Champions for Change, a Healthy Communities initiative from the California Department of Public Health’s Nutrition Education and Obesity Prevention Branch (NEOPB), offers free information, tips, and tools that empower low-income families in California to eat healthier and become more physically active. Obesity is not only causing physical issues such as high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and elevated blood cholesterol levels but also emotional challenges like low self-esteem, negative body image and depression.
Champions for Change at The Whole Child offers nutrition workshops, redesign of the school lunchroom environment to promote healthy choices and build awareness around childhood obesity through community outreach and events.
The goal of the nutrition program is to reduce the prevalence of obesity and other related chronic diseases in vulnerable communities through health education, smarter lunchrooms, movement and outreach efforts.
Nutrition Workshops Held
Children State they are Eating 5 Servings of Fruits and Vegetables per Day after Taking our Nutrition Classes
Community Members Reached through our Outreach Efforts
Our Health Educators use evidence based curricula in school and community settings to reduce the prevalence of obesity among communities with the greatest health disparities. Our class series are developed to include nutrient rich cooking demonstrations. MyPlate review, how to read food labels, healthy versus unhealthy fats and Rethink Your Drink added sugar demonstration. The Whole Child is the first and only agency to implement the use of Total Physical Response methodology that teaches nutrition concepts through physical movement. This practice helps students retain the information in a fun and engaging way that sticks with them.
We work with schools to co-create a school lunchroom environment that encourages students to increase their fruit and vegetable consumption. Students help name healthy food options through their own creative efforts. These ideas are then executed at the decision point as student select their daily lunch items. Students involvement is critical in not only taking pride and ownership in the project but also encouraging other students at a peer level to take action.
Our Health Educators go out into the community to promote physical activity. They aim to create awareness around the importance of exercise and its overall impact on a healthy lifestyle. The demonstrations are easy to replicate and encourage the whole family to become active together.
We have the power to be the change we want to see in the world.
The issue of obesity does not discriminate by age. Children are experiencing obesity starting from an early age. The obesity rate for children 6 to 11 years has more than quadrupled in the past 40 years (from 4.2 to 17.4 percent) as well as children 12 to 19 years have tripled (from 4.6 to 20.6). * National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).
Getting fresh air outside is a great way for children and families to have fun while staying active. Try taking a walk, riding bikes or playing basketball at a local or regional park. Find one near you here www.MapOfPlay.kaboom.org or www.DiscoverTheForest.org.
Sugary drinks like soda, energy drinks, coffee drinks, and sports drinks add more sugar to our diet than any other food or beverage source. The added sugar in these drinks sneaks in extra calories without providing any extra nutritional content and may contribute to tooth decay, increase the risk of obesity, and increase the risk for type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
Grams of Sugar on Nutrition Label ÷ 4 = Teaspoons of Sugar
A great way to entice your family to drink more water is by infusing refreshing water with fruits, herbs and vegetables or chill water with lemon ice cubes…no sugar necessary! Here are some of our favorite combinations:
Try one or all of them and let us know what you think on The Whole Child-Champions for Change Facebook page.
“I am proud to be the only Champions for Change grantee that uses original and innovative concepts such as S.E.L.F. (Source of Energy and Life Force) and MyPlate Tectonics to teach cultural diversity through nutrition. The Whole Child is the only agency to use Total Physical Response (TPR) Method to teach Nutrition,”
— Sophia Gonzalez, Project Manager, Champions for Change Program
“We were homeless when we got help from The Whole Child. I felt helpless in our situation. We didn’t have access to healthy food to eat and my children were getting used to not eating vegetables.
The Whole Child helped my family pay our rent deposit and find a place to live. The nutrition classes from The Whole Chlid Champions for Change helped us make eating healthy easier. My family now has a routine to eat at the same time each day so we no longer are overeating. I have also made several of the recipes from the cookbook I picked up at the nutrition class to help my family eat healthier food.
Things are looking up for us now. We are not eating more vegetables and less junk food. We have a place for my kids to call home, I have gone to several job training sessions and am actively looking for a job to support my family. My life has change because it have less stress and a daily routine has helped. I imagine a future with so many more opportunities.”
— Cora, Nutrition & Housing Client
Champions for Change is a public health initiative designed to help reduce the prevalence of obesity among Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) eligible populations. All program offerings are free to all participants.
Families seeking nutritional assistance receive information about CalFresh and farmers markets that accept EBT.
If you are a school or community partner interested in working with our program, please email Sophia Gonzalez at sgonzalez@thewholechild.org.
Funding Partners
211 LA County is Los Angeles County’s information and referral service, offering confidential services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in English, Spanish and over 140 more languages. Services are also available to individuals with hearing impairments.
If this is a medical emergency or you are in need of immediate crisis support, please contact 911 or a crisis hotline in your area.