities through resources such as federal nutrition assistance programs, especially Food Stamps.

For more information on the Network for a Healthy California – Bay Area Region, please visit the Bay Area Region Nutrition Network (BARN) and Bay Area Nutrition And Physical Activity Collaborative (BANPAC).

African American Campaign

The African American Campaign is designed to improve the health of the low-income African American community by providing education and advocacy about healthy eating and physical activity.

The Campaign’s key objectives are to:
· Empower Food Stamp Nutrition Education (FSNE) eligible African American adult women, ages 18-54, and their families to consume the recommended amounts of fruits and vegetables and to be physically active every day.
· Encourage food secure households by promoting participation in nutrition assistance programs.
· Create environments where healthy eating and physical activity are socially supported and easy to do.

Key Activities
The African American Campaign reaches out to the community through festivals, grocery stores, and direct health service providers, and by working in partnership with the media, faith-based groups and other public and private organizations. The Campaign provides culturally appropriate and tested nutrition education tools including the A Day in the Life Video and Discussion Guide, Fruit, Vegetable and Physical Activity Toolbox for Community Educators, colorful posters and soulful recipes. These tools are designed to help community educators and partner agencies deliver fun and effective educational lessons on ways to eat the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables and get the recommended levels of physical activity where they live, work, worship, play and shop.

A key component of the Campaign is the Body & Soul: A Celebration of Healthy Living Program. This model program has been proven to increase fruit and vegetable consumption among African Americans.

The Campaign’s efforts are supported by its Advisory Committee, which consists of individuals and community-based organizations dedicated to improving the health and well-being of the African American Community.

For more information on the African American Campaign, including how to become an Advisory Committee member, please visit the Bay Area Region Nutrition Network.

Children’s Power Play! Campaign

The Children’s Power Play! Campaign aims to motivate and to empower children ages 9 to 11 to eat 3 to 5 cups of fruits and vegetables, to get at least 60 minutes of physical activity every day, and to create environments in which practicing these behaviors is both easy and socially acceptable. These objectives are designed to improve children’s short-term health and reduce their long-term risk of chronic diseases, especially cancer, heart disease, and obesity.

Key Activities
The Children’s Power Play! Campaign reaches out to low-income children through a variety of activities at schools, community youth organizations, farmers' markets, grocery stores, and other organizations. School & Community Youth Organization Idea & Resource Kits are available through the Campaign, as well as training, technical assistance, and tours of supermarkets and farmers’ markets. The Campaign also works with the media and community leaders to raise awareness of the importance and necessity for children to have access to a variety of fruits and vegetables and safe physical activities.

The Children’s Power Play! Campaign’s efforts are supported by its Advisory Committee. This Committee consists of individuals and community-based organizations dedicated to improving the health and well-being of children.

For more information on the Children’s Power Play! Campaign, including how to become an Advisory Committee member, please visit the Bay Area Region Nutrition Network.

Latino Campaign

The Latino Campaign partners with community-based organizations, grocery stores, health care providers, the media, and others to empower low-income Latino adults and their families to eat more fruits and vegetables and to be more physically active. The Campaign also works to create environments where healthy behaviors are socially supported and accessible. The Campaign’s objectives are designed to reduce the risk of obesity and chronic diseases, especially cancer, heart disease, and diabetes within the Latino community.

Key Activities
The Latino Campaign engages in community outreach and education by providing nutrition education at large festivals, flea and farmers’ markets, health fairs and grocery stores around the Bay Area.

The Fruit, Vegetables, and Physical Activity Toolbox For Community Educators (Toolbox) is available free of charge to qualifying community educators. These resources enable others to teach low-income Latino adults about eating the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables and incorporating physical activity into each and every day. Materials are available in both English and Spanish.

The Latino Campaign’s efforts are supported by its Advisory Committee. This Committee consists of individuals and organizations dedicated to improving the health and well-being of the Latino Community.

For more information on the Latino Campaign, including how to become an Advisory Committee member, please visit the Bay Area Region Nutrition Network.

Retail Program

The Retail Program aims to facilitate partnerships between neighborhood stores, community health agencies, worksites, schools and other organizations to increase the consumption of fruits and vegetables among food stamp eligible Californians. The Program provides retailers with a unique variety of tools, resources, and outreach activities to inspire healthy change among consumers.

Key Activities
The Retail Program provides retailers, in low-income communities, with free merchandising materials to promote increased fruit and vegetable consumption. Items include: seasonal themed posters, recipe cards and in-store radio songs and announcements promoting fruits and vegetables.

The Retail Program conducts food demonstrations at participating grocery stores throughout the Bay Area. The food demonstrations provide valuable information about incorporating more fruits and vegetables into family meals and snacks, how to prepare quick and healthy meals and provide consumers with the skills needed to purchase healthy foods. Consumers are able to taste recipes, see the ingredients prepared, and receive free recipe cards.

