By CANFIT

We are still here, and re-affirming our commitment to work with community-based and youth-serving organizations to identify local solutions and support the development of healthy eating and physical activity environments in low income communities and communities of color. “Adelante” and “Gong hei fat choy”!

CANFIT’s 2016 Accomplishments:

Policy

Participated in the California Afterschool Network’s (CAN) Strategic Planning Retreat, emphasizing the inclusion of nutrition and physical activity in Out-of-School Time.

Served on the national Healthy Out-of-School Time (HOST) Policy committee, where I promoted Farm to Out-of-School Time and higher quality meals in federal food programs (e.g., CACFP)

Attended meetings of the City of Berkeley, Sugar Sweetened Beverage Panel of Experts to identify implementation issues.

Consultation and Technical Assistance

Worked with the WK Kellogg Foundation to provide technical assistance on youth engagement in food and community interventions in NE Iowa, Holyoke, MA, Oakland, and Detroit.

Responded to various Technical Assistance requests, e.g., Oklahoma State Public Health Department, Humboldt County Health Department, El Campo Community Center, Health Education Council.

Thought Leadership

Primary author of a capstone article on Youth Engagement for the WK Kellogg Food and Community Initiative (due March 2017).

Invited Presentations:

“Building Equity into Physical Activity Interventions” – at the Obesity Solutions Roundtable of the National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine, Washington, DC (to be published in 2017) -

“Tools to Address Racism and Racial Equity” – at the Robert Wood Johnson Community Health Leader (RWJ-CHL) Annual Alumni Conference

“Food Security and Health” – at the Kellogg Fellowship Leadership Alliance (KFLA) annual forum

Other

Awarded a $1000 CANFIT Scholarship to California State University, Los Angeles student, Sade Meeks

Future Directions for 2017

A. Market Consultation and Technical Assistance services to local/national organizations

B. Award CANFIT Academic Scholarships (as funds allow)

C. Provide implementation expertise to municipalities offering Sugar-Sweetened Beverage community grants, and to CBOs receiving the funds.

D. Pursue partnerships with organizations with similar missions and values

E. Serve on policy committees that address our mission and advocate for improved food quality and access in low-income, communities of color

F. Write article(s) that summarize CANFIT’s work, e.g., youth engagement, equity, community capacity building

G. Participate in Fulbright Specialist assignments as requested (March 2017 – New Zealand assignment)

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By CANFIT

February, 8, 2016 marks the start of the Year of the Monkey…a year where individual effort is stressed over group activities, and physical activity is important to maintain. Also a year to encourage those seeking unconventional solutions to old problems, where daring to be different can lead to success. Thus 2016 is a year to take risks, be rebellious and start new endeavors. That’s why CANFIT has chosen this Lunar New Year to launch our consultancy and coaching practice. We will work individually with those seeking creative solutions to improve food access, healthy eating, food justice, and physical activity. Interested in making changes that will improve your community’s health? We can help you create a program plan, design a curriculum, develop a training, figure out where to access healthy food or how to incorporate more physical activity into your life. Contact us at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) and let us know how we can help you achieve success in healthy eating and physical activity – whether it be in your organizations, community, or personally.

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By CANFIT

Our fiscal year ends on Thursday, December 31 and we are still $25,000 short on our funding for 2016. Support from friends like you will help us bridge the gap and ensure that we can continue to provide successful programs as we start the New Year.

I hope you will consider making a special tax-deductible contribution at this time to help us reach out fundraising goals. A gift of any amount will make a real difference.

Thanks to a generous anonymous donor, every $1 you donate to CANFIT will be matched. This means you can help us fund academic scholarships, start a career pipeline for young people interested in food and fitness, provide trainings to community groups, and advocate for policy changes to improve the food and fitness environments of low-income communities across the country.

Your gift of $50 can become $100, providing supplies for a healthy snacks and meals class for an after school program.

Your gift of $250 can become $500, providing an undergraduate scholarship to a nutrition, culinary, or physical education student.

These are just two examples of how you can help us make a real difference in the lives of adolescents and the communities that support them. To learn more about our work, see http://www.canfit.org. Don’t miss out on this wonderful opportunity to double the impact of your support.

You can mail your check made payable to CANFIT/Tides Center (2140 Shattuck Ave., Suite 1110, Berkeley, CA 94704) to make a secure donation online.

Together, we can make healthy eating and physical activity the norm in our communities and fulfill our mission to change community environments so that they support good health.

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By CANFIT

Policy

Child and Adult Care Food Program – provided comments on regulations proposed for CACFP.

Farm to Afterschool – CANFIT’s Farm to Out of School Time brief was adopted as a “best practice” in the policy guidance document issued by the California Nutrition Education-Obesity Prevention (NE-OP) Program.

Youth Career Pipeline – wrote a concept paper that outlines a planning process to increase post-high school leadership opportunities for low- income youth in food and built environment jobs and careers.

Racial Equity – completed a research project and report that examined and documented policy levers and strategies that may improve equity for food systems workers.
[Commissioned by the national Convergence Partnership - a collaborative of foundation and health care institutions working to foster healthier and more equitable environments for all children and families]

Training and Technical Assistance

Training – developed and presented workshops on:
- “Authentic Youth Engagement” (HEAL Collaborative, Sacramento)
- “CANFIT Fundamentals” (Sacramento START)
- “Farm to Out of School: Creating Pilot Programs” (Building Opportunities for Out of School Time (BOOST) conference)
- “Healthy Eating and Fitness for Busy Professional” (Black Administrators Network, Berkeley)
- “Policy, Systems, and Environmental Change” (Placer County HEAL Coalition);
- “Policy Strategies for Limiting Sugar Sweetened Beverage Consumption” (Delta and Gold Country Promising Practices Exchange, Sacramento)

WK Kellogg Food and Community Initiative – participated in semi-monthly technical assistance provider team meetings; provided youth engagement TA to NE Iowa, Holyoke, and Oakland; and facilitated workshops on youth and community engagement, built environments and physical activity, and sustainability at the annual Food and Fitness Gathering in Louisville, Kentucky (April 2015).
Thought Leadership

Participated on state and national advisory groups, including:
- California Afterschool Network – Nutrition and Physical Activity Committee (co-chair)
- Community Health Leaders Inaugural Conference – Planning Committee
- Farm to Cafeteria 2016 National Conference – Program Planning Committee
- Food Marketing Work Group - Target Marketing to Communities of Color Committee
- National Physical Activity Plan Congress – Washington, DC
- NIOST - Healthy Out-of-School Time (HOST) Coalition (Advocacy/Policy and Implementation work groups)
- Partnership for Healthier America (Washington, DC)

Organizational

Bi-weekly consultations on organizational enhancement and executive coaching

Awarded two CANFIT Academic Scholarships ($1500)

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By Arnell Hinkle

April 13, 2015

Tina Namian, Branch Chief
Policy and Program Development Branch, Child Nutrition Programs Food and Nutrition Service, Department of Agriculture
Post Office Box 66874 St. Louis, Missouri 63166

Docket ID: FNS-‐2011-‐0029

Step up the food quality in the Child and Adult Care Food Program!

Dear Ms Namian;

Thank you for the opportunity to provide comments on the 2015 proposed meal pattern for the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). The status of children’s health is declining with chronic diseases such as overweight and diabetes striking more and more children, especially those of low-‐income families. Improving the nutritional quality of snacks and meals available through CACFP is a critical step in reversing childhood disease trends. Therefore, I commend Secretary Vilsack and USDA for their efforts to improve the health and wellbeing of children participating in CACFP.

Communities, Adolescents, Nutrition, and Fitness (CANFIT), a national, non-‐profit organization, has been working since 1993 with communities and policymakers to develop culturally resonant policies and practices that improve food environments for adolescents in low income communities and communities of color. As part of its mission, CANFIT provides culturally-‐appropriate training and technical assistance to after school programs throughout the country. We have developed numerous materials to help youth providers implement healthy snack and meal programs.

As executive director of CANFIT, and co-‐chair of the Nutrition/Physical Activity Committee of the California Afterschool Network, I have had an opportunity to visit hundreds of after school programs. Based upon my experiences, I would like to focus my comments on community nutrition programs that serve adolescents, and request that FNS consider the following recommendations for improving the nutritional quality and availability of fresh, locally-‐sourced, sustainable foods in the CACFP.

Proposed Revisions

Overall, I applaud and support all of the proposed revisions, as they improve food and nutrition quality by aligning the meal pattern with the U.S. Dietary Guidelines. However, due to concerns associated with issues related to providing meals and snacks to adolescents in afterschool programs, I recommend the following:

- Implement the 13-‐18 year old group category, consider increasing the portion sizes to reflect increased caloric needs, and realize that additional funding will be needed to cover the costs.

- Allow providers to serve two vegetables for supper rather than mandating a fruit and vegetable. This will help increase the amount and variety of vegetables that youth consume.

- Adopt California’s Healthy Beverages in Child Care law by 1) limiting juice to one
age-‐appropriate serving of 100% juice per day; 2) ensuring that clean, safe drinking water is readily available throughout the day; 3) serving only fat-‐free or low-‐fat (1%) unsweetened, plain milk or an approved milk alternative; and 4) prohibiting beverages with added sweeteners, either natural or artificial.

- Clarify that the proposed requirement to serve one whole grain a day should be applicable only when a grain is served during the day. Afterschool programs serving only a snack might not have a grain component each day.

- That the words “recognizable” “customary” “usual” as applied to tofu be
reinterpreted in guidance language to include tofu soups and stews.

- Continue expanding the USDA Food Buying Guide to better align with cultural food preferences. I also recommend that USDA ask for a survey of state agencies and CACFP professional organizations to see what other fruits and vegetables could be included in the Buying Guide.

