Bay Area Region :: Network Funded Projects

The Network for a Healthy California represents a statewide movement of local, state and national partners collectively working toward improving the health status of low income Californians through increased fruit and vegetable consumption and daily physical activity.  The Network works with Local Incentive Awardees (LIAs) that represent almost 100 local agencies in a variety of different community channels, including 37 low resource school districts, 26 local health departments, 10 county offices of education, 6 public colleges and universities, 4 Indian tribal organizations, 2 city governments, 2 First five Commissions, 2 cooperative extension agencies, as well as sister programs within the California Department of Public Health, park and recreation departments, and nonprofit organizations.

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Articles:

Alameda Office of Education: CA Nutrition  - Highlights of this Year's Service Learning
Posted 3.17.08

Nutrition Services: SF Department of Public Health Feeling Good Project (PDF)
Posted 3.17.08

Events:

According to Carlos Torres and Meredith Moore, the event was packed and truly memorable.  The  team and partners handed out the ’s Everyday Healthy Meals cookbook, and  t-shirts and shared helpful nutrition information with numerous participants via the Nutrition Education Wheel.  Carlos Torres escorted Patricia Miranda up to Maria Shriver at the speaker’s platform and Patricia presented the First Lady with the Bay Area’s Champions for Change 2008 Calendar.  Patricia also brought a special gift for the First Lady, a red, white and blue scarf and gave this to her as well.  The First Lady was very appreciative of both the calendar and the scarf and actually remembered Patricia Miranda from a previous Family Day event that she and Governor Schwarzenegger attended in San Francisco.  In addition, Maria Shriver also recognized and remembered the for a Healthy California.  Patricia also had the opportunity to meet Gavin Newsom and to introduce him to the Champions for Change Campaign.

Participating organizations included the  for a Network for a Healthy California--Bay Area Region, San Francisco Food Stamp Office, First 5, PG&E, Bank of America and other financial institutions.  The event provided the  team an opportunity to meet with a variety of organizations, including PG&E, and Bank of America and discuss ways to work together at future events.

The event was also well attended by the media.  While passing by the ’s booth, a KFOG, a leading Bay Area radio station became intrigued with the Nutrition Education Wheel and conducted an interview with Monique Woodford to learn more about the  for a Healthy California – Bay Area Region and the various Campaigns.

Thanks to the support of UC Cooperative Extension’s Meredith Moore, Patricia’s gift of the Champions for Change Calendar and her meeting with Gavin Newsom were nicely captured on film.

 

Planting and Cookin' Up Recipes for Children's Health This school year marked an exciting year of transition and collaboration for the Berkeley Unified School District  for a Healthy California Program (BUSD).  With great passion, our nutrition education garden and cooking instructors developed new partnerships, built fruitful connections between the garden and cooking program, the cafeteria, and the classroom, and engaged over 3,000 students in ongoing hands-on nutrition education garden and cooking classes at 14 schools.

Emerson Elementary

For the first time, the BUSD  program formally joined forces with the Nutrition Services Department, led by Nutrition Services Director, Ann Cooper.  In the fall,  teachers and Nutrition Services staff kicked off the year by creating a shared vision statement and building tools for collaboration.  In a friendly Iron Chef competition, teams worked together to create healthy lunch items---and what a delicious lunch it was! With new collaborations budding, the year brought a wave of delicious, healthy eating experiences to the students.

Throughout the year,  staff utilized the Harvest of the Month (HOTM) curriculum, planting and cooking up recipes featuring a seasonal fruit or vegetable. September brought ripe heirloom tomatoes, March yielded fresh peas, and June’s summer heat ushered in sweet juicy peaches for all to enjoy.  For the first time, Nutrition Services featured a recipe shared by the cooking instructors on the school lunch menu.  Scrumptious dishes such as “Three Sister’s Stew,” and “Chinese New Year Wontons” brought the Harvest of the Month alive in our school gardens, cooking classes, and cafeterias.

Finally, this year the  staff forged ahead to explore and develop School Lunch Initiative curriculum.  With support from the Center for Ecoliteracy, teacher teams at John Muir and Le Conte collaborated to develop lessons integrating hands-on nutrition education with classroom curriculum.  Also, the Edible Schoolyard organized and led nutrition education garden and cooking-based trainings for staff in the district.  We’ve had another great year and anticipate more to come in 07-08, including pilot parent cooking classes, new seasonal recipes, and continued gardening and cooking classes at each site.  Read on to celebrate this year’s successes and stay tuned for next year’s seasonal calendar.

Sincerely,
Melanie Okamoto
BUSD  Program Supervisor

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Nutrition & Wellness Sponsors 1st Annual WIC Recipe Contest

Nutrition & Wellness, in the Santa Clara County Public Health Department, held its first-ever healthy recipe contest, open to all Nutrition & Wellness staff and 18,000 Santa Clara County WIC participants.  Susan Rojas was the First Place Winner in the 2007 Contest with her healthy recipe for “Chicken with Asparagus” and she was also named a  for a Healthy California “Champion for Change” in the Bay Area Region.   Staff member, Lillian Castillo, won in the staff category for her entries “Berry Delight” and “Chicken Stew.”

Champions for Change commit to helping their families eat more fruits and vegetables and be more physically active.  Champions are also involved in making healthy changes in their neighborhoods and in protecting their kids from chronic diseases, including obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and certain neighborhoods.

Susan commits to helping her family live a healthy lifestyle.  She is the mother of six children ranging from six to 24 years of age, and the grandmother of five.  Susan credits her family's good health to healthy eating and regular physical activity.  She is always on the look out for delicious, nutritious and easy to prepare recipes for her family.  Susan serves vegetables and low fat dip instead of chips and always provides fresh fruit at home.  She keeps her kids active by encouraging them to participate in soccer, t-ball, and cheerleading.

As the 2007 Santa Clara County WIC Recipe Contest winner, Susan shared how she gets more fruits and vegetables and physical activity into her family’s daily life on the KICU Channel 36 Cable 6 Roy Avila Q & A Show.  Local celebrity Roy Avila was a judge for the contest and helped choose the first place recipe.

Lillian, a dedicated staff member, also lives by example, always bringing healthy options to staff potlucks, creating new recipes with her homegrown fresh fruits and vegetables.  Lillian loves to teach mothers about nutrition and how to feed their families in a healthy manner.  She is dedicated to sharing her knowledge and skills and is a popular speaker in the community. Lillian worked for WIC for five years, and now works on the community team, where she collaborates with WIC often on new and innovative projects.

The recipe contest was a joint effort of the  for a Healthy California – Local Incentive Awardee and WIC programs within the Nutrition & Wellness Unit. Collaborative projects, like the recipe contest, help leverage resources, expand impact, increase staff involvement, and reinforce nutrition & physical activity messages promoted across all programs in the unit.

Congratulations to Susan and Lillian!  They are the perfect example of how Santa Clara County residents can be empowered to be Champions for Change.