Meeting Minutes Nutrition Action Team 2/1/08 Meeting Held at 11th St. Health Center 12:30-3 Recorder: C.

Grove
Attendees:
Carmen Adler Courtney Grove Robin Rifkin Niva Kramek Natasha Mooney
Sanchez Karl Ingram Tanya Sen Katy Wich Richard Hillen
Jennifer Andia Leona Joseph Barbara Washington Beverly Cylinder David Stark
Colleen Bynum Lamarr Kendrick Norman Weiss Parth Modi Julia Cohen
Marianna Chilton Brenda Lazin Colleen Eaglehouse Sandy Sherman 2staff from 11th St.
Rosa Dacosta Kelly Morrison Kathleen Coughey Joe Woodlock
Agenda Item Discussion: Main Points Follow-up Responsibility Deadline
Activities/Status
Information • Kellogg is beginning to look towards social Not applicable Not applicable Not
sharing/ networking applicable
announcements: • All nine cities awarded Kellogg grants are
meeting as a group – group from Phila went
to Florida for this meeting
• Philadelphia Health Corps AmeriCorps
volunteers are putting together a Nutrition
Handbook and Community Resource Guide
• Announcement of a local food distribution
near SHARE, where farmers bring in their
food to be distributed throughout the city – “a
common market”
Synergy • Colleen Bynum thanked group for all the Anybody with additional All participants ASAP
information various group members were able info on summer feeding
to provide to her regarding getting fresh program funding or options
produce to a local summer camp. for getting healthier food
• Mariana Chilton announced the YUMMY into summer camps should
event held the previous week. contact Annie to be
connected with Colleen. Not
Not applicable applicable
Previous meeting • There was discussion that a representative • Robin notes that Lisa Robin Rifkin to complete
follow-up from the School District of Philadelphia Jones (food service follow-up with
should be at each meeting director for the school Lisa to see
district) usually is in whether she, or
attendance, but could another rep
not make this meeting. from the district
will be
attending the
next meeting
New topics Group separated into smaller groups of 3-4 Not applicable Not applicable Not
people. Smaller groups discussed/answered applicable
several questions. Discuss a message or teaching
you heard from your family of origin, that you
remember about food or nutrition.
Not applicable Not applicable Not
Groups responded: applicable
• No artificial flavors/colors
• No junk food
• Whole wheat bread, fruits and vegetables
• No leaving house without breakfast
• Complete meal in one dish (ex. Cornmeal,
fish, veggies)
• Don’t eat a lot of pork
• Eat something from above and something
from below the ground
• No late meals
• No drinks with your meals
• Karl cited Michael Pollan’s words: eat food,
most vegetables, and not too much.

Robin handed out “Summary of vision generated

at 11.30.07 Nutrition Action Team meeting”.