Best Practices

Fresh fruits and vegetables are the building blocks of healthy nutrition for children. It is a major step in nourishing healthy children and to reduce childhood overweight and the chronic illnesses that often develop when they are adults. Research shows that production methods for food (e.g., organic, less pesticides, etc) are important to children’s health. Production standards should be part of the standards set for food provided to our children similar to nutritional standards.

I think that the Best Practices that you have outlined are commendable, and recommend that they go even further by including the following:

- Provide at least 50% of foods produced without pesticides, chemicals, antibiotics and synthetic hormones.
- Ensure that at least 10% of fresh fruits and vegetables served as local/regionally produced.
- Align community nutrition program foods and menus with the cultural food patterns of participants.
- Provide higher reimbursement to community nutrition programs which meet higher nutrition standards.
- Provide incentives for increasing fresh fruits and vegetables in meals and snacks through Farm-to-Institution programs.
- Create incentives for switching from juice to fresh, whole fruits and vegetables.
- Provide funding for demonstration projects to improve food and beverage quality.
- Reduce frequency of juice service and increase frequency that fresh fruit and vegetables are provided.

Child nutrition programs that are focused on healthy, green, fair, and affordable foods are critical to nourish healthy children who will thrive. Therefore, I urge the USDA to bring the Child and Adult Care Food Program into the 21st century, and help it become a tool to reduce health disparities by making sure that low-income children are served whole foods that are healthy, produced in a sustainable manner, and are affordable.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Arnell Hinkle, RD, MPH, CHES
Executive Director,
CANFIT

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By CANFIT

Policy Issues

- Child and Adult Care Food Program – The U.S. Department of Agriculture has released Proposed Healthier Meal Standards for Federal Food Programs serving Child Care and Afterschool Programs. Duedate: April 15th). CANFIT will poll our network and provide comments on the new proposed regulations for this federal program that authorizes snacks and meals in expanded learning/after school programs.

- Farm to Afterschool – work with expanded learning organizations to create a pilot project.

- Summer Food Truck – collaborate with the Summer Food Coalition to develop a food truck that provides culturally-appropriate, federally reimbursable summer meals to youth at community and rural sites.

- Youth Career Pipeline – produce a policy brief that outlines strategies to increase post-high school leadership opportunities for low- income youth in food and built environment jobs and careers.

- Racial Equity – examine policy levers and strategies to dismantle racial and structural inequities that limit access and opportunities for food systems workers.
Training and Technical Assistance

- Afterschool Meal Quality – provide tools, webinars, and resources so that after school programs serve high quality meals that are tasty, healthy, reflect the culture of students, and qualify for federal reimbursement.

- Youth Engagement – support the WK Kellogg Food and Community Initiative by providing technical assistance to youth coordinators in the six national Food and Fitness sites (Oakland, Holyoke, Boston, NE Iowa, Detroit, and Seattle).

- Professional Development Cohort – create regional cohorts in California of 10-15 health professionals working in low income communities of color on the intersection of healthy eating, racial equity, physical activity, and advocacy.

- Consulting Services – working with local partners and a network of consultants, CANFIT provides strategic consultation and staff training in developing culturally appropriate policies and practices in food and fitness programs that support youth engagement, and afterschool nutrition and physical activity.

Thought Leadership

- Social Media – regularly contribute to public discourse through blog postings, Twitter, and other social media platforms.

- CANFIT will continue to participate on state and national advisory groups, including:
California Afterschool Network – Nutrition and Physical Activity Committee (co-chair)
NIOST - Healthy Out-of-School Time (HOST) Coalition (Advocacy/Policy and Implementation work groups)
Kaiser Thriving Schools – Advisory Group
Material Development

- Write a CANFIT Primer based upon best practices and learnings from implementing healthy eating and physical activity programs for adolescents in low-income communities of color across the country.

- Digitize and post on http://www.canfit.org educational and other resource materials developed over CANFIT’s 20 year history.

Interested in helping these priorities move forward? Please donate today to help us turn them into reality.

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By Arnell Hinkle

Policy

After School/Out-of-School
- Co-chair Nutrition/Physical Activity Committee of California After School Network (championing after school meal quality) - created Nuts and Bolts Webinar Nuts and Bolts Webinar
- Member of System of Support - Strategic Implementation Team of California Department of Education, After School Division
- Published Farm to School Activities in Out-of-School Time policy brief (in collaboration with the National Farm to School Network)
- Member of NIOST’s Healthy Out-of-School Time (HOST) Coalition (Advocacy and Implementation Work Teams)

CANFIT policy recommendations on the role of after school and out-of-school-time programs published by the Institute of Medicine (Washington, DC) in the report “Creating Equal Opportunities for a Healthy Weight”

Wrote a case study of afterschool practices from a five-year community training and technical assistance intervention showing the promise of policy change for promoting healthier afterschool environments: “Creating healthier afterschool environments in the Healthy Eating Active Communities program”, for New Directions for Youth Development, In Press

Member of:
- Kaiser Thriving Schools Advisory Group
- Summer Meals Coalition
- Expert Panel, Planning Committee and session moderator for Promising Practices Conference in Washington, DC (seeking to advance tobacco control and obesity prevention strategies for improved health outcomes in low SES communities)

Consulted with Montefiore Hospital on program development for their community treatment program for overweight Latino and Black teens in the Bronx, New York

Consulted with Health Education Council on the development and implementation of a series of focus groups with low-income residents of Sacramento to determine their attitudes toward sugar sweetened beverage taxes. Wrote a report of findings.

Training/Technical Assistance

Served as a content expert and judge for HackFit, a San Francisco health-focused technology Hack-a-thon (N=100)

As part of our TCE-funded Project for Healthier After School Environments (PHASE): CANFIT worked with the County Offices of Education in Region 6 (Stanislaus) and Region 10 (San Bernardino) to train 56 staff on implementing state nutrition and physical activity guidelines. The training participants represented 26 after school programs (and with a reach to 2800 middle school-aged youth).

Served as Youth Engagement Technical Assistance Lead for WK Kellogg Food and Fitness Initiative:
- Facilitated a Youth Career Pipeline workshop at WKKF national meeting
- Convener and technical assistance provider for Youth Coordinators at 6 Food and Fitness sites (Seattle, Oakland, Boston, Iowa, Holyoke, Detroit)

Material Development

Menus and Meal Patterns Nuts and Bolts Webinar

Healthy After School Meal and Snack Guide (revised)

Other

Awarded 5 CANFIT Academic Scholarships ($3000)

Digitally archived 26 boxes of historical documents and materials

Updated and re-designed our web site at http://www.canfit.org so that it can host webinars and digitally archived CANFIT materials. CANFIT has 936 followers on Twitter (an additional 100 since last year), an active Facebook Page (675 Likes), and an informative You Tube Channel.

As part of 20th Anniversary celebrations:
- wrote a monthly blog
- conducted a needs assessment survey of the field (N=250)
- produced a 20th Anniversary DVD

Hosted fund-raising House Parties in New York City and Washington, DC

Raised $18,500 in unrestricted funds

Selected by the Fulbright Scholars Program to serve as a Fulbright Specialist (Arnell Hinkle, CANFIT executive director) in global/public health for a five-year term

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By CANFIT

New York City has developed an innovative model for delivering summer food to youth.

Now let’s hope that next summer they can work on making the menus more culturally acceptable to the 400,000 youth they serve…how about rice balls, soft tacos, chili-lime fruit salad, and peanut noodle salad? Perhaps they can check out CANFIT’s Healthy Snack and Meal Guide for some ideas.

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By Arnell Hinkle

Over the past 20 years CANFIT has worked with an amazing assortment of young people – all from low-income, communities of color, and all passionate about their health and the health of their families and friends. Many of these young people are not/were not destined for college. I have been struggling with how we can do more to assist these young people in attaining careers that pay a livable wage and honor their experiences in community health planning, urban gardening, youth advocacy and physical activity programming. Towards that end, I recently co-facilitated a workshop, entitled From Seeds to Salad: Growing Youth as Leaders at the WK Kellogg Food and Community Gathering in Detroit.

During the workshop, 15 participants from all over the country who were interested in providing youth with career opportunities discussed the types of skills and program supports needed in their communities to get young people that have been engaged in food and fitness work onto career tracks. We realized that a great deal of advocacy is needed to ensure that young people involved in youth action and community food and fitness projects have opportunities to learn skills that will increase their employability, and are exposed to networks and contacts that can lead to jobs at places like food hubs and distribution centers, transportation and planning offices, park and rec centers and restaurants.

CANFIT is working on a concept paper and set of guiding principles about youth career pipelines for organizations that engage youth in food and fitness projects. If you are interested in receiving the youth career pipeline document or being a part of the conversation, let us know at: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

#CANFIT20 celebrates CANFIT’s 20-year anniversary with a monthly blog on the 20th day of each month beginning in August 2013 and other blogs, tweets, and social media posts on history tid-bits on CANFIT’s journey to helping low-income communities strive for healthy eating and physical activity environments. Worked with CANFIT before? Share your stories and thoughts in our 20th Anniversary Assessment today and have your chance at a monthly drawing for a CANFIT gift box valued at $200!

