Farmer Spotlight: Mary Pierce
Through a combination of funding from the Placer Get Fresh Project and the Farmers’ Market SNAP Support Grant, CWN staff facilitate the acceptance of SNAP/EBT benefits at the Auburn DeWitt Center Farmers’ Market. Mary Pierce is the owner of Pierce’s Family Farm and serves as the on-site manager of the Auburn DeWitt Center Farmers’ Market. Mary has been selling fruits, vegetables, and eggs grown on her family farm at this farmers’ market for nine years and offers customers heirloom tomatoes, elephant garlic, eggplant, peppers, broccoli, peaches and more throughout the season. Mary has been an instrumental advocate of the EBT booth at the market and her magnanimous personality played a significant role in getting all of the qualifying vendors to participate in the program.
Mid-way through market season, CWN staff facilitated a gleaning project donating fresh produce from market vendors to the Auburn Interfaith Food Closet. The food closet is committed to providing the healthiest options it can, but often struggles with securing an adequate supply of fresh produce to meet the needs of its clients. All the fresh produce vendors at the Auburn DeWitt Center Farmers’ Market donated to the food closet throughout the season: over 200 pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables were secured! When asked why she chooses to donate her produce, Mary says, “People need to eat good food and they need access. That’s what farming is all about: feeding people.” “Small Farm, Big Flavor” is the Pierce’s Family Farm motto, but it could just as well be “Small Farm, Big Hearts”. Mary says that her husband really enjoys growing good food and they love to celebrate the abundance of their farm by giving food to people. According to Mary, “Real food makes people happy.” She says that as a farmer, she’s teaching people about food…real food…and flavor.
Other contributing vendors include Rodriguez Brothers, Ortega Family Farm, Brenner Farm, Four C- Sons, and Salle Orchards. We thank all of them for a fantastic 2016 market season and look forward to our time with them in market season 2017.
10th Annual Southern Obesity Summit
Join the Public Health Institute (PHI) Center for Wellness and Nutrition at the 10th Annual Southern Obesity Summit in Houston, TX on November 13-15, 2016.
The Southern Obesity Summit (SOS) is the largest regional obesity prevention event in the United States, drawing hundreds of participants from 16 Southern States consisting of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia. Together, these states join forces to fight obesity. The Center for Wellness and Nutrition is a national leader in developing campaigns, programs, and partnerships to reduce obesity and promote equity in the most vulnerable communities across the country.
Look for us at our presentation and post session workshop, and stop by our booth to find out more about our work.
Follow @PHI_wellness using #SOSTX2016 for live updates during the conference.
Oral Presentation
Presenter: Amy DeLisio MPH, RD
When: Monday, November 14, 2016 1:00-2:15pm
This presentation will highlight CWN’s partnership with UC CalFresh to broaden positive youth development impacts and principles that create leadership opportunities and result in low income youth as decision makers in healthy changes, Maximizing Partnership to Support Youth.
Post Summit Workshop
Presenter: Amy DeLisio MPH, RD and Metria Munyan
Tuesday, November 15, 2016 12:45pm – 3:00pm
Building Food Systems Partnerships to Enhance Healthy Food Access Work
In this workshop we will share tools, resources and identify important partnerships that will help you plan effective food system interventions. This training will prepare you to make connections with retailers by learning the art of behavioral economics, marketing, and merchandising strategies, and the best mediums for conveying information.
Engaging Sacramento County Retailers in Community Wellness
Public Health Institute (PHI) Center for Wellness and Nutrition (CWN) has been awarded Sacramento County’s SNAP-Ed (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education) Retail Engagement and Partnerships Grant though a competitive process. Studies show the majority of shoppers’ food purchasing decisions are made in the store, but identifying healthy choices can be challenging for many shoppers. Engaging retailers in nutrition education and obesity prevention efforts is critical to influencing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program shoppers’ dietary behavior. By promoting healthy choices, retailers can simultaneously increase sales of healthy items, improve customer loyalty, and promote community wellness and vitality.
