Sharon Sugerman, MS, RD, FADA , California Prevention and
Nutrition Section, DHS

This presentation describes the purpose and scope of the focus groups, explain the methodology used and its limitations, and present the research results. The lecture will conclude with suggestions for action from the public, private and/or non-profit sectors to increase participation in the federal Food Stamp program and briefly examine some efforts currently underway in California. Copies of the full report will be available at the lecture.

Sharon Sugerman is a Research Scientist with the Public Health Institute. She has worked in the field of nutrition program planning, evaluation and research for more than 15 years. She has been part of the Cancer prevention and Nutrition Section Research and Evaluation Unit since Oct. 1999, serving as Manager of the unit since June 2001. At CPNS she has the primary responsibility for overseeing the California Teen Eating, Exercise, and Nutrition Survey. Ms. Sugerman participates on the Interagency Food Assistance Committee that implements the State Food Stamp and California Food Assistance Programs Community Outreach and Education Campaign.

Victoria Berends

Working with ten California communities, the University of South Florida, and the California School Boards Association, California Project LEAN conducted formative research to develop a social marketing plan to motivate policymakers to examine and enact local school district policies that support healthy eating. Highlights of the research and innovative strategies will be shared.

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As Marketing Manager, Vicki oversees the social marketing and media campaigns for Food on the Run, a program of California Project LEAN. Vicki has also served as Marketing Director of the California Grocers Association and the California Nutrition Network, where she helped start a multi-million dollar statewide social marketing campaign for low -income families

Roberta Cook, PhD

As the food distribution system consolidates, retailers are seeking more marketing and promotional support from their suppliers. For mandated marketing programs( e.g. commodity boards) to remain relevant they must develop detailed knowledge of consumer buying habits by demographic and psychographic segments. Increasingly, the food system is evolving toward technology-intensive demand-based information management practices to stimulate sales and profits for retailers. Successful suppliers are likely to be ones that actively participate in the transition.

Roberta Cook has been the Extension Marketing Economist in the Dept of Agricultural and Resource Economics at UCD since 1985. She conducts an applied research and industry outreach program focusing on the marketing and international trade of fresh fruits and vegetables. Roberta serves on the board of directors of numerous produce industry organizations, authored over a 100 publications on the produce industry, and has made over 800 presentations on fresh produce related topics. Roberta has a Ph.D in Agricultural Economics from Michigan State University.

Desiree Backman

Dr. Backman shares the results of a formal evaluation study that was conducted to determine the effect of the California Latino 5 a Day Campaign's social marketing interventions on fruit and vegetable consumption and related behavioral determinants of Latino adults. Dr Backman will describe the methods used to conduct the study, highlight the media and community-based interventions that were implemented, share the findings of the study, draw conclusions from the research experience, and summarize the future direction of the program.

Desiree Backman, Manager, California 5 a Day Campaign

Sharon McCarthy

Is healthy fast food still an oxymoron? Which fast food chains are considered healthy? What do you need to do to successfully market healthy fast food? Can fast food chains change the way America eats? These and other questions answered in our brown bag lecture on Trends in Marketing Healthy Fast Food

Sharon McCarthy, has 15 years of experience building consumer brands with companies PepsiCo, Kraft, and Hallmark. Four of those years were at the VP of Marketing/Company Officer level. In the mid 90's, Sharon was responsible for managing the low fat line of tacos and burritos at Taco Bell. Sharon earned an MBA from The Wharton School and a B.S. from the University of Delaware. She is now an independent marketing consultant in the Bay area.

Scott Horsfall and Lourminia (Mimi) C. Sen, PhD

The Buy California initiative marks for the first time significant funding to promote specialty crops. Specialty crop block grant of $64 million from USDA and $8 million from the state's general Fund gave birth to the Buy California Initiative. It is a multi-faceted program assisting specialty crop agriculture with advertising, promotion, research and education. The seminar will include a description of the statewide marketing campaign, "California Grown" and the Western Institute for Food Safety and Security.

Scott Horsfall, Chief Officer " California Grown", California Department of Food and Agriculture
Lourminia (Mimi) C. Sen, PhD, Agriculture and Environmental Science Advisor, California Department of Agriculture and Research Scientist, Western Institute for Food Safety and Security

Marla Hollander

The United States is in the midst of an epidemic of inactive living.Preliminary research suggests that developing and promoting activity-friendly places and spaces can be an important strategy able to improve public health by supporting increased walking and cycling.

Strong leadership, effective policies and guidelines are needed to garner optimal support for the development and promotion of activity-friendly places and spaces that support active living. Government and community leaders are able to champion the development of effective policies that make it easier to locate and build these places. This brownbag session will help you better understand how the fifth "P"can be incorporated into social marketing strategy.

Ms. Hollander discusses the background research that led to the development of the Leadership for Active Living Initiative, shares first year success stories from the initiative, and highlights the components of the National initiative

Marla Hollander has extensive experience in the areas of public health program development and management, strategic planning, social marketing and philanthropy. She currently directs the Leadership for Active Living Initiative, a national project working with state and local leaders to create more opportunities for active living communities. Prior to her current role, she held an associate post at The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation where her main focus was developing programs supporting healthy lifestyle behaviors for prevention of chronic diseases - such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Karen Jetter

This research estimates the costs and benefits to consumers and growers in the U.S. should Californian's increase consumption of fruits and vegetables. The recommended levels are a general five a day, and seven a day cancer prevention combination.

Karen Jetter is a research economist with the Agricultural issues Center, University of California.

Nestor Martinez