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Oakland, Alameda County

San Antonio Neighbors for Active Living (SANFAL)

Collaborating Grantees

The Alameda County Public Health Department (lead agency); East Bay Asian Youth Center (EBAYC); and Oakland Unified School District. Other partners include Urban Ecology; Cycles for Change; Roosevelt Health Center; Oakland Children's Hospital; La Clinica de La Raza; San Antonio Neighborhood Clinic; Alameda Alliance for Health; Blue Cross; City of Oakland; Oakland Office of Parks and Recreation; and several active youth and parent groups. SANFAL is a community partnership dedicated to promoting physical activity and healthy eating among children, youth and families residing in Oakland's San Antonio neighborhood district and has a proven track record of policy and advocacy that has fostered strong diverse relationships with both the community and other institutions.

Community Description

The San Antonio community is rich in cultural and linguistic diversity. This area lies in the flatlands east of Lake Merritt. Asian and Pacific Islanders comprise the largest proportion (41%) of the community, followed by African Americans (24%), Latinos (23%) and Whites (8%). Fitnessgram results for the nine target schools in the San Antonio community (2002-2003 school year) indicated that 25% of fifth, seventh and ninth graders were overweight, while 80% were physically "unfit."

The Oakland Unified School District was the first school district in the state to pass a district-wide policy banning sodas from middle and high schools. In 2006, the district hired a Physical Education (PE) Teacher on Special Assignment to develop a PE curriculum that incorporates State PE standards, and to coordinate and train PE instructors to increase the quality and quantity of minutes for physical education. At the neighborhood level, Oakland has been able to build on long-term built environment efforts, such as increasing the street safety and walkability of neighborhoods and creating safe bike paths, through funding from various public and private sources.

For more on information on community efforts and accomplishments please click here.

News Coverage/Awards/Campaigns

• California First Lady Maria Shriver visited the San Antonio Neighbors for Active Living Collaborative and the East Bay Asian Youth Center, HEAC grantees, as part of her statewide Listening Tour on Health, Nutrition and Activity.
• Secured 4-year Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to deepen the Oakland Schoolyards Initiative and school-based produce markets throughout Oakland (San Antonio, West, and Far East Oakland). EBAYC is the lead agency on the grant. The target is 25 schools over 4 years; OUSD Nutrition Services will be responsible for central food distribution; starting with 10 schools in 2009-2010 school year. Start up grants will be provided to interested school sites to buy materials and to support a coordinator who will be identified by the site.
• The Alameda County Public Health Department has organized an Oakland Convergence. The Oakland Convergence follows up on the CA Convergence by bringing together programs working to improve the food and fitness policy and practice environments in our city. There are many common themes and activities running through each of the local initiatives, and our goal is to strengthen and better coordinate these efforts by joining our collective capital. Five preliminary common strategy areas are as follows: Local Retail Food Economics, Community and Youth Involvement, Physical Space, and Policy Development and Implementation.
• One OUSD school, Esperanza Elementary (not a HEAC school), received a Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP) grant from the California Department of Education in the amount of $9,455. Alicia Rozum, OUSD Program Manager for Coordinated School Health and Alameda County Nutrition Services staff coordinated the application process for the 25 OUSD schools that applied.
• Expanded the Student Buyers/Responsible Buyers campaign. The idea of distributing student buyer cards to students as a healthy reward and as a mechanism to encourage responsible spending was promoted among Franklin and Garfield Elementary school staff and parents. Classes that submit 30 student buyer cards are eligible for a healthy class party. Franklin will have 2 class parties and Garfield will have 1 class party based on Oct-Dec 2008 numbers. A separate Student Snack Table at the produce market that is run by 5th graders every week was started during the Fall 2008 semester. There are healthy fresh produce snacks (bags of grapes or strawberries and whole apples, oranges, pears, tangerines, etc.) that students can buy with their 50¢-Student Buyer Cards, or 50¢. It has been very popular with the youth and the Student Buyer Card sales have increased from last year as well.

Key Policy Goals and Strategies

HEAC Phase I(2005-2009)

School Sector

• Develop, adopt and implement an Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) Wellness Policy that incorporates SB 12 and SB 965 nutrition standards and State physical education standards.
• Engage and train parents, youth and families to become stronger advocates for healthy lifestyle changes in nutrition and physical activity.

After School Sector

• Engage after school practitioners, parents, and youth to develop and implement nutrition standards, in accordance with SB 12 and SB 965, and standards for physical activity, in after school programs.
• Build partnerships and advocate for OUSD and City of Oakland policies and budget priorities that establish and sustain comprehensive after school learning centers, including regular physical activity and nutrition programs, at every elementary and middle school in Oakland.

Neighborhood Sector

• Establish and expand local and family-operated urban farms to supply organic fresh produce to school-based produce stands and neighborhood stores.
• Engage youth, parents and teachers to improve built and natural environments to support healthy eating and physical activity.

Health Care Sector

• Provide training and technical assistance to health care providers in communication with parents and youth regarding weight management.
• Develop an on-line resource for health care providers to refer children, youth and their families to services related to overweight/obesity prevention and management.

