Communities for Healthy Kids is a multi-sector regional initiative created with a purpose to align and support existing partnerships in an effort to reduce childhood obesity in California’s Central Valley through education, advocacy, and the coordinated implementation of identified strategies.
Communities for Healthy Kids is facilitated by Valley Children’s Healthcare.
Vision
All children will enjoy health and wellness where they live, learn and play.
Goals
- Increase access to and consumption of healthy foods.
- Increase access to and consumption of clean drinking water.
- Increase opportunities for and participation in physical activity.
Overarching Strategies
Create healthy food environments.
Reduce access to and consumption of sugar sweetened beverages.
Increase participation in safe physical activity.
Promote breastfeeding.
Focus on early childhood.
Develop and engage youth, families and communities.
Partner with land use & regional planning efforts.
Collaborate with food and nutrition programs.
Focus on Policy & Advocacy.
Guiding Principles
- Multi-sector leadership and collaboration: We are committed to working across multiple organizations and sectors to coordinate and align our efforts. We will engage key decision-makers in this work, including policymakers.
- Policy, Systems and Environmental changes: We will identify strategies that are grounded in sustainable, comprehensive policy, systems and environmental changes.
- Health Equity: We will work to ensure that strategies are aimed to support the health and wellness of all communities in our region.
- Evidence-based approach: We are committed to identifying evidence-based, promising strategies and best practices.
- Community engagement and development: We aim to foster the agency of communities as a way of improving health.
The Region
The Central Valley region extends from Sacramento County in the north to Kern County in the south. Stretching for over 400 miles down the middle of the state, California’s Central Valley is the most agriculturally-rich area of the nation and is home to 1.3 million children.
Milestones
March 2017
Valley Children’s conducts an environmental scan to identify assets and gaps within the childhood obesity prevention field in the Central Valley.
October 2017
Valley Children’s convenes multi-sector partners to discuss the idea of developing a regional response to childhood obesity prevention.
December 2017
A Steering Committee is identified to develop a regional agenda to reduce childhood obesity in the Central Valley.
October 2018
The Steering Committee identifies a vision, goal, guiding principles and evidence-based strategies for each sector.
April 2019
An Advisory Council is identified to guide the implementation of the regional agenda.
May 2019
Communities for Healthy Kids is launched.