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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