General Information | Local Policies | State Policies | Federal Policies | School Wellness Policies
General Info
National best practices on food systems planning is produced by the Food Systems and Healthy Communities Lab at the University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, is intended for practicing planners but may also be of use to others interested in food systems issues. This policy brief includes a synthesis of recent best practices of local government policy and planning designed to strengthen community food systems. The report was produced through generous support of the Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities-Buffalo project of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Healthy Communities:What Local Governments Can Do To Reduce and Prevent Obesity is a presentation created by the CDC outlining what policies can ensure the future health of communities.
Afterschool Alliance describes what is advocacy, why you should get involved, how you can do it, and more.
Berkeley Media Studies Group published Issue 1, a brief on media advocacy and how it differs from other ways groups use the mass media.
The White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity wrote a report, Solving the Problem of Childhood Obesity Within a Generation, to President Obama. This report presents a series of 70 specific recommendations that focus on strategies in 1) giving children a healthy start on life, 2) empowering parents and caregivers, 3) providing healthy food in schools, 4) improving access to healthy, affordable food, and 5) getting children to be more physically active.
The Center of Excellence for Training and Research Translation offers a variety of web-based trainings designed specifically for public health practitioners working in nutrition, physical activity, obesity and chronic disease prevention programs.
California Adolescent and Nutrition Fitness Program wrote Policy Recommendations on Nutrition and Physical Activity in Middle Schools, Afterschool Programs, and Communities.
California After School Resource Center lists the state and federal laws that regulate afterschool programs.
California Adolescent and Nutrition Fitness (CANFit) Program wrote Communities of Color Briefing Paper: Addressing the Obesity Epidemic-Public Policies for Healthier Eating and Physical Activity. This brief describes social and environmental factors that contribute to childhood obesity from the perspective of communities of color, propose policy solutions directed at community-level environmental change, and stresses that public policy responses are requisite for this epidemic.
Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) presents information about nutrition policy.
The Food Trust provides nutrition education services to communities through seasonal farmers' markets and school markets. The Trust also helps to expand the supply of food resources available to low-income communities through advocacy, by creating model programs, and by undertaking research studies on food disparities and disseminating their findings to government officials and policy-makers.
Increasing Physical Activity Through Community Design (Center for Bicycling and Walking)
The Healthy Eating, Active Communities Program is designed to demonstrate how collaborative approaches can change environmental risk factors. It engages youth, families, community leaders, health professionals and communities in creating healthy environments in order to facilitate healthy choices, particularly in low-income communities.
Local
The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution that enacts a policy to promote community health and reduce obesity for a more liveable San Mateo County on April 4, 2006.
Strategic Alliance's ENACT Local Policy Database documents how many local jurisdictions are working to reshape their schools, communities and institutions. Local policies contribute to meaningful environmental change that spread to different jurisdictions and build support for state and federal policies that influence behavioral norms.
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) released a practical, action-oriented framework to guide the use of evidence in decision making about obesity prevention policies and programs. View the report brief for Bridging the Evidence Gap in Obesity Prevention: A Framework to Inform Decision Making.
Prevention Institute, with funding from Kaiser Permanente, wrote Addressing the Intersection: Preventing Violence and Promoting Healthy Eating and Active Living to provide guidance and deepen the understanding of the inter-relationship between violence and healthy eating and activity. Paper also provides findings and recommendations to practitioners and advocates in their work to prevent chronic disease in communities heavily impacted by violence.
The Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition’s advocacy efforts are listed here along with links to blogs, forums, and more.
Healthy Eating Active Communities wrote Nutrition and Physical Activity in California: the Landscape of Funding and the Role of State and Local Public Health Departments.
State
SB 1413 Promoting Water Consumption in Schools - Why Water? Everyone would agree that as a matter of basic equity all children are entitled to free drinking water in school. Because water also is a perfect obesity-prevention strategy, the Governor has signed legislation, authored by State Senator Mark Leno, that ensures that all California students have access to free, fresh drinking water in school food service areas. For more information, please feel free to contact: Anisha Patel MD, MSPH, Assistant Professor, University of California at San Francisco, PatelA@peds.ucsf.edu
SB 12 (Escutia) School Nutrition Standards Summary established the most rigorous nutrition standards in the country for food sold anywhere on school campuses outside the school meal program.
SB 965 (Escutia) Healthy Beverage Bill defined school beverage standards for high schools, eliminating the sale of soda and other sweetened beverages on high school campuses in California.
The Lucile Packard Children’s Center for Healthy Weight tracks state and national legislation related to promoting healthy weight.
California Center for Public Health Advocacy has updated information regarding state legislation on the built environment, access to healthy food, nutrition, physical activity, physical education, school food, and other related bills.
Legislative Tracking Page by California Food Policy Advocates
The Legislative Counsel of California offers updates on today’s events, bill information, California law, your legislature, and legislative publications.
Federal
The National Alliance for Nutrition and Activity (NANA) advocates national policies and programs to promote healthy eating and physical activity to help reduce the illnesses, disabilities, premature deaths, and costs caused by diet-and inactivity-related diseases such as heart disease, cancer, high blood pressure, diabetes, and obesity.
School Wellness Policies
San Mateo County School Districts’ local school wellness policies:
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) describes the basics of a school wellness policy: what it is, how to create one, how to implement and evaluate one; and offers sample policies, implementation tools, resources, and how to fund a local wellness policy.
Food Research and Action Center, (FRAC), is a non-profit organization that offers a guide to school wellness policy, and links to templates and sample school wellness policies.
School Wellness Policy and Practice: Meeting the Needs of Low-Income Students is a guide for anti-hunger advocates, parents and school community leaders that address the special concerns of low-income students in local school wellness policies. The guide provides sample policies, model programs and key research information
Action for Healthy Kids created Better Nutrition and More Physical Activity Can Boost Achievement and Schools' Bottom Line.
Action for Healthy Kids Fact Sheets
With input from state teams and partner organizations, Action for Healthy Kids has gathered wellness policies from districts and states across the nation to provide examples of language and guidelines.
California Healthy Kids Resource Center provides resources to evaluate school wellness policies and provides information about other state and federal policies related to nutrition, physical education, and health education.
Center for Environmental Justice wrote Healthy School Food Policy Checklist. It provides a range of ideas for policy components, legislative language, monitoring, and enforcement.
Healthy Eating Active Communities wrote Nutrition and Physical Activity in California: the Landscape of Funding and the Role of State and Local Public Health Departments.