The Retail Program also conducts fruit and vegetable tours at participating grocery stores. The tours provide valuable information about how to select, store, and prepare fresh fruits and vegetables. Fruit and vegetable store tour leaders also take participants into different aisles of the store to teach consumers how to select canned and frozen varieties of fruits and vegetables by reading nutrition labels.

For more information on the Retail Program, please visit the Bay Area Region Nutrition Network.

Worksite Program

The Worksite Program empowers low-income workers to consume the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables and enjoy a minimum of 30 minutes of physical activity every day. The fruit and vegetable and physical activity objectives are designed to reduce the risks of chronic diseases, especially cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and obesity.
The Worksite Program works with employers to:

· Improve access to healthy foods and physical activity at workplaces
· Foster supportive work environments that encourage healthy lifestyle choices
· Establish public policies that bolster health promotion efforts at worksites

Key Activities
The Worksite Program partners with and supports low-income worksites throughout the Bay Area in the development, implementation, and evaluation of their own worksite wellness program. The Worksite Program has developed the California Fit Business Kit to help employers develop and implement a culture and environment that supports healthy eating and physical activity among workers. The California Fit Business Kit is a suite of tools and resources that include:

· Check for Health—Workplace Environmental Assessment
· Creating a Worksite Wellness Team
· Healthy Meeting Policies
· Vending Machine Food and Beverage Standards
· Healthy Dining Menu Guidelines
· Ordering Farm Fresh Produce for the Worksite
· A Guide to Establishing a Worksite Farmers’ Market
· A Guide to Improving Worksite Stairwells
· A Guide to Establishing Worksite Walking Clubs
· Take Action! Employee Wellness Program

The Worksite Program’s efforts are supported by its Advisory Committee. This Committee consists of individuals and community based organizations dedicated to improving employee health and well-being through healthy worksites.

For more information on the Worksite Program, including how to become an Advisory Committee member, please visit the Bay Area Region Nutrition Network.

Physical Activity Integration

A key objective of the Network is to integrate physical activity across all Campaigns and Programs, and to work with community partners, the media and others to promote physical activity and healthy eating among low-income adults and children. Toward this effort, the Bay Area Region’s Physical Activity Coordinator is a key community resource emphasizing the key role of active living in healthy lifestyles and combating chronic disease.

Key Activities
The Bay Area Region’s Physical Activity Coordinator provides information, referrals, and one-on-one technical assistance to ensure that physical activity is integrated into nutrition programming throughout the Bay Area Region. Through presentations at health forums, local community workshops, neighborhood, school, and other community events, the Network’s Physical Activity Coordinator increases awareness of the importance of physical activity and provides concrete direction for increasing physical activity among all low-income populations.

Working in conjunction with nutrition and physical activity educators and other partners in each of the six Bay Area Counties, the Bay Area Region conducts an annual physical activity and nutrition education forum. This forum highlights the latest physical activity and nutrition education knowledge, resources, and best practices.

In an effort to support access to and enhance participation in physical activity and nutrition programs, including food assistance programs, the Bay Area Region has developed physical activity and nutrition resource directories for each of the six Bay Area Counties. These directories can be accessed online at the Bay Area Region Nutrition Network.

The Network’s physical activity efforts are supported by its Physical Activity Advisory Committee. This Committee consists of individuals and community based organizations dedicated to improving the health and well-being of low-income communities through the integration of physical activity and nutrition education.

For more information on physical activity integration, including how to become an Advisory Committee member, please visit the Bay Area Region Nutrition Network.

Bay Area Nutrition and Physical Activity Collaborative

The Bay Area Nutrition and Physical Activity Collaborative (BANPAC) uses the collective expertise and influence of nearly 100 member organizations to facilitate system or environmental changes that shape nutrition and physical activity behaviors. Through a variety of funding, BANPAC executes nutrition education initiatives that engage residents in the Bay Area to work to improve nutrition and physical activity behaviors, and to increase access to healthy foods among low-income residents, their families, and other community members.

Key Activities
BANPAC has the following three committees that direct many activities:

School Wellness
Facilitates the distribution and/or development of nutrition education resources to support the adoption of policies and programs that promote healthy eating and physical activity within the school community.

Food Access / Food Security
Supports access to nutritious food for low-income people by facilitating collaboration among related-service providers such as food stamp offices and food banks, for the development of forums for sharing successful models and resources.

Healthy Community Environments
Educates and supports communities, especially food stamp-eligible populations, on nutrition and obesity prevention issues and empowers them to take action to promote environmental changes that address these issues.

For more information on BANPAC, including how to become a BANPAC member and receive more information, please visit BANPAC and click on “member contact”.