December 16, 2016
The Marilyn Magaram Center, in collaboration with CSUN’s Institute of Community Health and Wellbeing, is proud to announce that they have been awarded a grant for $880,000 through the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health to implement the Champions for Change – Healthy Communities Initiative.
Champions for Change is a state-wide initiative that focuses on nutrition education; physical activity engagement; and advancement of policy, systems, and environmental changes coordinated with stakeholder engagement and partnerships to reach low-income individuals and families in multiple settings. The overall goal is to apply comprehensive evidence-based obesity prevention strategies to achieve specific behavioral outcomes including increased consumption of healthy foods, reduced consumption of less healthy foods and beverages, and increased levels of physical activity.
Our goal is to build community gardens and provide SNAP-Ed approved nutrition education to 13 locations from SNAP-Ed eligible communities in the Canoga Park area, and work with local leadership and key stakeholders to establish policies that will require greater density of community gardens and urban agriculture in qualifying districts.
CSUN is committed to providing quality services and support to our neighboring communities, with a mission to serve disadvantaged, underrepresented and diverse populations. Through the Marilyn Magaram Center and the Institute for Community Health and Wellbeing, we will be offering our expertise in nutrition education and community-based participatory research, and an established network of professionals and community members capable of implementing the multifaceted program outlined in the Champions Initiative. Additionally, the deep roots CSUN has built in the Canoga Park community through Neighborhood Partners in Action (NPA) will allow us to make a significant change in the health and wellbeing of residents as we invest our resources and energy into improving the access to sustainable obesity prevention strategies with this community. We look forward to implementing Champions for Change in 2017!