California WIC Flash - April 18, 2008

RECESSION WOES: If you don't believe we're in one, ask a WIC provider! People are hurting and more need our help than ever. Now advocates are asking Congress to do more to respond to the fallout caused by the economic downturn. The Coalition on Human Needs is organizing a Webinar on Friday, April 25 at 3 PM ET (noon Pacific time). Learn about proposals before Congress to support the most effective forms of aid: extending unemployment benefits, help with the high cost of food and home energy, funds to prevent cuts to Medicaid, child support, and other services, and school repair. For more information, see Towards Shared Recovery. Register here.

SUMMIT SUCCESS! On April 7, CWA and PolicyLink, in partnership with the California WIC Program, welcomed 300 guests and enthusiastic speakers to Los Angeles for a day-long Summit, Making Change Matter: Maximizing the Health Impact of the New WIC Foods. You can browse the Summit page for a "virtual" replay of a really great day. Great new WIC linkages were formed with a wonderfully diverse group of stakeholders, so thanks for coming! Attendees were able to get more detailed information about the new Rule, as well as WIC program operations and the process for implementing the Food Package changes in California. CWA is busy compiling a Summit Summary document containing some of the key recommendations that surfaced during the discussions, as well as a Questions and Answers page - these will be posted in a few weeks. We are also keeping in touch via e-mail with interested attendees. If you'd like to get in the loop, please contact Kinkini Banerjee.

CONNECT THE DOTS! We are gearing up for a knockout Annual Meeting May 5-8 at the Town and Country Resort, San Diego. Five concurrent tracks will provide workshop sessions by nationally renowned experts. Registration is still open. See conference program, registration and hotel information here.

BRING WORKOUT DUDS: Don't dress up for the conference - we want you to get active! So please pack comfortable clothing, your swimsuit, and athletic shoes. We will have dance, Nia, Yoga, Zumba Fitness, Basic Bootcamp, and even Aqua Aerobics! If you don't know what these are, this is a chance to try something new! Plan to exercise in the morning or at lunch. Plenty of time is provided for a change of clothes - even a quick shower. Check program for times and locations.

WIC POLICY DAY - JUNE 18! Join us for our 4th Annual WIC Policy Day at the State Capitol, scheduled to overlap with the State Task Force Meeting. It's free! WIC Policy Day is an opportunity to educate elected state officials about WIC's great work, critical issues, and on-going initiatives. We will feed you lunch, train you, and help you make legislative visits! We will begin the afternoon with issues education and advocacy training with Capitol staffers, including hands on practice, followed by an afternoon of legislative visits. RDs - earn 2 CPE units! Download Flyer and see website for more details. RSVP for WIC Policy Day 2008 by June 11, 2008, contact Nancy O'Connor at CWA (phone 916-448-2280 or e-mail).

URGE ADA TO SUPPORT MENU LABELING: The IOM, American Medical Association, Society for Nutrition Education, American Heart Association, and more than 70 other health and nutrition organizations support menu labeling. Polls show that about 80% of the public support menu labeling. But the American Dietetic Association has not - and the CWA Board is disappointed in their position. Why in the world would providing information about calories in foods NOT be a good idea to an organization of dietetic professionals?? ACTION: The ADA's Legislative and Public Policy Committee is currently in the process of reviewing the Association's stance on restaurant labeling and plans to make recommendations to the Board of Directors later this year. ADA needs to hear from members and RDs, some of whom have organized to make their voices heard. The CWA Board unanimously supports efforts to urge the ADA to actively support menu labeling legislation rather than only taking a neutral position. You can sign the petition here.

SUPPORT SB 1420: SB 1420 (Padilla) passed Senate Health, headed to Senate Approps. This Bill would require large chains in the state to post nutritional information on their menus and menu boards. However, the restaurant industry continues to strongly oppose the bill and would like legislators to water down labeling requirements so that restaurants do not have to do anymore than they are currently doing, like placing nutritional information on the bottom of tray liners and on hard-to-read posters are not helpful to consumers and not worthy of being placed into state law. More...

HAVE YOUR SAY TO CFPA! California Food Policy Advocates invites everyone to take a quick survey on what policy issues are most important in the next Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization cycle, which is just beginning and should unfold in 2009. The survey can be found here. Please take the survey yourself and forward the link all interested individuals or organizations - state agencies, advocates, sponsoring agencies, providers, school districts, etc. Thanks for your input!

BISPHENOL-A: Baby bottles and formula can liners are sources of Bisphenol-A, a chemical that can affect reproduction and development. Biomonitoring studies show that human exposure to bisphenol A is widespread. The National Toxicology Program has issued a draft brief and put a notice in the Federal Register inviting comments until May. A national meeting on the issue is scheduled for June 8. See the The National Toxicology Program (NTP) Draft Brief On Bisphenol A (BPA). See the FAQ on the NTP web site. The International Food Information Council (IFIC) Foundation is providing resources on past and recent research findings on this subject. See the IFIC Q&A on Bisphenol A.

TOOLKITS TO HELP OBESITY EFFORTS: The California Association of Health Plans (CAHP) and the California Medical Association Foundation (CMAF) released three toolkits to address obesity and overweight in three populations: adults, children/adolescents and pre/post bariatric surgery patients. View or download the toolkits on the CMAF Obesity Prevention Project's website. For additional information on the provider toolkits, please contact Christine Maulhardt, Director of Obesity Prevention at (916) 551-2031.

