Dedicated Champion Providers from throughout California recently met in Los Angeles to brainstorm on how they can influence health beyond clinics and into communities of need. Volunteer doctors and dentists are making a difference in communities across California. One doctor has established a Reverse Food Truck that collects food donations at farmers’ markets and redistributes fresh produce to schools and food banks. Another doctor has started an Early Childhood Obesity Prevention Action Group in her county and another doctor provided testimony to fight against a fast food drive-through in her community.
The Center helped to launch the Champion Providers initiative in 2013 and since then has worked in collaboration with faculty from the University of California, San Francisco to provide training and technical assistance. Champion Providers are encouraged to work with partners such as local health departments that may need the voice of a physician to advance policy, systems, and environmental changes to support nutrition and physical activity. This work is sponsored by the Nutrition Education and Obesity Prevention Branch in the California Department of Public Health. For more information contact [email protected].