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By Arnell Hinkle

I was recently asked to describe a typical month in the life of CANFIT. It is a useful way to explain our work, but a daunting task because so much happens. Here’s a taste of CANFIT activities from April -May…We

- released a policy brief on Farm to School Activities in Out-of-School Time;
- hosted a webinar for 45 after school providers in California who have been participating in our Project for Healthier After School Environments (PHASE);
- consulted with a New York community center on strategies to improve their obesity treatment program;
- co-wrote and and submitted for publication an article on a 5-year community based after school healthy eating/physical activity intervention;
- presented at the California Department of Education Regional Lead meeting about PHASE; co-created and facilitated a workshop on “Developing a Career Pipeline for youth involved in food and fitness work” at the WK Kellogg Food and Community Gathering;
- drafted a moderator’s guide for a series of focus groups on attitudes about taxation and other strategies to decrease sugar sweetened beverage consumption;
- participated in a workshop on policy options for increasing funding for food systems work through the Affordable Care Act;
- reviewed 15 CANFIT Scholarship applications;
- co-chaired and presented a session on Youth Engagement Strategies for the Nutrition/Physical Activity Committeemeeting of the California Afterschool Network;
- produced a new marketing video for our 20th Anniversary;
- was guest of honor at two fund-raising house parties (New York City and Washington, DC);
- and met with a regional Chamber of Commerce group to discuss the potential role of the business sector in positively impacting childhood health.

Until one looks back it is hard to appreciate how much we do, and how varied and interesting our work is, but all-in-all, it was a typical month.

#CANFIT20 celebrates CANFIT’s 20-year anniversary with a monthly blog on the 20th day of each month beginning in August 2013 and other blogs, tweets, and social media posts on history tid-bits on CANFIT’s journey to helping low-income communities strive for healthy eating and physical activity environments. Worked with CANFIT before? Share your stories and thoughts in our 20th Anniversary Assessment today and have your chance at a monthly drawing for a CANFIT gift box valued at $200!

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By Arnell Hinkle

Now that after school programs across the country are implementing the federal after school meal program, the time has come to address issues of meal quality. One way to improve the overall nutritional quality of after school meals is to include more fresh, local produce. CANFIT’s newest policy brief, Farm to School Activities in Out-of-School Time: Best Practices and Recommendations for Afterschool Programs, outlines strategies that six states are using to link local produce with after school and other out-of-school time programs.

Written in collaboration with the National Farm to School Network, the policy brief is meant to inform and guide future farm to school activities in OST. In addition to providing a snapshot of current activities, the report offers recommendations for expanding farm to school activities in OST so that we can build healthier food environments for children. You can access the full report at: http://www.canfit.org/downloads.

#CANFIT20 celebrates CANFIT’s 20-year anniversary with a monthly blog on the 20th day of each month beginning in August 2013 and other blogs, tweets, and social media posts on history tid-bits on CANFIT’s journey to helping low-income communities strive for healthy eating and physical activity environments. Worked with CANFIT before? Share your stories and thoughts in our 20th Anniversary Assessment today and have your chance at a monthly drawing for a CANFIT gift box valued at $200!

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By CANFIT

Please donate today to help us turn these priorities into reality.

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By Arnell Hinkle

Like the rest of the world this time of year, CANFIT is springing forward with the season. March is a time of new growth and expansion, and in honor of National Nutrition Month, we are proud to release CANFIT’s Healthy Snack and Meal Guide for Your After School Program. We revised our already popular guide to include tasty, affordable menus and recipes that meet federal After School Meal Program guidelines and the taste buds of youth from a variety of cultures. Let us know what you think of the menus and snack/meal ideas.

For those of you reading this in the New York City or Washington, DC area, please Save-the-Date for one of our April fundraising house parties. They will be held from 6:00 – 8:00 pm on April 25 in New York City and April 29 in Washington, DC. If you’d like to attend, send your name, address and email to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) with “CANFIT House Party” in the subject line, and we will send you details.

Have a wonderful Spring!

#CANFIT20 celebrates CANFIT’s 20-year anniversary with a monthly blog around the 20th day of each month beginning in August 2013 and other blogs, tweets, and social media posts on history tid-bits on CANFIT’s journey to helping low-income communities strive for healthy eating and physical activity environments. Worked with CANFIT before? Share your stories and thoughts in our 20th Anniversary Assessment today and have your chance at a monthly drawing for a CANFIT gift box valued at $200!

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By Arnell Hinkle

Here at CANFIT every month is Black History Month – and Asian History, American Indian History, Latino History, and Pacific Peoples’ History. Our histories shape and ground us. One of CANFIT’s guiding tenets is that “culture determines values, values shape behaviors, and behavior is the explicit language of culture”. That is why culture and race and class are so intrinsic to everything that we do to improve food and physical activity environments for low-income communities around the country. It is also why we are excited to be launching the regional CANFIT Professional Cohort(s).

Our vision is the PC will become a regular opportunity to discuss (in a supportive environment) the day-to-day issues that come up in your work to improve healthy eating and physical activity in low-income communities of color. The small (15 people) regional cohorts will provide a chance to get together (virtually) with other practitioners dealing with the realities of race, class, and culture as they work with low-income youth and communities of color to implement personal and community change in increasing healthy food and activity. If you are interested in being a part of this new professional development endeavor, please apply by March 17th.

#CANFIT20 celebrates CANFIT’s 20-year anniversary with a monthly blog around the 20th day of each month beginning in August 2013 and other blogs, tweets, and social media posts on history tid-bits on CANFIT’s journey to helping low-income communities strive for healthy eating and physical activity environments. Worked with CANFIT before? Share your stories and thoughts in our 20th Anniversary Assessment today and have your chance at a monthly drawing for a CANFIT gift box valued at $200!

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By Arnell Hinkle

In honor of our 20th anniversary, here are 20 CANFIT funding opportunities. You can donate up to $20,000 and/or 20 hrs of your time to support CANFIT’s programs and priorities, including:

1. Academic Scholarship Program – to support low-income youth of color to study nutrition, culinary arts, or physical activity

2. Internship Program – provide stipends to students working in our office - Fall/Winter/Summer

3. Fellows Program – to assist us with Research/Evaluation Projects

4. Material Development - Toxins in Foods Curriculum

5. Farm to Afterschool Project

6. Material Development - revise and update our Afterschool Snack and Meal Guide

7. Material Development - update/Re-print Recipes for Success

8. Afterschool Meal Vendor Pilot

9. Web-portal development - to increase our capacity to do “Virtual Trainings”

10. Facebook/Twitter Contest(s) for Youth

11. Strategic Planning – to cover cost of Board/Community Retreats

12. Business Plan development

13. Evaluation System

14. Technology Upgrade - Digitizer, Software, Phones, iPads

15. Material Development - 20th Anniversary Digital Story

16. Community Lecture series

17. Material Development - CANFIT Primer

18. Web Tool Development - Nutrition Tool/ Physical Activity Tool

19. Youth Career Pipeline Project

20. Archive/Digitize CANFIT Past Materials/Data

Celebrate our 20th Anniversary with us and please consider donating now to help us keep doing the work that we love!

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By Arnell Hinkle

Happy Lunar New Year! For many Asian cultures, January 31, 2014 begins the Year of the Wood Horse. The Wood Horse year is a time of fast victories, unexpected adventure, and surprising relationships. Energy is high and production is rewarded. Decisive action, not procrastination, brings victory. In honor of the Year of the Wood Horse, CANFIT has the following organizational priorities for 2014:

Policy Issues

- Farm to Afterschool – produce a policy brief that outlines how after school programs can work with farmers and farm-to-school programs to provide fresh local produce in their snack and meal programs.
- Youth Career Pipeline – produce a policy brief that outlines strategies to increase post-high school leadership opportunities for low- income youth in food and built environment jobs and careers.
- Racial Equity – examine mechanisms to dismantle racial and structural inequities that limit access and opportunities for low income adolescents and communities of color in the food system and built environment.

Training and Technical Assistance

- Afterschool Meal Quality – provide tools, webinars, and resources so that after school programs serve high quality meals that are tasty, healthy, reflect the culture of students, and qualify for federal reimbursement.
- Youth Engagement – support the WK Kellogg Food and Community Initiative by providing technical assistance to youth coordinators in the six national Food and Fitness sites (Oakland, Holyoke, Boston, NE Iowa, Detroit, and Seattle).
- Project for Healthier Afterschool Environments (PHASE) – with support from The California Endowment, work with regional leads from the California Department of Education to provide trainings, tools, and webinars that assist afterschool providers in implementing the federal Afterschool Meal Program, and the California Afterschool Physical Activity Guidelines.
- Professional Development Cohort – create regional cohorts in California of 10-15 health professionals working in low income communities of color on the intersection of healthy eating, racial equity, physical activity, and advocacy.
- Consulting Services – working with local partners and a network of consultants, CANFIT provides strategic consultation and staff training in developing culturally appropriate policies and practices in food and fitness programs that support youth engagement, and afterschool nutrition and physical activity.

Thought Leadership

- Participate on state and national advisory groups, including:
- California Afterschool Network – Nutrition and Physical Activity Committee (co-chair)
- NIOST - Healthy Out-of-School Time (HOST) Coalition (Advocacy/Policy and Implementation work groups)
- Promising Practices to Promote Tobacco-free Healthy Living in Low Socioeconomic Status Communities – Conference planning and Expert Panel
- Kaiser Thriving Schools – Advisory Group

Material Development

- Publish the revised CANFIT Afterschool Snack and Meal Guide
- Write a CANFIT Primer based upon best practices and learnings from implementing healthy eating and physical activity programs for adolescents in low-income communities of color across the country.
- Digitize and post on http://www.canfit.org educational and other resource materials developed over CANFIT’s 20 year history.

Please donate today to help us turn these priorities into reality.

#CANFIT20 celebrates CANFIT’s 20-year anniversary with a monthly blog on the 20th day of each month beginning in August 2013 and other blogs, tweets, and social media posts on history tid-bits on CANFIT’s journey to helping low-income communities strive for healthy eating and physical activity environments. Worked with CANFIT before? Share your stories and thoughts in our 20th Anniversary Assessment today and have your chance at a monthly drawing for a CANFIT gift box valued at $200!