HEAC Phase II (2009-2009)

School and Afterschool Sector

• Develop a district-wide monitoring plan to assess current compliance with competitive food and beverage standards at school-sites by creating a monitoring committee of the School Wellness council and developing individualized intervention plans for sites to assist in meeting 100% compliance.
• Advocating for the inclusion of Wellness Policy competitive food/beverage components in school planning documents and PTSA policies.
• Developing a district-wide monitoring plan to assess current compliance with minutes/MVPA at school sites.
• Ensure the implementation of the Wellness Policy in the after school environment by outreaching and educating afterschool providers about the Wellness Policy food and fitness mandates that apply to both in-school and out-of-school time.
• Provide training to after school staff and provision of hands-on tools for implementation of nutrition and physical activity standards.

Neighborhood and Afterschool Sector

• Develop, launch, and sustain the Farm Fresh to Families Initiative.
• Incubate up to 7 school-level community partnerships that revitalize schoolyards with physical renovations and supervised sports and outdoor education programming during non-school hours.
• Establish initiative-wide branding and marketing plan.
• In coordination with the Safe Routes to School Collaborative, conduct school walk audits and produce conceptual plans for infrastructure improvements.
• Participate in the Oakland Fund for Children and Youth (OFCY) Strategic Planning process to advocate for physical activity and nutrition related focus priorities.
• Provide technical assistance to the City of Oakland's Parks and Recreation Department in the development of a department wellness policy.

To Learn More, Contact:

Alameda County Public Health Department
Tamiko Johnson - HEAC Oakland Site Coordinator
Phone: 510-595-6439
Fax: 510-595-6486

East Bay Asian Youth Center
David Kakishiba
510-533-1092, Ext.25

Oakland Unified School District
Alicia Rozum
510-879-2407

Accomplishments

• Development and adoption of an Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) Wellness Policy. On-going involvement in Wellness Policy Implementation.
• Establishment of produce stands in Franklin and Garfield Elementary Schools to increase access to and consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables of students, parents, teachers and neighborhood residents.
• Establishment of the Full Circle Farms in Alameda and Sunol as a San Antonio resident-operated and neighborhood-based food security system that supplies organic produce to produce stands in local schools, and to neighborhood stores.
• Collaboration with OUSD and Alameda County Public Health Department for ongoing healthy eating school campaigns, such as Harvest Fairs, Community Meals, Fresh Produce Taste Testing, and Breakfast for Champions.
• Establishment of the San Antonio Park Community Garden as a safe and accessible center of nutrition education and physical activity for youth, families and neighborhood residents.
• On-going training for San Antonio District students, parents, community members, OUSD Nutrition Services staff, as well as school-based Coordinated School Health Councils, Healthy Living Councils and Parent Action Committees in 9 HEAC schools, to become advocates for Wellness Policy implementation and for healthy lifestyle changes in nutrition and physical activity.
• New and expanded opportunities in HEAC schools for healthy eating and physical activity during after-school/out-of school hours.
• On-going media campaigns with local mass media agencies to encourage youth involvement in promoting school-based produce stands and advocating for better access to fresh fruits and vegetables.
• Youth-driven campaigns of salad bars and free/reduced breakfast and lunch programs in HEAC schools.
• Training, through a Grand Rounds at Children's Hospital, to health care providers in effective communication techniques to work with families on weight issues.
• Training to partner health care organizations on the KidShape Program, a family-oriented weight management program for youth and their families, for the implementation of a local program in 2007.
• School and After School Sector
• Fresh fruit and vegetable snack grants were submitted for all six HEAC elementary schools, which could provide a launching point for Wellness Policy implementation at those schools.
• Committees to address health issues, and nutrition in particular, have been started at Garfield and Manzanita Elementary Schools.
• The nutrition focused district-wide School Wellness Council meeting was a success, with over 60 participants, including many parents and teachers.
• All City Council, the student leadership organization of OUSD, has selected "food justice" as a focus area and will be working with the Program Manager for Coordinated School Health/Wellness Coordinator and OUSD Nutrition Services to plan student-led action projects.
• The OUSD Physical Education Leadership Committee has expanded its focus to include advocating for the implementation of the Wellness Policy related to PE. (e.g. increase in PE teachers; increase in quality of PE provision).
• The Program Manager for Coordinated School Health/Wellness Coordinator started physical activity trainings for afterschool providers.

Neighborhood and After School Sector

• Completion of Garfield schoolyard renovation as part of the Oakland Schoolyards Initiative.
• Partnered with La Clinica de la Raza to provide a four-session parent series on child nutrition and physical activity at Garfield Elementary.
• Produce markets: The average weekly sales for the produce markets have gone up steadily each year since our first pilot of the School produce Markets in Spring 2006. The 1st 15 weeks of sales this 2008-2009 school year (9/8/08-1/7/09) averaged at: $1315.83 per week of produce. This is up from the $1,157.31 weekly average for the first 15 weeks of the 2007-08 school year sales. 2006-07 School year sales had a weekly average of $946.27 (37 weeks, not including 5 weeks of summer 07 sales). There isn't reliable data for the first pilot season in Spring 2006, but it was definitely less than in 2006-07.
• Farm report as it relates to the markets: The Iu-Mien Village Farm in Sunol had great crops of green beans, long beans (particularly their special Mien "speckled" variety from Laos), and several varieties of winter squashes (most popular at our markets were buttercup pumpkins, red kabocha pumpkins, and dumpling squash)--that all sold well at the produce markets in September-December.