Get Healthy San Mateo County: Strategies and implementation of a county-wide initiative to improve food and physical activity environments

Background- Get Healthy San Mateo County (GHSMC), a county-wide health policy initiative, first began addressing childhood obesity in 2004. In a recent study, San Mateo County was found as being the only California Bay Area county to decrease obesity rates in the past five years. While obesity rates in San Mateo County are still high, 34% of children, the percentage of obese children dropped by 5.6% between 2005-2010. Objective- To implement a health policy and primary prevention framework for improving food and physical activity environments at the local level.

Methods- With the input of San Mateo County civic and community leaders, national experts and community partners, the Strategies for Improving Food & Physical Activity Environments was published to guide GHSMC work. To support community-driven implementation, the Community Implementation Funding, a matching fund concept, was established and provides small grants for projects that are initiated, planned and implemented by community organizations. The GHSMC Training Series builds capacity among community leaders, schools, organizations and government to work collaboratively on implementing policy and environmental changes.

Results- The implementation of the GHSMC initiative has led to effective strategies for addressing food and physical activity environments; 1) youth advocacy groups, have implemented healthy corner store makeovers, social marketing campaigns and walkability audits; 2) school districts have implemented their school wellness policies including partnering with local farmers to integrate local fresh produce; 3) two farmer's markets have been established in low-income neighborhoods 4) various cities have implemented pedestrian and bicycling promotion programs and infrastructure improvements.