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By Arnell Hinkle

Thanks to your generous support, CANFIT has been able to accomplish the following in 2013:

Policy

After School/Out-of-School:
- Co-chair Nutrition/Physical Activity Committee of California After School Network (championing after school meal quality)
- Member of System of Support - Strategic Implementation Team of California Department of Education’s After School Division
- Working with National Farm to School Network to develop strategy and policy for supporting Farm to Afterschool (F2AS)
- Member of NIOST’s Healthy Out-of-School Time (HOST) Coalition (Advocacy and Implementation Work Teams)

Invited to present policy recommendations on the role of after school and out-of-school-time programs in “Creating Equal Opportunities for a Healthy Weight” at the Institute of Medicine in Washington, DC

Convenor of Youth Career Pipeline Work Group for the California Convergence’s Pine St Mtg Group

Member of:
- Leadership Team of California Community Transformation Grant Project (CA4 Health)
- Kaiser Thriving Schools Advisory Group
- Summer Meals Coalition

Participant in CA Black Women’s Health Policy Summit

Training/Technical Assistance

San Francisco State University, Community Based Participatory Research Institute Planning Committee

Trained 145 teens (Sacramento, Grass Valley, Nevada County) on sugar-sweetened beverages and advocacy through Health Education Council’s (HEC) You’re Change Project [resulted in 1500 peer-to-peer contacts and 35% reduction in SSB consumption for trained youth]

Implementing Project for Healthier After School Environments (PHASE) in Calfornia Counties Office of Education Region 6 (Stanislaus) and Region 10 (San Bernardino) – developing training/webinar and coaching series for regional leads and afterschool program staff

Presented at the 7th Biennial Childhood Obesity Conference in Long Beach:
- Pre-conference workshop on Youth Engagement (N=35)
- Panel on After School Partnerships (OUSD Physical Activity Learning Community) N = 250

Trained community residents of multi-unit housing (N = 25) in Sacramento on sugar-sweetened beverages and advocacy through HEC’s You’re Change Project

Served as Lead on Youth Engagement Technical Assistance for WK Kellogg Food and Fitness Initiative:
- Conducted 3 workshops at WKKF national meetings
- Convened Youth Coordinators at 6 Food and Fitness sites (Seattle, Oakland, Boston, Iowa, Holyoke, Detroit)
- Active in Racial Equity Work and Study Group

Publications

Published Best Practices for Training Youth in E-Advocacy Manual

Created a Scorecard for monitoring Equity in Youth and Community Engagement

In process of revising and updating CANFIT’s popular After school meal and snack guide

Other

Our web site at http://www.canfit.org continues to be a go-to resource (appearing at the top of the page for most Google searches on adolescent nutrition and/or physical activity). CANFIT has 892 followers on Twitter (an additional 150 since last year), an active Facebook Page (665 Likes), and an informative You Tube Channel.

As part of 20th Anniversary celebrations launched:
- Monthly blog
- Needs assessment survey of the field (62 responses thus far)

Awarded 3 CANFIT Academic Scholarships ($2000)

Please Donate Now to help us keep doing the work that we love!

#CANFIT20 celebrates CANFIT’s 20-year anniversary with a monthly blog on the 20th day of each month beginning in August 2013 and other blogs, tweets, and social media posts on history tid-bits on CANFIT’s journey to helping low-income communities strive for healthy eating and physical activity environments. Worked with CANFIT before? Share your stories and thoughts in our 20th Anniversary Assessment today and have your chance at a monthly drawing for a CANFIT goodie-bag valued at $200!

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By Arnell Hinkle

A national non-profit organization with a 20 year track record doesn’t happen without the clear thinking and energy of a lot of people. Board, staff, interns, consultants, advisers, grant and scholarship reviewers all contribute to our organization. Looking back on those first years, we have a lot to be thankful for. CANFIT wouldn’t be here without the work in 1977 of Public Advocates law firm (and particularly Lois Salisbury) who filed the initial class action lawsuit (on behalf of the Committee on Children’s Television) against a children’s breakfast cereal manufacturer for alleged misleading advertisements that inferred their cereals were healthy when, in fact, they were more than 50% sugar (sound familiar?). That lawsuit percolated through the justice system for 16 years until a settlement was finally reached in 1993. The original CANFIT Administrative Board, comprised of Lucy Adams, Cherrie Boyer, Carmela Castellano), Nicolette Collins, Gail Frank, Felicia Hodge, Karen Kamachi, Virginia Jang, Helen Magnuson, Michael Mudd, Jack Nevins, Patricia Lozada-Santone, John Payne, Lois Salisbury, Sarah Samuels, and led by Lewis King set the tone and principles that still guide us today – our focus on low income adolescents and communities of color, and culturally –relevant ways to improve their eating and physical activity environment.

After the settlement ended, CANFIT was supported by the philanthropic community to continue the work of our mission. The California Endowment invested in our grant making program, and allowed us to continue funding small, grassroots groups and new emerging leaders with passion (e.g., Sports for Kids – now Playworks, Toni Yancey). The California Wellness Foundation supported the development of our training and technical assistance program, enabling CANFIT to create training protocols and materials for teaching youth providers about healthy eating and fitness. The cutting-edge work of CANFIT’s first ten years were honored and celebrated when the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation bestowed us with a 2003 Community Health Leaders Award.

During our first ten years we worked with over 50 community based groups in California, awarded over 90 academic scholarships, trained hundreds of youth providers, and impacted the lives of thousands of low-income, adolescents of color. Yes, a lot to be thankful for. To be continued…

#CANFIT20 celebrates CANFIT’s 20-year anniversary with a monthly blog on the 20th day of each month beginning in August 2013 and other blogs, tweets, and social media posts on history tid-bits on CANFIT’s journey to helping low-income communities strive for healthy eating and physical activity environments. Worked with CANFIT before? Share your stories and thoughts in our 20th Anniversary Assessment today.

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By CANFIT

The San Francisco Chronicle recently published a series of articles on specialization in youth sports. The columnists did an excellent job highlighting the risks that youth face when they spend their free time practicing and playing only one sport. Overuse injuries start at an early age, and the expense involved in sport-specific travel clubs and coaching keeps most youth from low-income communities from participating.

However sports are not the only, nor necessarily the best, form of physical activity for youth. Instead, young people should be exposed to a variety of physical activities that allow them to build skills that they will use throughout their lives to swim, dance, stretch, play games, walk, jog (with proper alignment), and do tai chi and/or yoga.

After school and community-based programs are in a unique position to foster these life-long physical activity skills in youth they serve. For more information on how you and the youth serving programs in your community can incorporate more physical activity into the lives of young people, see the following from CANFIT: Active8 guide; Physical Activity Pyramid; After School Physical Activity Policy Brief; and Expanding After School Physical Activity Opportunities.

#CANFIT20 celebrates CANFIT’s 20-year anniversary with a monthly blog on the 20th day of each month beginning in August 2013 and other blogs, tweets, and social media posts on history tid-bits on CANFIT’s journey to helping low-income communities strive for healthy eating and physical activity environments. Worked with CANFIT before? Share your stories and thoughts in our 20th Anniversary Assessment today.

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By Arnell Hinkle

The Harvest Moon rose a few days ago. Late summer’s bounty is evident wherever you go - fall fruits are starting to appear, melons, squashes, cucumbers, dark leafy greens and carrots are all experiencing a last spurt of growth. Because of the abundant supply, prices for many fruits and vegetables are at their lowest.

Yet, when I recently reviewed some menus for after school meal programs, I was struck by the monotony - the same fruits at every meal, the vegetables were always carrots and celery, and the entrees ranged from sandwiches (on white bread) to corn dogs to pizzas. We are missing the opportunity to expose youth to a variety of fresh fruits, vegetables and meal options that are as colorful and diverse as nature’s bounty.

CANFIT has recently partnered with the National Farm to School (F2S) Network to increase opportunities for F2S programs to expand into after school and other out-of-school time (OST) programs. Over the next few months we will be exploring the challenges and barriers to getting local, fresh fruits and vegetables into OST programs. Be on the lookout for a briefing memo that highlights best practices in Farm to Afterschool (F2AS) and offers policy solutions that will facilitate the process for OST programs, growers, and youth to work together to eat fresher and healthier food.

With the Fall harvest coinciding with the back-to-school period, it’s a perfect time to provide a rainbow of fresh, local fruits and vegetables in after school snacks and meals.

#CANFIT20 celebrates CANFIT’s 20-year anniversary with a monthly blog on the 20th day of each month beginning in August 2013 and other blogs, tweets, and social media posts on history tid-bits on CANFIT’s journey to helping low-income communities strive for healthy eating and physical activity environments. Worked with CANFIT before? Share your stories and thoughts in our 20th Anniversary Assessment today.

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By Arnell Hinkle

You know that young people know more about the web and social media than most adults. However most of their online energy is spent communicating with friends about popular culture and the minutia of daily life. So what happens when you focus youth’s online expertise on a community cause or campaign that affects their lives? Check out CANFIT’s new “Youth E-Advocacy: Social Media Leading Community Change” and find out.

Made possible with a grant from The California Endowment, this facilitator’s guide and best practices report summarizes a 2012 project that built on CANFIT’s past 20 years of experience in using innovative social media strategies and popular culture to mobilize low income youth of color around neighborhood and school environmental policy issues.

Learning from past ethnic-specific and youth campaigns from Adelante to P.H.A.T. to Project REAL to MO Project, Youth E-Advocacy shares strategies on how to engage youth in a train-the-trainers series to strengthen leadership skills, work with other youth on a social media campaign to align with existing policy work, and create a peer-to-peer network to share online and offline strategies.

If you are looking for an effective tool to apply to your youth work, ideas for using social media to engage communities, or “turn-key” lessons to use at your next training, “Youth E-Advocacy: Social Media Leading Community Change” is a good place to start.

