Community Activity and Nutrition Coalition

Who We Are

The Community Activity and Nutrition Coalition (CAN-C) of Sonoma County is a group of individuals, professionals and community based organizations concerned about the nutritional health, activity level and well-being of the residents of our community. The group was formed in 1998.

Mission and Goals

The mission of CAN-C is to promote optimal nutritional and physical health for Sonoma County residents with an emphasis on children. The goals of CAN-C are carried out through sub-committees of the coalition and include:

• Increasing public awareness of nutrition and physical activity issues and potential solutions.
• Increasing opportunities for access to healthy foods and physical activity in all environments where children and adults live, work, learn and play.
• Advocating for health-focused policies and practices in school and community environments and empowering community members to do the same.
• Promoting proven effective practices for prevention and treatment of nutrition/inactivity-related health problems within local health care systems and ensuring their availability.
• Building collaborative relationships with government and community groups that support CAN-C objectives.

Current Projects

Healthy Students Initiative (HSI) - Collaborates with Health Action, to design and implement a Healthy Students Initiative in three to five K-6 or K-8 schools in Sonoma County aimed at transforming the school culture to increase physical activity and healthy eating. For more information contact Chris Bekins.

Communities of Excellence (CX3) Evaluates communities in relation to a variety of benchmarks including access to healthy and unhealthy food, walkability of neighborhoods, alternative sources of healthy foods like farmers markets, advertising of unhealthy food; local transit and emergency food providers. CX3 evaluations are conducted in order to help communities develop a local plan of action that will promote policy, systems and environmental changes toward access to healthy food. For more information contact Anthony Taylor.

Policy Advocacy - Reviews and responds to advocacy opportunities and actively advocates for local, state and federal policies that align with CAN-C's mission. CAN-C members can submit local, state, or national legislative or advocacy effort they would like CAN-C, or its members, to support by completing the online "Reactive Policy Effort Request Form." For more information, contact Gail Atkins.

Steering Committee (SC) - Makes recommendations to CAN-C membership on policy positions and CAN-C sponsored program implementation. The SC, in collaboration with the fiscal agent, provides budget oversight for projects awarded to CAN-C. The SC makes necessary decisions concerning CAN-C operation.

Community Partners

Asthma Coalition
Bauman College
CAL SERVES
Community Action partnership (Head Start & Roseland Children's Health Center)
Council on Aging
Extended Child Care
Kaiser Permanente
Network for Healthy California North Coast Collaborative
Northern California Center for Well Being
Redwood Empire Food Bank
Santa Rosa City Schools Child Nutrition Services
Seniors, Inc.
Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition
Sonoma County Department of Health Services
Sonoma County Family YMCA
St. Joseph's Health System Sonoma County
WIC (Sonoma County, Alliance & Sonoma County Indian Health)

Information and Resources

CAN-C Press Releases

Local Markets Help Residents Make Half Their Plates Fruits and Vegetables for Sonoma Valley (pdf) February 22, 2012

Local Markets Help Residents Make Half Their Plates Fruits and Vegetables for Russian River (pdf) February 22, 2012

Other

CAN-C: Who We Are and What We Do (English/Spanish) (pdf)

Summary of the Raising Healthy Active Kids Project (pdf)

Nutrition Education Handouts (English/Spanish) (pdf)

Physical Activity Guides: Fitness Fun for Families