Beginning October 1, 2016, CWN will partner with large and small food retailers in low-resource communities in Sacramento County to implement strategies designed to encourage the purchase of healthy foods, especially locally grown fruits and vegetables. In particular, CWN will partner with small- to medium-sized independent retailers to participate in a Healthy Retail Recognition Program, which engages and motivates retailers to make healthy changes to their store by providing incentives and assistance. In 2014, CWN staff designed a model SNAP-Ed Healthy Retail Recognition Pilot Program in California and conducted formative research in the Los Angles and Santa Clara counties through partnerships with the local public health departments. This model program is now included in the SNAP-Ed Toolkit for States, and will be tailored to meet local needs in Sacramento, California. For more information about this project, please contact Amy DeLisio.
USDA’s final rule for Local School Wellness Policies
Perfectly timed with the beginning of a new school year The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) just released its final rule for Local School Wellness Policies. Each school district participating in federal nutrition programs such as the National School Lunch or Breakfast Programs is required to have a Local School Wellness Policy that addresses goals for nutrition promotion and education, physical activity, and other school-based activities that promote student wellness and rely on evidence-based strategies. Districts must fully comply with the requirements of the final rule by June 30, 2017.
The rules will make great strides to promote integrity across the school meals programs. Here are a few highlights to be aware of:
- School districts are now required to allow certain stakeholders (including: parents, students, school food staff, physical education teachers, school health professionals, the school board, school administrators, and members of the general public) to participate in the development, implementation, and periodic review and update of the local school wellness policy.
- The new rule will disallow the marketing of unhealthy foods in schools. This includes à la carte items sold in the cafeteria, through school stores, vending machines, or many on-campus fundraisers.
- Local school wellness policy must include nutritional guidelines standards for all foods being sold and available to students on campus.
- Local school wellness policies must be made available to the public on at least an annual basis.
In addition to the Local School Wellness Policy ruling, USDA also released the final rules for Nutrition Standards for All Foods Sold in School (Smart Snacks), Community Eligibility Provision, and Administrative Reviews;
Establishing a firm platform for building on the progress schools across the country have made to improve the nutritional quality of meals served in schools. CWN has expertise available to guide your team to effectively work with school districts, wellness committees, parents, and youth to facilitate these changes to become compliant with the new federal rules. For more information please contact us at [email protected]
CWN Director of Research and Evaluation demonstrates effectiveness of SNAP-Ed in Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior
Sharon Sugerman, Director of Research and Evaluation at the Center for Wellness and Nutrition, recently co-authored an article published in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior (JNEB) for the sixth time, making her a Silver Level Author of JNEB. This latest article shares the results of an evaluation which examined among low-income mothers the consumption of fruits and vegetables, high-fat foods, and sugar-sweetened beverages and overall diet quality in relation to levels of reach of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education (SNAP-Ed) interventions across 2,907 California census tracts. Results showed that mothers from high SNAP-Ed reach census tracts ate more cups of fruits and vegetables, consumed fewer calories from high-fat foods, and drank fewer cups of sugar-sweetened beverages. The abstract is available here.
Los Angeles Inspires Healthy Communities Using Youth-led Participatory Action Research
Engaging youth using Youth-led Participatory Action Research (YPAR) is a growing public health approach to address nutrition and obesity-related illnesses, especially among United States Department of Agriculture Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education program (SNAP-Ed) implementing agencies. In California, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health provided funding to community-based organizations to conduct four youth-led nutrition education and obesity prevention projects, each using a youth-led participatory action research framework. The projects focused on increasing access to and consumption of fruits and vegetables, increasing daily physical activity opportunities, and decreasing consumption of sugary beverages.
The Public Health Institute’s Center for Wellness and Nutrition (CWN) worked in partnership with Converge Research and Training to examine project implementation, successes, and challenges to inform and refine future youth engagement programs for Los Angeles County.
