King County FOOD & FITNESS Initiative

www.KCFFI.org
"Creating vibrant communities that support access to locally grown, healthy, affordable food
and safe and inviting places for physical activity and play--for everyone."

Issue No.6
Dear Collaborative Partners & Friends
of Food & Fitness,
What do you get when you combine a
room full of innovative community
leaders and organizations, a handful of
useful tools, frameworks, and resources
all together in a stimulating work
environment for 8 hours? The answer:
OTHER NEWS/EVENTS
Results.
Thank you to the many of you who
attended last Wednesday's
Organizational Learning & Systems
Thinking meeting. Please find a
bulleted list of the draft values
statements you came up with in small
groups, and be sure to check out the
great resources listed up on the web
(www.kcffi.org)
Stay up to date on all Food and Fitness
Initiative related news and events by
visiting the KCFFI Website.
~News Reel~
May 14- May 27, 2008
In this Issue
KCFFI NEWS/EVENTS
• Re-cap WKKF Facilitated Meeting on
Organizational Learning & Systems
Thinking
• Youth Engagement Update
• Parks & Green Spaces Public Comment
Period Deadline is Friday, May 16th!
• Delridge Day (and volunteer
opportunities)
• May is Bike to Work/School Month!
• Jersey Bike Students Protest Anti-Bike
Policy
• Food Costs Likely to Boost Obesity in
the Poor
• The Lost Supermarket: A breed in need
of replenishment

"Vision is not enough. It must be

combined with venture. It is not
enough to stare up the stairs, we must
step up the stairs" Vaclav Havel
Upcoming KCFFI Meetings & Events
• June 4th: (2:00-4:00pm) KCFFI Leadership Council Meeting @ Youngstown
Cultural Arts Center

Meeting details...

Other Upcoming Involvement Opportunities

• May 21st: (7:00pm)Delridge Neighborhood District Council Meeting @ the

Southwest Police Pricinct (Delridge Way SW/SW Webster) *Special
discussion planned on Food & Fitness with Derek Birnie & Ron Angeles!

• May 31st: Delridge Day @ Youngstown Cultural Arts Center (details and
volunteer info below)
KCFFI News / Events
Re-cap on May 7th Principles of Organizational Learning & Systems Thinking
Meeting
Facilitated by the WK Kellogg Foundation

This concentrated work session strengthened the ground work

we need in order to move forward in developing our
community action plan for the next 8-year implementation
phase. Outcomes of May 7th (DRAFT value statements):

• The King County Food & Fitness Initiative is

committed to seeking out and implementing the most
innovative, creative ideas to expand what is possible
and make our vision reality.
• The King County Food & Fitness Initiative will inspire
people to have fun because we believe that fun is a
natural way to bring families and communities
together through meals, recreation, celebrations,
music, art, and play. Fun is an essential path to health and well being.
• Social Justice: Everyone has the right to wellness, health, opportunities, and choices.
• The King County Food & Fitness Initiative is committed to structuring our work so that
youth participate meaningfully and effectively. Creating opportunity for growth through
shared learning and support. Generating interest and participation by meeting young
people where they are.
• Community Driven: Create a transparent and meaningful decision making process that
directly involves our diverse community.
• We are a diverse and inclusive collaborative that encourages and embraces all ideas,
communities and people.

For a report and notes from the May 7th meeting, please visit www.kcffi.org or click here
YOUTH UPDATE!
Youth heading to Detroit for W.K. Kellogg Community Networking Conference

Five youth will join youth coordinator Quyet Huynh, and 14 others from the King County Food &
Fitness Initiative Collaborative in Detroit, Michigan from June 23-26th. The King County
collaborative will meet with the other eight Food & Fitness communities from around the country
to build cross community relationships with youth and adult leaders, as well as promote new
learning and inspire action around food and fitness. For a draft conference agenda or to learn
more about youth engagement around food and fitness, visit us at www.kcffi.org.

Contact Quyet Huynh for more information at 206-623-5132 ext 324 or quyet@apalliance.org

Other Interesting Food & Fitness News / Events

Parks & Green Space Levy Public Comment Deadline is Friday, May 16th!

A lot of folks might not be able to make the public meetings to provide input to the Parks and
Green Spaces Levy Citizens' Advisory Committee. The Committee still needs to hear from you
though. Visit the KCFFI website or CLICK HERE to make sure that your thoughts and views are
expressed. This is the same form that is being filled out by citizens that are attending the
public meetings this week. After you complete the form you can return it to the address on
the bottom of the form or it can be emailed to parksandgreenspaceslevy@seattle.gov

This is your chance to support your favorite project that hasn't been funded (or fully funded)
yet or to suggest something new and different. Thinking outside the box encouraged!