Click here to download the manual.

To see the video playlist of our E-advocacy trainings in action, visit http://www.YouTube.com/user/CANFITvideo

#CANFIT20 celebrates CANFIT’s 20-year anniversary with a monthly blog on the 20th day of each month beginning in August 2013 and other blogs, tweets, and social media posts on history tid-bits on CANFIT’s journey to helping low-income communities strive for healthy eating and physical activity environments. Worked with CANFIT before? Share your stories and thoughts in our 20th Anniversary Assessment today.

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By CANFIT

Confused about all the news about healthy food, obesity prevention, and exercise? Yet, convinced that you need to do something for the youth you work with or the community that you live in? But what can you do with few resources, limited staff, and little money? And how do you make whatever you do relate to the youth you work with (or the people who live in your community)? Contact CANFIT. We can help you develop a program, project or strategy that will meet your needs and improve the health of your youth, organization, staff, and even yourself. We will help you figure out how to access and identify healthy and affordable food and safe spaces and techniques to be physically active. We base our work on what we have learned from working for over 20 years in a variety of low-income, ethnic communities around the country. We also share what we do and learn with policy makers around the country, so that they can understand what it really takes to improve the health of young people and communities through healthy eating and physical activity.

CANFIT bridges the gap between policy and effective practice. Working with low income, ethnic communities across the country (and internationally), CANFIT works with community based organizations to develop healthy eating and physical activity programs that work within the context of race, class, and culture [or in marginalized and under-resources communities]. CANFIT projects and strategies change not only individual behavior, but also the food and physical environment so that the healthy thing becomes the easy thing to do. CANFIT educates youth and providers, illuminates esoteric policies that keep healthy food and safe places out of low income communities, and strategizes effective solutions that take youth culture, race, and class into account.

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By CANFIT

Thinking back on the last 20 years has been an exciting and sobering experience. There are so many memories and learnings and images that float before me. We (CANFIT Board, staff and consultants) have been thinking about how best to commemorate this notable achievement in the life of a non-profit, and have decided to use the coming year to highlight our past achievements, engage with the communities that we serve to determine future strategies, and document what we have learned over the past 20 years. Be on the lookout for monthly blog postings (on the 20th of each month) that do just that.

Over the next year, we will also be releasing new materials, hosting webinars, and inviting you to a series of House Parties that will be held around the country – a chance for our friends and partners to get together, have fun, and meet with leaders in the fields of nutrition, public health, food systems, physical activity, youth engagement, and social change….all the areas that CANFIT has been working in for 20 years. We look forward to you joining us as we celebrate!

COMMENTS

1 reader comment on On the Cusp of Adulthood…CANFIT Turns 20!.

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Arnell,

I can’t believe its been 20 years.  Congratulations!

Jim

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Posted by James Muldavin on July 29 at 11:04 AM

By CANFIT

“This video summarizes what E-advocacy is by breaking down the four Processes for Sustainable Online Impact and also teaches you how to utilize E-advocacy for your campaign.

Video produced by Jennifer Dueñas from the Richmond Youth Organizing Hub.

Process supported by

RYSE Youth Center:
http://www.rysecenter.org/

CANFIT:
http://www.canfit.org/

Aspiration:
http://aspirationtech.org/”

Props to Ryse Center’s Richmond Hub for a fresh video on E-advocacy and online organizing!

Thanks to Aspiration and The California Endowment for helping with these trainings last year to grow youth leaders for a healthier Richmond.

Check out their channel ”Youth Organizing Hub” for more and for more information about our Youth E-Advocacy project: http://canfit.org/our_work/programs/eadvocates/.

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By CANFIT

After School/Out-of-School:
- Co-chair of the Nutrition/Physical Activity Committee of California After School Network
- Strategized policy solution to After School meal vs snack compliance issue (see link for more info - http://www.afterschoolnetwork.org/after-school-meal-program)
- Invited to be a participant in the Summer Learning Summit
- Invited to be panelist/expert at CS Mott Foundation National Network of Statewide Afterschool Networks Conference
Member of Leadership Team of California Community Transformation Grant Project (CACTI)
Participation on Evaluation Advisory Committee of Kaiser Permanente’s National Community Health Initiative (CHI) Initiative
“Thought Leader” for Active Living Research (ALR) Dissemination Strategy for Robert Wood Johnson

Created/facilitated Oakland Unified School District Physical Activity Learning Community [Bechtel]
Presented “Sustainable Agriculture/Food Systems” Youth Track at Minorities in Agriculture, Nutrition and Related Sciences (MANRS) National Conference in Atlanta
Presentations at:
- Rooted in Community National Youth Conference in Ames, Iowa
- UC Berkeley Public Health Nutrition Class
- CDPH Public Health Grand Rounds
- SFSU – Community Based Participatory Research Institute
MO E-Advocates Youth Trainings in Richmond (x4) and Coachella (x3) [TCE]
- Youth trained to present at 3 statewide meetings (i.e., Youth Advocacy Network for Sustainable Communities, Network for Health California Youth Forum in Stockton and Long Beach)
- “12 Days of CANFIT”– Social Media Youth Contest
Youth Engagement Technical Assistance Lead for WK Kellogg Food and Fitness Initiative:
Conducted 4 workshops at WKKF national meetings
Site visit and training with New York and Oakland grantees
Created/facilitated Advanced Leadership Institute for Youth Engagement in Food and Fitness (ALIYEFF) – a 3.5 day retreat for 35 young people and allies (Thompson Island, Boston)

Active8 Physical Activity Tool Kit
CANFIT/Youth Leadership Institute Marketing Fast Food to Youth Curriculum
Best Practices for Training Youth in E-Advocacy Manual (in progress)
Scorecard for monitoring Equity in Youth Engagement (in progress)

Youth Leadership Institute
Healthy Rancho Cucamonga - training
I-SEEED - curriculum development, piloting, outreach, and facilitation at Youth Participatory Action Research Forums
National Y of USA – Community Transformation Grant Faculty [CDC] – consultation/training
Ala Costa Center – Recipes for Success Workshop

Accounting (Loren)
Office Organizing/Admin (Joan Smalley)
Training/On-line Engagement (Hai Vo)
Videography (Samual Gonzalez)
Marketing/Case Statement Development (New Sector Intern – Janine Camara)

CANFIT looks forward to continuing to build healthy food and fitness environments with low-income communities of color as we celebrate 20 years of growth this July!

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By CANFIT

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By CANFIT

No comments on CANFIT leads National Youth Gathering in Boston!.

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By CANFIT

No comments on Richmond youth leading CANFIT’s MO Youth e-Advocates Project!.

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By CANFIT

Are you an African-American, American Indian, Alaska Native, Asian American, Pacific Islander or Latino/Hispanic undergraduate or graduate student in California studying nutrition, physical education/activity related, public health or culinary arts?

If so, apply for our scholarship program before March 31, 2012!

By providing undergraduate and graduate scholarships, CANFIT hopes to encourage more students of color to consider careers that will improve adolescent nutrition and fitness.

For more info check out Our Scholarship Page.

Read CANFIT’s Scholarship FAQ.

Sign up today!

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By Arnell Hinkle

Three kids, one job and no idea of how to keep them occupied for the summer? Last year there was a summer program at the church down the street, but times are hard, even for the church, so this year that isn’t an option. There used to be a program at the local park that served free lunches, but the park staff were cut this year, so there’s no one to serve meals, even if they are free. It’s pretty bleak this year for so many families. That’s why its even more important to make sure that the federal Summer Food Program is operating in the communities of greatest need across the country. There’s a saying that there’s no such thing as a free lunch, but if you work with your local school district and/or call your local legislator there just might be a free lunch for the young people in your community.

See our Call to Action e-Alert and Click on TAKE ACTION NOW to find out how you can get involved.

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By Arnell Hinkle

Excerpt from the 2010 Fullbright New Zealand Annual Report
http://www.fulbright.org.nz/news/docs/fnz-annualreport-2010.pdf

My 2010 Ian Axford Fellowship in Public Policy was the perfect blend of professional and personal growth and renewal. I spent my time in Aotearoa examining how national healthy lifestyle programs were being implemented in Pacific and Māori communities. This focus allowed me to work closely with both public sector officials and community providers. It also enabled me to spend time in many amazing communities. The Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs was the perfect host agency – opening doors, explaining context, and providing an official base of operations. I also took Māori language classes, and found the experience invaluable for gaining an insight into Māori culture. I was invited to present my findings and observations to district health boards, ethnic professional organizations, and community groups. This cross-fertilization of ideas continues as a Māori health provider recently visited my organization in the United States, and as I prepare to present my findings to a variety of public health audiences and to officials from the Obama administration’s Let’s Move campaign to combat childhood obesity. Most importantly, I have returned from my fellowship re-energized about the importance of the role of culture in implementing community health programs, and with new cross-cultural tools and experiences for being effective in my work.

Arnell Hinkle was an Ian Axford (New Zealand) Fellow in Public Policy promoting healthy lifestyles in Māori and Pacific communities in New Zealand, at the Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs in 2010.

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By CANFIT

Our country is making strides to having healthier food options more readily available to our youth especially for those in low income communities of color. Check out this simple and easy-to-understand writeup of the recently passed Child Nutrition Reauthorization bill.

After school programs, read this memo from the USDA allowing for the expansion of at-risk after school meals in the Child and Adult Care Food Program..

At CANFIT, we support this big step, but also know that it will take a lot more than the passing of this bill. What about the fast and junk food companies that continually market to our youth and lie in all of our neighborhoods? And the dozens of other issues affecting the health of our youth (lack of access, lack of physical activity opportunities due to built environment challenges, safety and violence, etc).

