The Healthy Eating Active Living Collaborative of the Gold Country Region funds mini-grants for short-term projects which address childhood obesity, food security, physical activity, or increased fruit and vegetable consumption for low-income populations in the following California counties: Alpine, Amador, Calaveras, El Dorado, Mono, Placer, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Solano, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tuolumne, Yolo, and Yuba counties.

The focus of the Mini-grant program changes annually. If you are interested in the Mini-grant program, please contact Dawn Dunlap 916.556.3344 or ddunlap@healthedcouncil.org

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2005-2006 Grant Recipients:

The following innovative and educational programs funded by the 2005-2006 HEAL Mini-Grants are underway:

Project Name: School Garden Fruits and Vegetables Program at Alice Birney Elementary School
Grant Awarded to: Alice Birney PTA Sacramento, CA.

Goal: To educate Food Stamp Nutrition Education Eligible (FSNE) elementary students on the need to increase daily consumption of fruits and vegetables and how to increase consumption by providing garden based nutrition education utilizing an on-site garden and demonstrating creative ways to cook and prepare fruits and vegetables.

Project Name: Youth Task Force for Healthy Eating
Grant Awarded to: California Center for Civic Partnerships Sacramento, CA

Goal: Teen youth from qualifying High Schools will receive nutrition education promoting fruit and vegetable intake and physical activity promotion, as well as encourage them to pursue positive nutrition systems and environmental change.

Project Name: Nutrition Education and Physical Activity Promotion at Food Closet Garden
Grant Awarded to: Sierra Arden Neighborhood Food Closet Sacramento, CA

Goal: Facilitate nutrition Education and physical activity promotion classes to Food Stamp Nutrition Education (FSNE) eligible families to promote life-long behavior changes to include increased consumption of fruits and vegetables and increase physical activity. Activities include on-site garden based nutrition education.

Project Name: Farmers Market Nutrition Education
Grant Awarded to: Sacramento County Farm Bureau Sacramento, CA

Goal: Conduct two nutrition education events that will provide nutrition education to Food Stamp Nutrition Education Eligible (FSNE) elementary students, by introducing a wide variety of produce, taste testing fresh fruits and vegetables, and educating on the importance of eating a wide variety of fruits and vegetables every day.

Project Name: Peer to Peer Cooking and Nutrition Education
Grant Awarded to: Grant High School's Environmental Organization (GEO) program- Grant Unified School District - Sacramento, CA

Goal: Provide specialized peer to peer training in nutrition education to Food stamp Nutrition Eligible (FSNE) 10th-13th grade students, to include the importance of eating fruits and vegetables. Following the completion of this training, these high school students will provide nutrition education to 4-6th grade students in qualifying schools.

Project Name: Baby Buddies Healthy Lifestyles
Grant Awarded to: Harmony Health Family Resource Center Marysville, CA

Goal: to educate Food Stamp Nutrition Education Eligible, Spanish speaking teen moms about the benefits of eating fresh fruits and vegetables, how to cook healthy meals, and strategies for improving availability of produce in their local stores.

Project Name: Take Care of Your Health: A Community Based Program to Reduce the Risk of Obesity
Grant Awarded to: the Regents of the University of California, Cooperative Extension- Sacramento Branch Sacramento, CA

Goal: Facilitate nutrition education classes to families in Low-income Sacramento Neighborhoods to promote lifelong behavior changes to include increased consumption of fruits and vegetables and how to cook healthy meals.

Project Name: We are Family- Family Nutrition Workshops and Interventions
Grant Awarded to: Woodland Joint Unified School District- First 5 School Readiness Program

Goal: Facilitate nutrition education classes to Food Stamp Nutrition Eligible Families with children at the after-school program and at parent events in order to promote life-long behavior changes to include increased consumption of fruits and vegetables and how to cook healthy meals.

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Successful Outcomes of 2004-2005 Mini-Grant Funded Projects!

The six projects funded through the HEAL Mini-Grants awarded earlier during the previous grant year had a variety of valuable experiences and successful outcomes. These projects were all unique and served our target populations well. A few of the highlights of these projects were:

Soil Born Farm Urban Agricultural Project used their grant award to focus on connecting food, health and the environment by creating garden-based core curriculum and associated activities focused on healthy eating and physical activity for students at Jonas Salk Middle School. Soil Born conducted their work through piloting experimental field trips to Soil Born Farm, creating a hands-on living laboratory and nutrition education site. The outcome of this innovative program has additionally substantiated being awarded additional program funding for these activities through Kaiser Permanente that will begin in November of 2005.

The Sierra Arden Neighborhood Food Closet focused on educating and actively involving as many Food Closet members as possible in an edible landscaping (Garden of Eatin") nutrition education project as well as established means to improve food insecurity. The primary objectives of the project were to use community experts to help integrate nutrition education into an edible landscaping project with the involvement of the people who use the services at the Sierra Arden Neighborhood Food Closet. The "Garden of Eatin" is currently thriving, including an herb garden and citrus trees, and the winter garden plantings are nearly complete.

Will Rogers Middle School used their grant award to educate students on how to make healthy decisions when eating meals and snacks. The objectives of this project were to teach the New Food Guide Pyramid, teach students the importance of physical activity, empower students to make healthy choices, increase their knowledge of food preparation, and increase awareness of disease prevention and physical impact of a healthy lifestyle. The students learned how to make healthy snacks and worked with food services to create healthier school lunches and snacks. The results from the culminating activities showed that the students' knowledge of all objectives was remarkably greater.

Robla Unified School District's grant award helped them to standardize recipes in all schools, complete nutritional analysis of 42 meals, and provide staff development on nutrition to their food service staff. They contracted with a Dietitian to provide specific NutraKids implementation training, worked with food services staff to standardize recipes, and provided staff development on nutritional standards to their food service staff. Additionally, they are continuing to create daily menus based upon the food ingredients and recipes as they are analyzed.

Community Partnerships for Families focused their grant project on increasing awareness of the importance of maintaining wellness by promoting healthy eating habits and regular physical exercise through a social marketing campaign and community education activities. The target population was families in the San Joaquin County Housing Authority Projects. Over 400 families were served with social marketing messages through information at local community/ housing project events and flyer distribution. The most important change that happened from this effort was the attitude and commitment of residents in the housing project to making changes to improve their wellness.

Rainbow Vogt & Patrick Proctor used their grant award to pilot a web-directory of farms found near schools from low-income districts in the Gold Country Region. One of the main goals of the project was to pilot a web directory that connects Food Service Directors with local growers who have the ability to sell produce to local schools. The website (http://www.localproducelink.com/) provides an interactive map to access info about local farmers. They plan to continue their current efforts which include enhancing and expanding the database in order to assist in improved environmental changes that include increasing access to healthy fruits and vegetables.

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Let's give all of these projects a round of applause!! If you have any questions pertaining to these projects, please contact Dawn Dunlap, Coordinator HEAL Collaborative: 916.556.3344 ex.137

3950 Industrial Blvd. Suite 600
West Sacramento, CA 95691
Phone: 916-556-3344
Fax: 916-446-0427
www.healthedcouncil.org
nutrition@healthedcouncil.org