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Cindy Wolff, Nutrition and Food Sciences and director
of SCNAC
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Nutrition Consortium Receives $5 Million
Cindy Wolff, Nutrition and Food Sciences and director of OPT (Overweight
Prevention and Treatment) for Fit Kids, has been awarded a $5 million
grant to expand the Sierra Cascade Nutrition and Activity Consortium
(SCNAC) in the North State over the next three years.
SCNAC was created to educate residents of Northern California
about healthy life-long eating and physical activity practices.
SCNAC’s goal is to promote a balanced diet and physical activity
through a social marketing campaign, provide pre-kindergarten to
12th-grade nutrition and activity programs, and provide parent,
teacher, and family-based education.
The grant focuses on providing services to low-income families
in rural areas, particularly Hispanic, Asian, and Native American
residents. Often, community health services, public health facilities,
and health care insurance are inadequate in rural parts of the state.
SCNAC has 30 partnering agencies that will receive 50 cents from
SCNAC for every dollar they spend on nutrition education and physical
activity promotion. Partners include 13 school districts and a variety
of community partners, including Butte County Department of Public
Health, Feather River Tribal Health, Chico Area Recreation District,
Modoc County Department of Health, and Northern Valley Indian Health.
SCNAC employs 14 CSU, Chico students each semester, nine graduate
students, and five undergraduates, as well as nine staff members
who are CSU, Chico alumni. Twelve Chico faculty members from seven
departments in three colleges are currently participating in SCNAC
research and program activities. In addition, 40 students intern
with the program each semester.
“Nutrition education and physical activity promotion are
increasingly important as the United States faces an obesity epidemic.
Lack of proper nutrition and physical fitness cost the United States
more than $93 billion a year and is the leading cause of preventable
death,” said Wolff. “It is critical to maintain and
improve health education programs that start with children. This
grant will allow us to reach families who are most in need.”
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Volume 35/Number 4