Opinion forms received by May 16, 2008 will be part of the committee report.
Delridge Day & Community Open House
Saturday, May 31st 11am-5pm

On Saturday, May 31st, the Delridge Neighborhood

Development Association (DNDA) and Youngstown Cultural Arts
Center will host Delridge Day: Bridging Community through
Arts and Resources. The event is an open house of the Center
and a celebration of the community, featuring local
performers, hands-on all-ages arts workshops, a mural project
and a community resource fair. Artist residents of the building
will curate a gallery and facilitate an Art Lending Library.
Gabriel Teodros is the lunchtime headliner, and Youth Dance
Empowerment Project will close the event in the Theater.

Volunteer Opportunities:

Sat. May 10th 10am-2pm

Meet your Delridge Neighbors by going Door-to-Door to pass
out flyers. Including a community scavenger hunt & prizes!

Sat. May 17th 10am-5pm

Youngstown Clean Up! Come BBQ with residents while beautifying Youngstown

Sat. May 24th noon-4pm

Create and paint signs for Delridge Day at Vivian McLean Place

Snacks provided! Pre-register as a Delridge Day volunteer to receive a free T-shirt!

Contact estrellad@dnda.org to sign up.
May is Bike to Work/School Month!

There are lots of great reasons to bike to work or school every day (individual health, recreation,
FUN, etc.), and here's just a handful of ADDITIONAL reasons to participate in bike to work /school
month! Backed by Cascade Bicycle Club Education Foundation (the largest bike club in the
nation), you and your family and co-workers won't want to miss out on these great events and
incentives!

Bike to School Day and Month

Get your child involved in active transportation and help them bike to school in the month of
May! The CBC Education Foundation will be helping select schools throughout the Seattle area get
kids on bikes through Bike to School Month activities

Starbucks Bike to Work Day

Cascade Bicycle Club Education Foundation is proud to bring you the annual Starbucks Bike to
Work Day. Frustrated with driving? Missed the bus again? Want to find a better way to get to your
work or school? Why not try riding your bike? It's fun, easy, healthy and contagious!

Group Health Commute Challenge

For the fifth annual Group Health Commute Challenge, teams and individuals may sign-up to
compete in our thirty-day bicycle commute challenge and win fabulous prizes. During May, riders
can also stop by one of our afternoon bike rallies for information, live music, snacks and great
give-aways!

Check out the Bike to Work Month Schedule of Events.

Jersey High School Students Protest Anti-Bike Policy

Posted May 2, 2008
Streetsblog

A Jersey high school principal denies donation of a fully funded bike rack, promoting cars and
bussing over biking to school:

In as much as the district provides courtesy busing to students who live within walking distance of
the high school, because of the danger on Garretson Road, it does (not) make sense, in my
opinion, to promote the riding of bicycles to school," the letter read. Read more about students'
reactions...
Food Costs Likely to Boost Obesity in Poor
Healthier choices will be even more out reach experts say
By Alfred Lubrano
Published: May 6, 2008
The Philadelphia Inquirer

"Some of the fattest people in America are among the poorest.

And with food prices rising, the problem is likely to get worse.

Tianna Gaines, who describes herself as impoverished and obese, knows this. At 5-foot-3 and 242
pounds, she lives on public assistance in Frankford and eats junk food because it's cheap and
more readily available in her neighborhood than carrots and apples.

Besides, said Gaines, 28, and a mother of three, "I don't have the money for Bally's fitness clubs.
And I can't run here. They shoot you."

More poor people may suffer Gaines' fate, with the U.S. Department of Agriculture predicting
food prices will be up 4.5 percent throughout the year, due to high fuel costs, weather problems,
and the growing diversion of corn crops to make ethanol. Globally, prices will rise nearly 50
percent, according to the president's Council of Economic Advisers. Read full article...

The Lost Supermarket: a breed in need of replenishment

By David Gonzales
Published: May 5, 2008
The New York Times

Even Kings and Queens are facing their own food crisis.

Kings and Queens Counties, that is.

A continuing decline in the number of neighborhood supermarkets has made it harder for millions
of New Yorkers to find fresh and affordable food within walking distance of their homes,
according to a recent city study. The dearth of nearby supermarkets is most severe in minority
and poor neighborhoods already beset by obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.

According to the food workers union, only 550 decently sized supermarkets - each occupying at
least 10,000 square feet - remain in the city.

In one corner of southeast Queens, four supermarkets have closed in the last two years. Over a
similar period in East Harlem, six small supermarkets have closed, and two more are on the brink,
local officials said. In some cases, the old storefronts have been converted to drug stores that
stand to make money coming and going - first selling processed foods and sodas, then selling
medicines for illnesses that could have been prevented by a better diet. Read full article...
Thanks for keeping in touch! Please feel free to email interesting articles and events you'd like to
have included in the KCFFI News Reel. Simply email
maggie.anderson@kingcounty.gov with subject line "News Reel Content".

Until next time,

Maggie Anderson
KCFFI
c/o: WSU King County Extension
Renton, Washington 98057

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