City, School Leaders Gather to Confront Childhood Obesity

by Carlos Becerra

Teams of city and school district leaders from six communities convened in Washington, D.C., last week to launch collaboration efforts to combat childhood obesity.

The Cities of Charleston, S.C.; Jackson, Tenn.; La Mesa, Calif.; Oakland, Calif.; San Antonio and Savannah, Ga., were recently selected to receive technical assistance in developing local wellness plans from NLC’s Institute for Youth, Education and Families (YEF Institute) and the American Association of School Administrators (AASA), with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Each community has convened a leadership team that includes senior-level staff from both the city and school district. The inaugural meeting marked the beginning of a year-long technical assistance initiative and the first opportunity for many participants to build consensus on their strategies.

“Rather than re-invent the wheel, this is an ideal opportunity for our city to benefit from the lessons of other cities in working with their educational agencies,” said Mayor Art Madrid of La Mesa.

Taking Action, Supporting Schools

Setting the tone for the three-day meeting were presentations on the current state of wellness in our nation’s cities. Dr. Michelle Kink of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation reported on current trends and made the projection that today’s youth will be the most vulnerable generation for illness due to obesity.

James Weill, president of the Food Research and Action Center, reviewed the causes of childhood obesity, its relationship to poverty and opportunities for developing effective policies at the city level.

Both Kink and Weill emphasized the importance of city–school collaboration, as these local leaders are in a strong position to take steps that can reduce childhood obesity.

The meeting’s opening session gave participants an opportunity to begin planning their local roadmaps for enhancing wellness. That planning centered on building consensus for a common vision, coordinating responsibilities and engaging various stakeholders.

These discussions highlighted the grassroots component of educating communities, and the need to build trust among partners and set measurable goals for success.

“Because of our discussions and exposure to research today, we are more comfortable in determining how best to increase the consumption of fruits and vegetables in our community,” said Altheria Maynard, school nutrition director for the City of Savannah.

Connecting with National Experts

Aside from their planning activities, city and school representatives benefited from access to national experts on health and wellness.

In one panel discussion, the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, National Recreation and Park Association, California Cities, Counties, Schools Partnership and National Parent Teacher Association focused on creating efficiencies while pursuing healthy communities. Examples of these potential efficiencies included joint-use agreements for city and school buildings and fields and shared maintenance of facilities.

Next Steps

Each participant city was partnered with another “sister city” for additional site visits to learn and share best practices for developing local wellness policies, promoting healthy eating and active living, and forming school health councils. The YEF Institute and AASA will now begin working individually with each of the project teams on their work plans and will coordinate consultation with experts. 

Details: To download a copy of the YEF Institute’s action kit for municipal leaders on Combating Childhood Obesity, visit www.nlc.org/iyef.  To join the YEF Institute’s Childhood Obesity Network or order a hard copy of the action kit, contact Tiffany Mitchell at (202) 626-3014 or fellow@nlc.org.

Local wellness planning will also be a focus of the upcoming National Summit on Your City’s Families in San Antonio from September 30 to October 2, 2007. NLC is offering early bird discounts until July 24. Visit www.nlc.org/iyef for more information.

Four Ways Cities Can Support Wellness:

1) Increase access to healthy food stores, farmers markets and community gardens in neighborhoods and encourage the removal of unhealthy foods from vending machines and school cafeteria menus.

2) Capitalize on federal funding for healthy meals in afterschool care, summer and breakfast programs. 

3) Reshape the environment by incorporating parks, bike and walking paths and safe routes to schools in local wellness planning.

4) Increase outreach to families eligible for the federal food stamp program, which provides resources for purchasing healthy food and has the potential to double a city’s return on investment.