A variety of research methods were used to assess the YPAR projects, including youth focus groups, key informant interviews, and organizational assessments. CWN discovered factors that contributed to successful implementation of the YPAR framework, innovative use of the framework, and how the framework contributed to improving opportunities to be healthy at the individual, family, school, organizational, and community levels.
This newest report in the series highlights the collective impact and comprehensive approach of the YPAR projects in Los Angeles County. These projects strategically connecting schools with their larger communities and leverages genuine youth and adult partnerships in supporting youth voice for healthy community change, in communities that need it the most.
Enhancing Local Food Systems in the Placer County Region
In northern California, the month of May marks the beginning of the season of abundance. Cultivated fields spring to life with succulent strawberries, peas, and asparagus. Tomatoes and peppers make huge gains in their vegetative growth. Stone fruits begin to softly ripen. Our local farmers ramp up their operations to keep up with harvesting their booming crops and prepare their products for market. Most seasonal farmers’ markets begin in May or early June when farmer vendors have a nice selection of items to make available to eager shoppers. Anyone who has shopped at a farmers’ market can attest to the distinct difference in the experience compared to shopping at a traditional grocery store. The chance to speak to the person who has grown the food you will eat, the hustle and bustle of shoppers, the relaxed atmosphere, and the beautiful displays of incredibly fresh food all lend to the unique experience. Not to mention that purchasing produce at farmers’ markets can oftentimes be less expensive than shopping at the grocery store.
Unfortunately, many local residents have historically been excluded from partaking in the benefits and delights of farmers’ market shopping because they rely heavily on government nutrition assistance benefits, which farmers’ markets may not accept. The Center for Wellness and Nutrition is proud to be a part of changing this paradigm. Through a synergy of funding from the Placer Get Fresh Project and the Farmers’ Market SNAP Support Grant, CWN staff is able to facilitate acceptance of SNAP benefits at two farmers’ markets in the region:
Auburn DeWitt Center Farmers’ Market
Richards Dr. at B Ave.
Auburn, CA 95603
Wednesdays, 10am – 1pm
June – October
Truckee River Regional Park Farmers’ Market
10500 Brockaway Road
Truckee, CA 96161
Tuesdays, 8am – 1pm
May 24 – October
These efforts will improve SNAP shoppers’ access to fresh and healthy foods as well as expand the customer base for farmer vendors. Our team will be joined by staff from the Placer Food Bank to conduct CalFresh (California’s name for SNAP) eligibility screening, to bring even more benefits to shoppers and farmers. If you work with SNAP-eligible populations in the Placer County region, please help spread the word about the opportunity to purchase fresh, locally grown produce at these farmers’ markets. Please contact [email protected] for more information.
PHI Embarks on New Program Area Focusing on Child Trauma
The Public Health Institute (PHI) is expanding its role in the area of child trauma and the long-term effects of Adverse Child Experiences (ACES) on chronic disease later in life. Research shows that these early adversities negatively impact health behaviors and, subsequently, worsen health outcomes in adulthood. Currently, we are working in the rural north of California to establish a collaborative comprised of multiple counties. The collaborative will identify the training and technical assistance needed to institute a platform of services and evidence-based interventions. These services could then be used through multiple channels within county organizations and their community partners. For more information, please contact Lisa Tadlock at [email protected].
Engage with the CWN LinkedIn page and win a $100 Amazon gift card!
The Center for Wellness and Nutrition (CWN) is happy to announce that we will be hosting a promotional contest via LinkedIn. One lucky winner will receive a $100 Amazon gift card! The more engaged you are with the CWN’s LinkedIn page, the greater your chances of winning. Participants can earn an entry into the raffle by:
- Following us on LinkedIn
- Liking, sharing, or commenting on a current post
You can earn an additional entry for every like, share and comment. It’s that simple! Contest ends April 15, 2016. View official LinkedIn contest rules.