TO ALL ADULTS WORKING WITH YOUTH: WE NEED YOUR HELP to ensure that our youth are getting the best nourishment and physical activity opportunities available to them.

One Way to Start: Kick off the new year by implementing our CANFIT Healthy Snack Guide this year: We make HEALTHIER… “EASIER” and the guide is loaded with cultural food recipe ideas, what snacks to serve, what snacks not to serve, meal plans, etc.

CANFIT is ready to tackle 2011 with all of you! If wish to support us, join our network or donate today!

Let’s keep it real and do this together!
-CANFIT Team

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By Ruth Manzano

Como miembro de nuestras comunidades es muy importante ser parte de los cambios para mejorar el ambiente de nuestra familia en las aéreas de nutrición, actividad física, cambios ambientales. Muchas personas quieren abogar, pero no saben dónde empezar, lo más importante es lo siguiente. Aprender que es abogar, como empezar y recordarse de puntos clave para este proceso.

- Abogacía es simplemente una manera de expresar su punto de vista o punto de interés. - Abogacía es un método de comunicación para hablar de algo que usted quiere cambiar. Y lo comunica a una persona de poder que puede empezar o hacer los cambios de una ley o póliza.

Pasos Para Empezar:

- Escriba su tema de interés y soluciones. - Haga investigación como afecta su tema de interés a su comunidad (ejemplos: muchos rótulos de comida rápida en su comunidad, no hay lugares para que los niños jueguen y mucho mas.) - Identifiqué a otras personas con los mismos intereses. - Haga una reunión invitando a otros miembros de la comunidad y agencias que los pueden ayudar y que tienen los mismos intereses a su causa. - Desarrollen un plan de acción.

Pasos muy Importantes en el Proceso de Abogacía:

- Sepa su tema. - Aprenda sus derechos para hablar con sus representantes( Ejemplos: usted puede hacer una cita o escribir una carta a su representantes políticos y mucho mas.) - Esté dispuesto a investigar el tema en más detalle “haga su tarea.” - Cuando abogue use historias personales o cosas relevantes que están pasando en su comunidad. - Recuerde la razón porque esta abogando. - Educarse acercas de la importancia de una buena Nutrición y Actividad Física para hacer cambios en el hogar y la comunidad. - Abogando unidos pueden hacer cambios de leyes/normas/pólizas en programas locales y también estatales - Unidad y conocimiento hace la fuerza.

Learn more at CANFIT En Espanol: http://canfit.org/our_work/espanol/

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By Arnell Hinkle

“Bodegas, tiendas, street vendors, produce stands, and guys on the road selling fruit are common in many communities of color. Across the street from the hotel I was staying in was a corner store that primarily sold liquor. However, upon closer inspection there was a cooler full of fresh beansprouts, bok choy, eggs, and even fruit. The locals in this Chinatown neighborhood don’t have a grocery store nearby, but they can buy a limited selection of fresh vegetables at the corner store or get prepared vegetables at any of the local Asian restaurants. I counted 12 such restaurants in a two block area - Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese, and even Burmese. It seemed to me that the real danger to community food availability in this area of Washington, DC was the redevelopment and gentrification that was going on…lofts, condos, and chain restaurants driving out the locals, and driving up the real estate prices (even in this down economy). It made me wonder what redevelopment without gentrification would look like. It also made me wonder if studying the concept of “Food Deserts” will lead to more food availability in neighborhoods, or to more middle class people making their careers on this hot, new academic topic?”
From: Community Food Coach @ http://www.communityfoodcoach.com

Do you live in a “Food Desert”? If so, share your story. If not, tell me about the healthy, affordable food in your neighborhood. Share your thoughts. I look forward to hearing from you.

More On Food Deserts

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By CANFIT

I recently visited Chicago this past month (a.k.a. the Windy City, although it wasn’t as windy). The city should really be called “the Beautifully Constructed City” with its array of historic buildings, parks, open space and efficient transportation systems. It intrigued me enough that I decided to do the tourist thing; So I waited in line at the Sears Tower (known as Willis Tower now- horrible, isn’t it?), checked out some Frank Lloyd Wright buildings and then stumbled upon the Museum of Science and Industry.

For those who have never been, the museum is filled with an array of educational exhibits for youth and adults presented in a fun and imaginative way. (For you Bay Area folks, picture the Academy of Sciences and the Exploratorium mixed into one). There was a great display about the effects of climate change, the impact of carbon footprints, the Greenest Home and they even had Harry Potter on IMAX!

Then at around 2pm CST, I came across the farm exhibit. In my mind, I’m thinking a big display about sustainable farming talking about the Farm Bill, clips of the movies Food, Inc.and FRESH playing on a screen, Michael Pollan stuff somewhere and maybe even a Michelle Obama white house garden photo! But instead, I run into this…An Exhibit on Corn Processing.

The display reads, “Corn is everywhere. After corn is harvested on the farm, it travels to the processing plant. Here it goes through many steps and ends up in products that you use every day.” To top it off, I heard a dad say, “Son, this is how they make all your favorite foods like french fries, chips and soda!” YIKES!

So for the foodies, farmers, food justice advocates, policy wonks, public health peeps or simply those recognizing that our food system is broke and needs fixing, the exhibit obviously left out some key components. Nowhere to be found were displays about the farming techniques that led to the extinction of farmers, especially generations of ethnic and native farmers. Nor did it explain the correlation between excess corn production and the cheap, low quality, high sugar foods that are pumped into our market and most notably, to our youth. This exhibit could arguably be called, “Look How We Expand the Nation’s Waistline!” With a quote from Sponge Bob saying, “Hey Kids, See how unhealthy food and drinks are made before being dressed up to taste good, marketed directly towards you and then sent straight to your school lunch and liquor store priced so cheap, you can buy 2!” I shouldn’t be giving anyone any ideas.

Seeing the exhibit was a GLARING reminder that for most of the public (especially youth), unhealthy food is still a part of everyday life. Arun Gupta said it best, “Americans are in the thrall of the food industry. More than half the population eats fast food at least once a week; 92 percent eat fast food every month.” 92 percent!

To reaffirm this, just mention to youth - energy drinks, soda, fast food, flaming hot (orangey you know what’s) and all their slogans, and they will know exactly what you are talking about. They might even ask if you have some! Unfortunately, that’s the reality that many of us have yet to grasp and need to get.

Whether you are someone working in the movement “to support youth so that they WILL outlive their folks” or just a concerned parent, we all need to understand the reality of what youth are facing and learn more about what we are up against… Most importantly, we need to find thoughtful ways to have more youth involved. I feel like we cannot progress until we really “get” youth (in terms of awareness and numbers!) Before saying things like local, sustainable, organic, fair trade, etc (yes, they’re all important), we need to start with simple messages that all youth can identify with. For example - processed, packaged foods (fast food, junk food, soda, energy drinks) harm the body while fruits, veggies, grains, water help the body. It’s not perfect, but that’s a message that we can all support and unite our efforts around.

And we would learn a lot more if there were more forums where youth could discuss the issues, argue/counter argue and formulate their own thoughts, stories and messages that could be expressed through various communication methods (twitter, facebook, texting, spoken word, video, etc.) From these discussions, youth would probably come up with better solutions and mobilization strategies than adults create for them. Check out what youth did in MO Project.

So let’s get real and make this their movement, not ours… which starts by understanding where youth truly are at. Then maybe the next time I’m in the Windy City, I could see a “keeping it real” corn exhibit or a display highlighting all the great work youth are doing across the country to improve the health of their communities. Let’s work with them to find REAL ways to connect it all together.

-Lloyd

Lloyd Nadal is the Program Director at CANFIT. He has worked with low income communities and communities of color across the nation to improve physical activity and nutrition environments for youth.

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COMMENTS

1 reader comment on Not to be Corny,  but Keep It Real with Youth!.

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Well said.. when I first read “Corn exhibit” I thought what a perfect op to show King Corn, for starters at least.

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Posted by Imane on October 15 at 3:21 PM

By Misty Avila

Why is it so hard to change the way we eat at home? … maybe because, after all, it’s not just about the food! My morning begins with the familiar smell of my Grandfather’s cologne as he walks past my room before the sun rises. Soon after, the sizzling sound of eggs, potatoes, tortillas, bell peppers, and carne wake me before my eyes shut again. A slight knock on the door and I know I must get up before the food gets cold; His urgency makes me believe that I might actually care if my food is cold. Waiting on the table is my delicious homemade breakfast with “ingredientes frescos” – as my Grandpa says. I cannot help but notice that I may have enough food to feed a family of four, along with my salt and fat intake for the whole day (“The best compliment to a cook is to clear your plate”). My thoughts of “less fat” recommendations get blurred as I enjoy an enchilada omelet with all the fixings. Food is an intricate part of the way my family expresses shelter, love, and care. I accept and want, with gratitude, the unspoken affection received from these meals. How is it possible that I am dreading the stomach ache that may follow?

After examining my morning meal, I concluded two things. First, my family meals nourish my soul. Second, my family meals definitely tend to increase my waistline. Is it possible that deep rooted cultural traditions can continue to nourish the soul without harming the body? My community is a place where low quality, cheap food is bombarding store fronts and shelves of local carnicerias to the big-box grocery outlets. “Eat more for less” messages and products promising cultural pride are integrated into everyday food purchasing choices and incorporated into our homemade recipes. If we as a community can cultivate awareness, then we can preserve our food traditions and our health, without compromising either.

You don’t have to be a food expert to make a difference in the health of your family or community. After all, if homemade food is really a metaphor for care and love, then you can bring something to the table too!

Create Healthy Traditions in your Family

Get involved in the cooking process and share a new recipe.

Eat your vegetables for breakfast!