Robin asked in small groups to discuss the

following. “If I had one thing I can change in my
neighborhood about food / or nutrition, it would Not applicable Not applicable Not
be………..” applicable
• Make nutrition education standards a
mandatory part of the curriculum in the
schools. Discussion around starting this Robin requested that group
mandate in grades 1-12. members email Robin All participants ASAP
• Hold corporations accountable for the claims (rrifkin@phmc.org) if they
that they make – discussion about misleading have anything they would
serving sizes, truth in advertising like to add to the list, that
• Change people’s tastes about what food is was not discussed today
supposed to taste like – example given, many due to time limitations.
kids think cherries are supposed to taste like a
Cherry flavored Hugs drink. No idea of what
fresh, natural foods taste like.
• Schools should experiment with the lunches
served once a week to include fresh, natural
foods in order to get kids exposed to these
foods, flavors, ideas.
• Noted that schools are good, but we also need
to be conscious of adults and must target this
group because they are ultimately the one’s
feeding the kids. Recommended including
nutrition component to Teacher-Parent
conferences. Discussion that with new BMI
screening requirements in schools, this may
be a good idea. Another group member noted
that we need to not forget the younger
population and stressed the importance of
promoting healthy foods in daycare centers.
Need to focus on nutrition across the lifespan.
• Parents give money to kids to spend at the
corner stores, but parents do not currently
have any control over what kids are
purchasing at the stores. Suggested idea to
have some type of card (such as the Access
cards) that parents can load money onto for
kids to purchase food at corner stores;
however, the cards will only be able to be
used for healthier foods sold in the store.
• Local athletes (high school, college,
professional) should go to schools to discuss
with students what they do to keep their
 bodies in shape
• Discussion around bottled water and the fact
that bottled water can not be more expensive
than soda. The city needs to have good
tasting, high quality water available that is not
bottled. Also discussion around schools and
the water fountains. One group member notes
that some schools have functional water
fountains, while others may not. This may be
due to lead contamination in the pipes and
fountains being shut off. Noted that schools
must have functional, lead free fountains for
kids to drink from during the school day.
• Stricter zoning for fast food restaurants – so
many per capita or per density. Fifty-percent
rule – restaurants can sell 50% junk and 50%
healthy, local foods.
• Robin noted that in Iowa stores that accept
WIC vouchers have to have so much space
dedicated to refrigeration, so that fresh foods
can be sold.
• Policies to increase the amount of locations
that support breastfeeding – more support
from businesses, organizations, universities,
etc.
• Regulations on kid’s meals at restaurants –
choices should be healthy and low cost.
Discussion was also around restaurants
offering incentives – such as stickers, creative
messages – to get kids to want the healthier
options they offer. This may result in more
restaurants offering healthier foods, if kids are
open to eating healthy foods. Some group
 members liked the idea of offering a program • Courtney 2/4/08
where restaurants can get “PUFFA certified” Information on Grove to
if they provide healthy options – there may be reimbursement for nutrition forward info Complete
a sign or sticker businesses could put in their services to children to be to Robin &
window to promote this to the public. forwarded to Robin Rifkin Rifkin, to be attached
• Issue of health insurance and access to health to distribute to group sent to a=ll
information – health info in appropriate members that are participants
languages and literacy levels. Some group interested. that are
members noted that PA is now reimbursing interested
for some nutrition services provided to Contact Robin Rifkin if
children by registered dieticians. you are interested in
• Discussion around the value of food and reimbursement info being
deciding what to eat away from home. Group forwarded The PA Department
of Public Welfare has released a
had brief discussion about educating the bulletin announcing expanded
public about getting the most from your food coverage of nutrition services
dollar – healthy foods versus straight cost of under medical assistance.
food. Several group members noted that it is a Effective November 1, 2007,
DPW began implementation of
false assumption that healthy food costs more Childhood Nutrition and Weight
than junk food; however, several members of Management Program Services,
the group disagreed with this statement. which allows overweight and
Noted that could create a social marketing obese children to receive
nutrition counseling from
campaign to educate people that healthy food registered dietitians. These
does not have to be costly food. services will be provided by
• Noted that need to change the foods available medical assistance benefits.
within the large food distributors – Aramark Services may include assessment
and appropriate nutrition/ weight
& Sysco- and that if these corporations see management counseling to
that healthy food can be profitable, this will individuals, groups, and
result in a change in the whole system of their families.
operations.
For more information, please
• Need to keep in mind those in the foster care view the bulletin at
system, shelters, and those receiving foods http://www.dpw.state.pa.us/Pub
from the food cupboards. Need to look at the sFormsReports/NewslettersBulle
rules and regulations regarding donated foods. tins/003673169.aspx?BulletinDe
tailId=4131
 Also discussion around how the foods that are
donated are prepared. These foods are often
handled so poorly.
• Healthier rewards for kids – not using food
rewards in schools
• “New food environment” – need to flood a
certain area with new foods – natural, healthy
foods- so that local communities – that rely
mostly on processed, pre-packaged, or fast
foods- know what they are missing out on.
• Needs to be high quality, healthy food for
anyone that wants to eat. Access to food is a
basic human right. Everyone should be able to
access quality food at all times. In the US we
view food as a privilege, but this is not true.
• Produce trucks
• Places where families can go together to
prepare meals for the week
• Access to jobs is also important. Jobs need to • .
provide a living wage so that people can buy
quality food.
• Provide incentives to those that have access –
such as Food Stamps- to make healthy
choices. Example – buy $5 worth of
fruits/veggies, get an extra $1 towards these
foods.
• Need for Point of Purchase educational
messages in stores & restaurants
Next Steps • Need to create a vision – such as “create a • Need to distinguish • All By next
new food environment in Philadelphia”. which items on the participants meeting
• After a vision is adopted, then need to think summary of visions are
about what systems and policies can we true vision statements,
change in order to reach our vision. and which are
Next Steps • Need to create a vision – such as “create a • Need to distinguish • All By next
new food environment in Philadelphia”. which items on the participants meeting
• After a vision is adopted, then need to think summary of visions are
about what systems and policies can we true vision statements,
change in order to reach our vision. and which are
• Need to think about others that we need to programs and policies.
invite to our meetings. Need to consider Robin has asked
inviting those that can help to reach our vision participants to review • Robin
- those with knowledge of policies, such as the list to determine Rifkin
policy makers and/or lawyers. which are visions,
policies, or programs.
• Robin will add all new
suggestions/discussion
points from today’s
meeting to the master
list/summary of visions
generated.
• Discussion about the need for a PUFFA
website or some other medium to get out our
information to the group, as well as the • Group would like to • All Discuss at
community. develop some general participants next
• Discussion about the need for group to come nutrition standards meeting
up with some nutrition standards. Some
members feel this is necessary in order to help
clarify what is meant when “healthy foods” is
discussed by the group.
Next meeting Date Feb 29th •
Location: Free Library- Skyline Room
19th and Vine 12:30-1 networking,
Meeting 1-3:00