TV TURNOFF WEEK 2008 - APRIL 21-27: Every day, children ages eight to 18 spend more than six hours watching TV, playing video games or using the computer for recreational purposes. The more time youth spend in front of the screen, the more likely they are to be overweight. Turnoff Week is a great time to plan activities in your organizations to educate families on celebrating family healthy living, limiting recreational screen time and boosting physical activity. Download resources from We Can!^TM and the Center for SCREEN-TIME Awareness.

CROSS-PROGRAM COLLABORATION: Share Promising Practices With Other Nutrition Educators. FNS is building a database of nutrition education projects, interventions and social marketing campaigns that exemplify cross-program collaboration, including projects implemented through the State Nutrition Action Plan (SNAP) process. Projects that use an evidenced-based approach and demonstrate promising results will be shared with nutrition education providers on the FNS Web site. Identified promising practices will also help inform the development of nutrition education materials and interventions. Please submit profiles of your cross-program nutrition education projects for review to FNS-NPASS. The submission deadline is May 8, 2008.

CALIFORNIA BREASTFEEDING COALITION (CBC): Still time to register! CBC will hold its statewide meeting on May 5, in San Diego in conjunction with the CWA Annual Meeting. The full agenda includes coalition building, advocacy and media training, lactation support in the workplace training, report on the USBC National Coalition meeting, and plans for the annual breastfeeding walk and employer awards. Contact Sue Wirth with questions or for registration materials. This meeting is planned for the pre-conference day of the CWA Annual conference to accommodate folks attending the WIC conference. CERPs provided!! Registration deadline is April 25.

RACIAL AND ETHNIC DISPARITIES IN U.S. HEALTH CARE: Research shows that minorities in the United States are in poorer health, have more trouble accessing care, are more likely to be uninsured, and receive lower-quality care more often than other Americans. A Chartbook from the Commonwealth Fund can serve as a valuable resource for understanding disparities and formulating solutions. An archive of a March 24, 2008 webinar on this chartbook is now available.

TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES

Note: We invite readers to submit information about training announcements that promote a range of issues supporting healthy living environments.

Dads Count: Fatherhood Breakfast and Awards Ceremony. Keynote Speaker: Jim Plunkett. The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors, the Judges of the Superior Court, and the Fatherhood Collaborative of San Mateo County. May 19, 7:30 to 9:00 a.m., The Westin San Francisco Airport, Millbrae. For more information, call (650) 363-4295 or visit our website.
UCSD Extension Lactation Educator Courses:
- San Bernardino: April 8, 9, 10 and May 6-7, 2008 (Must attend all dates)
- San Diego: March 10-11, May 12-13 and June 30-July 1, 2008 (Must attend all dates)
- Santa Ana (Orange County): June 4, 5, 6 and July 30-31, 2008 (Must attend all dates)
- San Francisco: June 11, 12, 13 and August 7-8, 2008 (Must attend all dates)
- Sacramento: June 16, 17, 18 and July 14, 15, 16, 2008 (Must attend all dates)
- Loma Linda: June 11, 12, 13 and August 7-8, 2008 (Must attend all dates)
Foundations of Infant Feeding: Application to Breastfeeding Practice, Exploring the Suck/Swallow/Breathe Triad, with Robin Glass, MS, OTR, IBCLC, and Lynn Wolf, MOT, OTR, IBCLC. Breastfeeding Task Force of Greater Los Angeles. Apr. 25, 9:00am-4:00pm. Torrance Memorial Medical Center. For more information visit BTFGLA's Upcoming Seminars or call Karen Peters at 213-596-5776.
The Baby's Perspective. Kittie Frantz, RN, CPNP-PC. A course for experienced doulas, RN's, LVN's, LC's, CLE's & Infant Care Specialists who have been working as doulas for a while and want to learn the baby's perspective. Conducted in April, May, June, August and October of 2008, Pasadena, California. For details and class schedules, click here.
California Partnership's May Action Days. May 12th and May 13th. Sacramento. Low-Income Communities Uniting for a Budget for ALL. For more information, contact: Northern Calfornia: Armida Sawan at (415) 314-7704. Southern and Central California: Alicia Lepe at (626) 224-8189.
Preconception Health in California. MCAH_Action. Thursday, May 22. Hilton Sacramento. Call (818) 788-6850 or e-mail.
Lactation Educator Training Program. UC San Diego Extension. June 16, 17, 18, 2008 & July 14, 15, 16, 2008. 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Community Resource Project, Inc., Sacramento, CA. To register, call (858) 534-3400 or click here.
Learning to Listen, Learning to Teach (LTLLTT) workshops scheduled for June 23-26, 2008 in San Francisco and September 15-18, 2008 in San Diego. Application forms in PWPC dated 3/10. Questions? Call Teresa Dean at (916) 263-3312.
2008 National Maternal Nutrition Intensive Course: USDA, Food and Nutrition Service and the HRSA, Maternal and Child Health Bureau, in collaboration with the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. On-site and distance education options available. July 30-Aug 1, University of Minnesota. An agenda for the conference, including registration information, can be found here.

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