On January 28, CLOCC joined Trust for America's Health and more than 300 endorsing organizations to thank Senators Tina Smith and Chris Murphy for introducing The Improving Social Determinants of Health Act of 2021. This legislation would empower public health departments and community organizations to act as chief health strategists in their communities and lead efforts to convene partners across sectors to build integrated systems. This bill is an important step to addressing inequities in health.

From CDC's Healthy School Highlights: A recent Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report article found that in 2017, 7.1% of US high-school students met fruit intake recommendations, and 2.0% met vegetable intake recommendations. Per the CDC, it is important to expand existing school and community programs or identify new ways to encourage eating fruits and vegetables among adolescents, which includes using social media and other communication tools, to help address barriers and improve adolescent fruit and vegetable consumption.

Read the “Percentage of Adolescents Meeting Federal Fruit and Vegetable Intake Recommendations — Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, United States, 2017,” to learn more.

The Experimental Station fosters a dynamic ecology of innovative educational and cultural programs, small business enterprises and community initiatives. Since 2006, Experimental Station has both built programming to address local needs and has fostered, hosted, and sponsored many other initiatives. Current programs include Blackstone Bicycle Works, Link Up Illinois, 61st Street Farmers Market, small business incubation, and public arts and cultural events. Experimental Station is currently seeking a Link Up Illinois Program Manager who will be central to managing operations of Link Up Illinois as it grows. Learn more here.

The Governor’s Office of Early Childhood Development (GOECD) leads the State’s initiative to create an integrated system of quality early learning and development programs to support Illinois’ vision: We envision Illinois as a place where every young child – regardless of race, ethnicity, income, language, geography, ability, immigration status, or other circumstance – receives the strongest possible start to life so they grow up safe, healthy, happy, ready to succeed, and eager to learn. The Health Policy Coordinator manages early childhood health policy and programming. Learn more here.

It has been over a year since our last "traditional" CLOCC meeting and we miss our face-to-face interaction with friends and colleagues from across the network. While we look forward optimistically to our next in-person convening, we're continuing to publish "CLOCC Faces," so that you can learn a little more about the CLOCC staffers who are your teammates in the fight against childhood obesity, here in Chicago and beyond!

As Community and School Programs Manager, I work with CLOCC's team of Community Program Coordinators to connect with partners at the city and neighborhood levels. We learn from partner experience and expertise about the ways in which health inequities manifest so that we understand and address each community's unique needs when it comes to developing and implementing obesity prevention strategies. The team also works to directly support schools with increasing achievement of Healthy CPS criteria and implementing the Whole School, Whole Child, Whole Community (WSCC) Model in pilot schools, taking a more holistic, upstream approach to school health. We also convene external school partners through the Food and Fitness Partner Network and +Network to implement systems and services that benefit students' health, wellness, and learning. 

Obesity prevention involves a multi-strategy approach to systems, policy, and environmental change. It is exciting to watch projects and practices evolve as new research emerges, as we obtain feedback from individuals and communities, or when we simply rethink an old program or idea. For example, we are working to digitize and modernize CLOCC's Neighborhood Walkability and Accessibility Assessment Tool (NWAAT) to include detailed recommendations from community partners. It is exciting to be part of the tool's evolution and discussions around improving the tool's ease-of-use, the best way to assess for equity and inclusion in the built environment, and the social factors in a neighborhood that make walking feel safe and enjoyable. 

Partners often share programs and resources on food and physical activity and I am always learning new healthy recipes to try, strategies for encouraging a toddler to try a new food, or fun physical activity to do at home.  

I have two small children, so we take many walks and spend a lot of time at the parks and lakefront. In the warmer months, you can find me playing beach volleyball. 

Planning my weeks and establishing a routine, staying active, and enjoying time outside. 

The Illinois Public Health Institute (IPHI), with funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has announced an opportunity for Illinois supportive and/or transitional housing facilities to increase access to healthy food and beverage options by adopting and implementing tailored nutrition guidance for their organizations. Grants will be provided to offset the time and resources required to adjust the foods served to better support the health of residents (and staff, if applicable). To facilitate the change-making process, awardees will also gain access to at least 20 hours of individualized technical assistance and to training and networking opportunities. Funding is available to support up to four organizations.

Application due date and time: Friday, February 26th at 5:00 pm CST

Awardees will be notified by: Wednesday, March 10th at 5:00 pm CST

Award value: $4,000 - $6,000 per organization

Project timeline: March 2021 – March 2022

Eligibility: Supportive and transitional housing facilities in Illinois are eligible to apply. Priority will be given to organizations in Cook County, the Peoria/Tazewell/Woodford Tri-County region, and Jackson County, but other regions are welcome to apply.

Please send applications and questions to: Kathryn.Bernstein@iphionline.org with subject line “Nutrition Guidelines in Housing Application.”

Additionally, if you would like to contact a social worker, psychologist or child life specialist for information on community referrals or coping resources, you can call (312) 227-4118 and leave a message. Your call will be returned within 24 hours, Monday through Friday.