Nopales con Huevos El Nopal es un alimento mexicano muy sabroso y sano. 1/2 Kilo de Nopales Picados, cocidos y estilados 2 Jitomates medianos picados 1 Cebolla chica picada 2 Chiles Verdes picados 4 Huevos Aceite

En una cacerola se pone aceite a calentar y enseguida se le agrega el jitomate, cebolla y el chile verde a que se sofrian, después se agregan los nopales estilados y por último se le agregan los huevos y la sal, se mueve constantemente para que no se peguen. From platillosmexicanos For snack ideas, download the CANFIT Healthy Snack Guide Get more Healthy Youth Recipes by kidshealth.org

Purchase fruit and vegetables at a Farmers Market

Create a family tradition to buy fruits and vegetables at a local farmers market. You can even bring your new recipe and find the ingredients!
Find a Certified Farmer’s Market in California
Great Resource on over 100 Farmer’s Markets in the Bay Area

Become aware of the food marketing in your community.

Is there fast food on every corner in your neighborhood? Do you notice that high fat and high sugar products are cheaper? Train yourself on the marketing tactics.
Download CANFIT’s Are You Getting Played? to sound like a pro.

Make an active conversation about health with your family.

Ask your parents, grandparents, teachers, peers, or guardians their opinion on health. Figure out their views and share some of your knowledge (in teaspoons). Get the skills you need to talk about food and fitness by downloading CANFIT’s MO Project Food and Physical Activity Handout

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COMMENTS

3 reader comments on Preserving Our Food Traditions and Our Health.

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Thanks Ms. Kathy Collins-really appreciate the comment. Good luck with your book.

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Posted by Misty Avila on September 15 at 5:26 PM

I am writting a book about a Native American teen with ADD. She enters a program that uses alternatives to drugs to treat her. Diet and excercise are a big part. She will be living with a Native American family. The idea of preserving traditions while including healthy eating is wonderful. keep up the good works!!

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Posted by Kathy Collins on September 8 at 9:27 AM

thanks- was looking for markets in el cerrito

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Posted by Lucke Skondin on August 11 at 12:32 PM

By Ruth Manzano

Emilia, a community member from San Diego, gets involved in Advocacy!

Community involvement is just a part of life for Emilia from San Diego California. It is also just a part of her daily chores and activities. She is involved in everything that is related to improving the environment and educational activities of her children and family. It was never like that when she immigrated to this country. She believed that community involvement was out of her reach due to language barriers and cultural issues. Unable to understand the community and educational structure of a new country, she did not know she could get involved. When she was asked to advocate for health issues, Emilia did not even know what advocacy was and believed it was for professionals only. This is a common response that we at CANFIT hear over and over during our advocacy /nutritional 101 trainings. Emilia has now stated that she understands how advocacy can impact change in local communities. She is presently involved because she knows she can make a difference in her community. Emilia stated “We are voices for change”.

Community members take great pride when they see improvements in their communities, but are not familiar using the word advocacy and many times are unable to relate to their community work despite doing the work. During CANFIT trainings, we simplify our teaching methods to insure that we are culturally and community appropriate by using interactive activities, role playing, and visuals to connect advocacy and nutrition/physical activity as a unit. Providing community appropriate Advocacy trainings is vital to improve community after school environments and local sustainability of community changes.Trained participants have mentioned that community ownership and change needs to start with community residents, not with community outsiders. Residents just need basic skills and the tools to go forward. CANFIT Advocacy 101 is modified and revised for each community as needed. We realize that we cannot use a cookie cutter model for each community, as each is unique and has different needs. Revising our training has benefited many in different levels of involvement and participation. Learn more about CANFIT Trainings and Workshops

CANFIT Training with Ruth Manzano

Community involvement in Advocacy and health basically means that communities take responsibility for their own health through:
• Individual empowerment by participating in educational trainings.
• Building capacity to empower communities to take social responsibilities.
• Willing to adopt and change behaviors to prevent health problems.
• Identify, participate, and improve community environments.
• Effective participation in community change activities.
• Taking the lead in local activities.
• Contributing to the design, implementation, and monitoring of community activities.

When community members accept to participate in trainings, this is a great indicator that they are willing to be part of the change. The following are examples of how previously trained participants have been able to use these training skills in the following activities:

• City council meetings
• Enact
• Making phone calls to city officials
• Community presentations

Just remember that trainings need to be provided with community appropriate tools and materials to support community involvement. Empowering by education can lead to change. Community residents are the key for community change!

How are local community residents making changes in your community? What would you like to see change

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COMMENTS

2 reader comments on Community Residents are the Key for Community Change.

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Are there advocacy materials for youth trainings?

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Posted by Artemio Saucedo on June 29 at 2:32 PM

Thankyou this helps - the members of my neighborhood in Broderick,West Sacramento are trying to get the voices of the community together to increase the support for a farmer’s market in our area-

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Posted by Brandy Avila on June 29 at 2:20 PM

By CANFIT

Since the early ‘80s, hip-hop music has served as a powerful voice and form of expression for youth. It has evolved into a culture with its own language, style of dress and mindset. It is so rich in history and deep-rooted in cultural upbringing that it has become a necessity when engaging youth, especially those from urban neighborhoods and in communities of color.

But hip-hop today is quite different than it once was. Hip-hop has reached such prominence that like all music, record companies control what is being played on the airwaves and the artistry has been tilted in favor of profitability. The three most commonly used themes in a song, “Babes, Bling, and Booze“ are blasted everywhere. There are also some artists endorsing fast food, sodas and candy bars – all products that have led to the epidemic proportion of obesity and diabetes among youth in this country today.

See a Sample of the PHAT Hip Hop Video used in Training!

Despite this cultural shift, hip-hop’s ability to speak to the needs and values of the youth remain strong.

According to hip-hop pioneer DJ Kool Herc, “The hip-hop generation can take a stand collectively and make a statement. There are a lot of people who are doing something positive, who are doing hip-hop the way it was meant to be done. They are reaching young people, showing them what the world could be - people living together and having fun.”

At CANFIT, we worked with youth and communities to develop P.H.A.T. (Promoting Healthy Activities Together) which embraces music, dance, emceeing and other elements of hip-hop culture to improve the nutrition and physical activity knowledge, attitudes, skills and behaviors of today’s youth. Youth providers can use the P.H.A.T. kit and resource guide to learn more about hip-hop culture and how it can be used to promote nutrition and physical activity to youth in school, after school or in their community. It can also provide some tools and information to initiate a conversation with youth: to remind them that hip-hop is more than songs about sex, drugs, money, violence, what you wear, or how much “bling” you have on.

P.H.A.T. speaks of the true positive nature of hip-hop through the promotion of a healthier and more active lifestyle for youth. P.H.A.T. gets kids moving and the P.H.A.T. DVD includes steps to a hip-hop dance routine that makes exercise fun and enjoyable. Similar to the way break dancing & double-dutch became popular in the 80’s, P.H.A.T. encourages this generation of young people to express their own ways of movement and activity that will help them become less sedentary. P.H.A.T. also provides a creative mechanism to increase awareness and knowledge of important nutrition and physical activity issues that can improve attitudes and behaviors amongst youth, youth providers, parents and community members.

Besides using P.H.A.T., how else can you use hip-hop to promote a healthier lifestyle to youth? Here are 3 easy steps:

Although it can be quite difficult to keep up with the latest hip-hop songs, styles and trends, learning about its roots can give good insight about a culture that is accepted by most young people and is constantly evolving. In fact, it may lead you to a greater appreciation for the culture and help counter any negative stereotypes that may have been present earlier. Here are just a few examples of some original hip-hop facts that can begin a discussion with youth:

Origin of the Name Hip-Hop
Afrika Bambaattaa first used the name “hip-hop” in the early 1980’s as the name of a culture. Before that, the word hip-hop was a phrase that MC’s said on the microphone. Bambaattaa is credited as being one of the first ever hip-hop artists. His song, “Planet Rock” is still very well recognized, and one of the first original hip-hop songs ever made.

Dance and Movement
During the Duke Ellington era of the 1920’s, Earl Tucker (aka “Snake Hips”) was a regular performer at the famous New York City nightclub, the Cotton Club. His style of dance was so similar to many young hip-hop dancers today that he was credited as being one of the first dance originators. His “waving” floats and backslides were cornerstones for the earliest forms of breakdancing, b-boying, and other hip-hop dances. Various Hip-Hop movements happened alot at block parties (mostly in the Bronx, NY) where competitions would break out in double-dutch (mostly among girls), emcee’ing, DJ’ing and breakdancing.

DJ’ing
In 1973, Clive “DJ Kool Herc” Campbell moved to the Bronx from Jamaica and started what is now known as DJ’ing. He also introduced “toasting” (DJ’s chanting over the music they are playing using simple phrases to get the crowd moving). DJ Kool Herc pioneered the break-beat movement by mixing short percussion breaks with 2 turntables. This allowed “b-boys” to rhyme while keeping the same beat going, similar to how rap competitions are organized today.

First Recorded Hip-Hop Group
The Sugar Hill Gang put out one of the first known recordings of a hip-hop group and was the first to go gold on the record charts. Their song “Rapper’s Delight” is still played today, making it and “Planet Rock” two of the most recognized original hip-hop songs of all time.

After learning about some of the origins of hip-hop and its vast influence among youth, it is critical to learn how it’s being used to target kids by the food and beverage industry. With the epidemic rise of childhood obesity and type-2 diabetes, youth providers must be aware of the role of marketing and how influential it is on the eating habits of today’s youth.

Hip-Hop Artists Endorsing Food and Beverage Companies
Today youth, especially those in urban neighborhoods are surrounded and bombarded by advertising and marketing of unhealthy food and beverage products. Youth are targeted from an early age, in a variety of settings and media, including the Internet. According to the Institute of Medicine (IOM), the food industry spends more than $11 billion annually to market products to kids. (That comes out to more than $1 million spent every hour of every day). Food and beverage
marketers use the “cradle-to-grave” approach to target young kids (who influence their parents) and turn them into lifelong consumers.

