Policy Analysis and Advocacy

California School Food Finance Study
California Food Policy Advocates
In 2000, California Food Policy Advocates commissioned Samuels & Associates to conduct a study of food service finances. District-level food service directors and school business officials from seven representative school districts were interviewed. Findings from the survey describes the financial management of public school food service departments within the responding districts and propose recommendations to help school districts' food service departments achieve higher nutritional quality while maintaining fiscal soundness.

A Place for Healthier Living
PolicyLink
In 2004, Samuels & Associates, along with PolicyLink and the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, authored a policy brief for African American and Latino public officials and policymakers on health disparities related to nutrition and physical activity.

Literature Review and Policy Brief: Preventing Early Childhood Obesity
California WIC Association
In 2005, Samuels & Associates conducted an extensive literature review for the California WIC Association to provide a profile of overweight among children in California from birth to five years old. This formative research describes current approaches to preventing overweight for these children and discusses the potential role of various programs and policies in advancing the goal of prevention. The primary focus is on environmental causes of overweight among young children and the strategies that involve environmental or policy changes that can help prevent overweight in the earliest years. In addition, S&A synthesized the findings from the literature review in a policy brief and assisted in shaping a statewide convening of early childhood experts to discuss the findings and prioritize policy strategies to prevent overweight among young children in California.

Overweight and Unfit Children in California: Analysis of Statewide FITNESSGRAM Data; Diabetes Deaths in California
California Center for Public Health Advocacy
The California Center for Public Health Advocacy commissioned Samuels & Associates to assist in production of two Policy Briefs' one on the level of physical fitness among California youth, the other on mortality rates attributed to diabetes. Each policy brief reported analysis of available data by Assembly district. S&A also authored the scientific background papers to support these briefs and conducted an evaluation of the Briefs' release to legislators, community members, public health advocates, and school and health officials familiar with the reports and relevant prevention programs. S&A surveyed stakeholders to evaluate the impact and use of the Policy Briefs in program and policy development and to assess what additional information was needed to support nutrition, physical activity, and diabetes and obesity prevention activities.

The Strategic Alliance for Healthy Food and Activity Environments
Samuels & Associates has been integral to the formation and continuing work of the Strategic Alliance for Healthy Food and Activity Environments. Founded in January 2001, the Alliance aims to build a social movement focused on making significant improvements in the nutrition and physical activity environment in California. The Alliance serves as an independent voice, autonomous from, yet influential over, government and industry. The Alliance is composed of seven leading California nutrition and physical activity organizations: the Community Adolescent Nutrition and Fitness program (CANFit), California Center for Public Health Advocacy, California Food Policy Advocates, California Project LEAN, California WIC Association, Prevention Institute and Samuels & Associates, Inc. Within the Alliance, Samuels & Associates has the unique role of directing all research and evaluation activities.