San José State University’s Marjorie Freedman, an associate professor in the College of Applied Sciences and Arts Nutrition, Food Science and Packaging department has won a 2013 Champions of Health Award from the California Center for Public Health Advocacy for her work as a healthy food advocate in the local community. Her efforts at San José State, in the city and in Santa Clara county have received local accolades and even garnered the attention of the national Let’s Move campaign.
Associate professor Marjorie Freedman helped bring the Spartan Smart Cart to campus, offering fresh fruit and vegetable options on campus.
The nonprofit advocacy group honors individuals each year “who have made outstanding contributions to the health of the state.” Freedman received the Guardians of Health Award, along with five other advocates who were recognized for their impact on “the health of children and adults who live in communities without easy access to healthy food or safe places to be physically active,” according to the Public Health Advocacy website.
For the past 10 years, Freedman has passionately advocated for increased access to healthful foods and beverages and policies that support such access. Efforts have taken place in K-12 schools, in SJSU community settings and at faith-based institutions. Her work began in 2003 at Bret Harte Middle School, in San Jose. As a parent advocate, she worked tirelessly to remove all foods and beverages that were not state Senate Bill 12 and Senate Bill 19 compliant from the student store and food-service venues. She worked to ensure changes occurred throughout the entire SJ Unified School District and consulted with school districts throughout Northern California.
As a professor at SJSU, Freedman spearheaded the Healthy San Jose State initiative. She created a program that educated students about appropriate portion size of foods available in the all-you-care-to-eat dining commons, advocated for smaller portions of foods and advocated for healthful foods and beverages to be sold on campus. She started a mobile fruit and vegetable cart (the Spartan Smart Cart) which increased access to healthful produce to students, faculty and staff, and conducted research on the effects of point-of-purchase labeling on food choices of college students.
Freedman worked with County Supervisor Ken Yeager while he was a city councilman to implement 100-percent healthy vending in City of San José vending machines. The machines are found throughout the public library system and in all community centers. She also worked with Yeager to implement 50-percent healthy vending options throughout Santa Clara County. Following policy implementation, SJSU students conducted yearly environmental assessments to determine whether or not the city/county was in compliance, and she addressed compliance issues with appropriate personnel.
Recently, Freedman worked with a multi-ethnic, low-income population in East San Jose at Most Holy Trinity (MHT) Church to increase CalFresh enrollment, and to develop, pass and implement a healthful food and beverage policy. The work of the MHT Food Justice Ministry has resulted in major changes to what is served at church events, including weekly breakfasts after Mass. Work at MHT was highlighted in a video that received honorable mention in Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! Faith and Communities Video Challenge (http://letsmovecommunities.challengepost.com/submissions/6908-sjsu-mht-food-justice-communities-on-the-move-video-challenge) and resulted in a Toolkit that other faith-based institutions can use to learn how to change their own environments.
Finally, Freedman has worked with the regional Cooking Matters staff for the past 4 years on programs that teach nutrition education and cooking skills to low-income families throughout the Bay Area. She has created a Train-the-Trainer Curriculum for Promotores, and has supervised students who have taught Cooking Matters classes to Promotores, teens, adults and families throughout the Bay Area.
For more on the Champions of Health Award and a list of all the winners, visit http://www.publichealthadvocacy.org/events/2013awards/center_awards2013.html