February 2019 Newsletter
Hunger Amidst Vast Wealth
February 2019 Newsletter
Items to include in this newsletter
Moving Health Equity Forward: Announcing the 2019 Get Healthy SMC Awardees!
We continue to want to honor and support the leadership on the ground advancing the priorities of the Get Healthy San Mateo County collaborative to ensure equitable opportunities to long and healthy lives across the county. The 2019 GHSMC Community Implementation Funding partners are both new and old to GHSMC and we could not be more excited about the work they are leading. Creating healthy, equitable communities takes multiple strategies and our partners represent this diversity: they are creating safer, bikeable and walkable communities, increasing access to affordable and hea
Healthy Case Study
How can your city or organization work with GHSMC to promote
health? Check out Partnership Opportunities to
connect with us and build healthy, equitable communities.
A Shift in Food Insecurity
Overall, food insecurity for adults and children living in San Mateo County has improved. The number of food insecure adults dropped from 73,640 in 2015 to 68,490 in 2016, while the number of food insecure children decreased from 24,830 in 2015 to 21,370 in 2016. Source: Feeding America, California Dept. of Social Services, CalFresh Data Files (December 2018).
Increasing School Breakfast Participation to Address Food Insecurity
Greetings Get Healthy SMC Partners,
Boards and Commissions Vacancies
- Redwood City is looking for residents interested in city zoning and planning projects to apply for one vacant seat on the Planning Commission. Applications are due March 22, 2019.
- The City of South San Francisco is seeking residents to apply to serve on the Parks and Recreation Commission and/or the Planning Commission. Click
More Capacity, More Opportunities to Advance An Equitable, Local Food System
Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF) was recently selected to help lead the San Mateo Food System Alliance (SMFSA). The Alliance is a collaboration of community leaders working to improve all aspects of the local food system including local farms, workers, consumers and the environment.
Making the Case for Safe Routes to Walk and Bike to School
Ten public elementary schools in South San Francisco, Daly City and Redwood City will be hosting traffic safety education and encouragement events this Spring. The schools are Los Cerritos, Spruce, and Martin Elementary in South San Francisco, Bayshore, Westlake, Woodrow Wilson, and Daniel Webster Elementary in Daly City, and Hawes, Hoover, and Taft Elementary in Redwood City.
Health Cost of Traffic
Recent national coverage of the health impacts of traffic stresses the importance of reducing our vehicle trips through healthy options such as biking and walking. In addition to the time spent in congestion, commuters are further affected by the unpredictability and environmental impacts of traffic to our health. One way to address the health impacts of traffic will be to ensure that we have a variety of mobility options.
Party But Do it Safely: Board of Supervisors Takes Action to Discourage Underage Drinking
The SMC Youth Commission got a win this month with the Board of Supervisors approving one of their suggested policies, known as the Social Host Ordinance, to discourage the consumption of alcohol and other drugs by minors.
Survey for Parents and Caregivers on Safe Routes to School
The County Office of Education (COE) is conducting its annual student travel assessment. If you are a parent or caregiver of a student, please take five minutes to complete the survey to help the County understand how students get to school, as well as barriers in traveling to school. The goal is to better understand travel patterns at all schools, including private, in the County. The survey is available in English and Spanish and can be accessed online or in paper form.
East Palo Alto Champion Profile
We have launched community planning
in Daly City and East Palo Alto. One of the first planning
efforts is to partner with local leaders in identifying local
champions to work with their neighborhoods and in their
communities to bring their voices to the CCCS initiative. The
champions engaged in CCCS are truly special. They are experts in
their communities, with diverse backgrounds and experiences,
interested and invested in seeing their communities continue to
succeed.
Announcement of final plans for phase one CCCS communities – coming in March!
The North Fair Oaks/Redwood City and South San Francisco communities put in a lot of time and effort over the last six months to share their stories, experiences and expertise as we worked together to develop the neighborhood specific action plans to support children’s success. The final plans are being drafted into a brief now so they can be easily shared. We’re working hard to review the data provided by the community and draft a great plan worthy of all the priorities shared by the community!
Protecting Our State’s Workers and Entrepreneurs
California has two new laws this year focused on building the economic well-being needed for a healthy life. The Phase-In Overtime for Agricultural Workers Act (AB 1066) requires large farms to pay farm workers overtime pay. The Safe Sidewalk Vending Act (SB 946) decriminalizes street vending and provides cities with guidance on how to regulate and support entrepreneurs selling food on sidewalk
The Next Generation of EMS Providers
Three San Mateo County residents began their Emergency Medical Services Corps training this month. They are part of the third cohort of local young men participating in the renowned emergency medical technician training. Recent graduates of the program also toured American Medical Responder’s Burlingame office on February 20th, where they learned about the emergency ambulance provider’s operations and employment opportunities.
East Palo Alto Homeowners Gathered to Learn More About Second Units
Organized by our Get Healthy SMC partners, Rebuilding Together Peninsula, City Systems and Faith in Action, the event gathered over 20 homeowners from East Palo Alto who are interested in bringing existing second units up to code or building new second units to learn more about the tools that the partners are developing to make the process as easy as possible for homeowners.
Homeless Count in San Mateo County
On January 31, one of our community health planners, Belen Seara who leads our housing work, was one of the 165 volunteers gathered in the early morning to count our homeless neighbors. This biennial count enables San Mateo County Human Services Agency to inform their programs and services to better serve this population. The final report will be released this summer. The latest report in 2017 estimated that there are 1,253 homeless people in San Mateo County.