As hip-hop music has garnered worldwide attention and popularity, its artists have been used to endorse all kinds of products, many unhealthy to our youth. The hip-hop group, Black Eyed Peas starred in a series of online episodes for Snickers candy bar called Instant Def, appearing as a group of hip-hop superheroes. They also endorse Dr. Pepper. The hip-hop artist, Jay-Z endorses several products including Cherry Coke. He even helped design the “new” cherry coke can. There are now a growing number of hip-hop artists endorsing unhealthy foods and beverages in all media outlets. In fact, it is being heavily promoted and targeted directly to the low-income, urban communities of which many of the artist’s grew up. Since these marketing campaigns or endorsement deals can net a hip-hop artist or group a flat fee of $10 million or more, the trend is likely to continue.

It is worthy to note that many of the original hip-hop artists such as Dead Prez, refrain from endorsing such products and have continued to promote positive messages in their lyrics. Also, Nas is one of a few more recent artists who have taken a stand against endorsing products that have a negative effect on urban communities. Hopefully more hip-hop artists can take a stand and realize how important their messages can be in promoting the health of today’s kids.

Should hip-hop artists be conscious of what they are selling or promoting especially if those products may have a negative impact on a child’s health?

The Influence of Fast Food (McDonald’s)
In order to better understand how fast food companies use hip-hop to market to youth, let’s use the largest food chain entity in the world as an example – McDonald’s. McDonald’s is the largest employer of youth in the world with roughly 30,000 high school and college-age students, many of whom are from urban communities. It is no secret that children and youth are their biggest target market, as they use bright colors in their advertising, have a fun mascot Ronald McDonald to promote their food, and even provide playgrounds at their restaurants. Studies have shown that kids respond to the onslaught of junk food ads by eating it more frequently, and in larger quantities. About 17% of kids and teens in the US are now seriously overweight, which can lead to other complications such as diabetes and heart disease.

Although McDonald’s and other fast food chains are trying to improve their menus by offering salads and fruit, the food hasn’t changed and is still packed with calories, high in fat and sugar. A McDonald’s Big Mac, with large fries and a coke is 1,440 calories with 60 grams of fat almost equivalent to an adult’s required daily intake in one meal!

Below is a short timeline of how McDonald’s has used hip-hop to attract youth:
*In September 2003, McDonald’s launched the successful ad campaign, “I’m lovin’ it,” using hip-hop music and images of urban youngsters. McDonald’s hired hip-hop mogul Steve Stoute and his entertainment marketing firm to broker deals with Justin Timberlake and Destiny’s Child to write the jingle and endorse the campaign.
*In March 2005, McDonald’s hired another entertainment marketing firm to help encourage hip-hop artists to integrate the Big Mac sandwich into their upcoming songs. McDonald’s agreed to pay the rappers between $1 and $5 each time their song was played on the radio.
*In July 2005, Stoute was hired to remake McDonald’s uniforms in attempt to create a more youthful, hip image for their employees. The food franchise wanted a uniform that employees would wear outside their work environment. Stoute was eyeing hip-hop fashion brands, Sean John, Phat Farm, Fubu, Rocawear, and Tommy Hilfiger, although he plans to integrate a variety of designers to keep it current and fresh. Stoute stated, “McDonald’s has evolved and become a lifestyle brand. Since it now is relevant to our lifestyle, let’s go one step further and make its employees relevant to our lifestyle as well.”

McDonald’s is not the only fast food chain that uses hip-hop to aggressively target youth. All fast food chains from Burger King to Taco Bell employ similar methods to draw youth into their chains. They use music, jingles and sound effects in commercials and have a whole bag of tricks to lure youth into buying their products. Using hip-hop is just another way to associate their products with a more appealing lifestyle or image.

Understanding today’s youth and attempting to drive home important messages about being healthy involves knowing the culture and the environment they currently live in. Hip-hop has grown so widespread that many geographical areas in the U.S. (and in certain countries) have developed their own recognized music, culture and attitudes. It has become so mainstream now that the suburbs of middle-class America overwhelmingly outweighs (in sales) that in the urban communities from which it originated. It’s this “urban mindset” (lyrics about sex, drugs, violence, city-life, etc.) that represents 100 million consumers worldwide (larger than the baby boomer generation). This mindset, (introduced by hip-hop artists and shaped by the mainstream media) makes impressionable youth believe that being a pimp, player, gangster or baller is the “thing to do.”

Today, it is quite common to see kids emulating this image that many hip-hop artists portray in their music videos and lyrics. These kids also tend to purchase the products that hip-hop artists endorse such as shoes, clothes, jewelry, watches and even unhealthy food and beverages. Although there are many stereotypes connected to this mindset, adults must be respectful of the unique culture, language, and style of dress of today’s hip-hop youth. They should discover ways to use this culture (like P.H.A.T.) that will help kids better understand important messages like eating better and being more active.

Hip-hop culture is so infused into our society that it must be considered in addressing today’s youth. It is their unique voice, expression, movement and for many, their way of life. Why not use hip-hop to motivate youth to stay healthy, eat better, exercise and live a longer life? DJ Kool Herc said, “Hip-Hop ain’t about keeping it real, it’s about keeping it right.” Eating right and being active hopefully included.

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COMMENTS

3 reader comments on Hip-Hop and Ya Don’t Stop….

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superb, this is a fantastic way to enjoy ourself and to be physicaly fit.

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Posted by doris.delmonte on December 8 at 11:38 PM

how can I receive the P.H.A.T. kit and resource guide?

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Posted by sandra on May 21 at 12:59 PM

Great post! Hip hop is king!

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Posted by Jason on May 1 at 10:12 AM

By Arnell Hinkle

featured in Youth Today on March 23, 2009.

When it comes to youth wellness, we’ve been having the wrong conversation. Granted, healthy eating and exercise are part of the message. But the stated goal is most often weight reduction, and we place responsibility squarely on the individual.Nowhere is this more clear than with adolescents, who may be the most vulnerable to the flood of messages from print, TV and the Internet, to say nothing of peer pressure. And they’re at the stage when lifelong habits are learned.

At CANFIT, we believe in a different conversation. While the mainstream culture stresses thinness or weight loss, we stress health at every size. The mainstream focuses on individual responsibility; we focus on community responsibility. We also focus on cultural specificity and on public investment, not private funding.

Wouldn’t it be better if all adolescents, no matter what their income level or ethnicity, knew what foods they needed to stay healthy, and knew how to use their bodies to keep fit throughout life? Wouldn’t it be better if our communities, regardless of income levels or cultural backgrounds, supported youth in this endeavor?

Too often, after-school and other youth development programs ignore healthy eating and physical activity. When they are addressed, it is often with outdated ideas, or with the youth workers buying into the mass media attitude that thinness is the goal and that participating in competitive, team sports is the norm. Such efforts usually don’t take into account the youths’ cultural and economic realities.

It’s an easy mistake to make. All of us – especially adolescents, who account for almost 40 percent of the family food dollar – are surrounded by mixed messages: “Be sedentary and load up on high-fat, fast and processed foods. But be thin.”

Youth get no alternative messages, at least none that are presented in acceptable or realistic ways, especially for low-income adolescents. Nor are youth involved in developing the right messages themselves.

Most of the youth we work with at CANFIT don’t have access to affordable healthy foods. They don’t have the knowledge and skills to plan, buy and prepare nutritious meals. Nevertheless, they are often responsible for preparing about a dozen meals for themselves and their families each week.

As for physical activity, physical education is being cut back in more and more schools, and the neighborhood streets and parks are often dangerous.

So let’s forget about weight. Let’s focus instead on health – healthy eating and daily physical activity. That may mean changing the foods we offer, making sure that there’s more to do than sports and video games, and interrupting teasing and put-downs that focus on weight.

And let’s not make the mistake of thinking and preaching that this is only an individual responsibility. Sure, individual choice matters. But healthy living requires a community effort that recognizes the need to change the environment. The youth, their families and the community have to be engaged in planning and implementing drives to improve eating and physical activity habits. It is critical that youth and families be part of the creation and ownership of ideas.

Youth programs and local residents must support efforts to get neighborhood corner and convenience stores to stock more fresh produce. They must help to develop physical activity opportunities through such actions as grooming playgrounds, starting walking clubs and creating culturally appropriate classes like hip-hop dance and salsa.

Youth programs must be culturally specific. Every racial or ethnic group has its own approach to food and its own preferences. One size does not fit all.

One of CANFIT’s projects was the Promoting Healthy Activities Together Campaign, aka P.H.A.T. targeting 10- to 14-year-old African-Americans participating in community centers, after-school programs and other organized settings in the San Francisco Bay Area, P.H.A.T. set out to improve knowledge, attitudes, community norms and behaviors about nutrition and physical activity. The model has been adapted and replicated with other cultural groups, including Latino and Asian-Pacific Islander youth.

P.H.A.T. used dance, emceeing and other hip-hop cultural elements to deliver messages about healthy eating and physical activity. Over a two-month period, more than 80 youth spent two to three hours a week with local hip-hop talent, incorporating their own nutrition and fitness messages into raps, artwork and hip-hop dance routines. These were later featured at a P.H.A.T. Community Showcase and in a P.H.A.T. video.

After one year, 67 percent of the programs reported continuing positive changes in youth behavior, including increased water consumption, less soda consumption, improved patterns of physical activity and healthier snack choices. All programs still included hip-hop dance, and many were offering more nutrition programming and healthier snacks.

So don’t focus only on weight. Focus on health, on the specific youths you work with, and on how the community and its organizations can help them.

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