Volunteer Menu Labeling Program Launches in Baldwin Park

(I-Newswire) June 15, 2010 - Baldwin Park, CA (June 15, 2010) – The Baldwin Park Healthy Eating, Active Communities (HEAC) collaborative announces the successful launch of its pioneering volunteer menu labeling program in Baldwin Park with a select group of independent restaurant owners who will now offer nutrition information for all of their standard menu items.

HEAC supports menu labeling as a strategy to address the obesity epidemic and developed this grassroots approach to create a community movement to embrace menu labeling in the state of California. Restaurant owners participate voluntarily and agree to consider altering meals to be healthier as part of the initiative. It has already shown success with the initial launch in South Los Angeles with seven restaurants last year. There are three restaurants and five locations participating in Baldwin Park.

“The restaurant owners, residents and teens who have participated deserve praise for embracing menu labeling,” said Clara Steimberg, program manager, Baldwin Park HEAC. “This takes a significant effort on the part of the owners and an investment of their own resources. We hope that the menu labeling movement that has been started with these small restaurants will be supported by larger establishments as well.”

Through the program, the HEAC collaborative seeks to showcase that any size restaurant can engage in menu labeling and that the restaurant industry can be significant contributors to creating a healthier community via this approach. Restaurants with less than 20 locations are not required to menu label according to Senate Bill 1420, which was passed in 2008.

The participating restaurants in the program are Taco Ready with a location in Baldwin Park and Covina; Tacos Mexico located on Ramona Boulevard; and the Baldwin Park Adult & Community Education Culinary Arts Program, which operates a café at two locations in the city. Each restaurant now showcases menu boards with calories listed next to each meal and take-away menus with nutritional information included such as fat and carbohydrates. Kaiser Permanente provided funding for the new menu boards.

“The City of Baldwin Park is very pleased to support the menu labeling program and bring it to our community,” said Honorable Manuel Lozano, mayor of Baldwin Park. “I congratulate independent restaurants owners for following the lead of SB 1420 and filling in the gap of small mom and pop stores by voluntarily participating and to HEAC for their efforts.”

Members of Baldwin Park HEAC include The California Center for Public Health Advocacy (lead agency), the Baldwin Park Unified School District, and the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Service Planning Area (SPA) 3&4). Other partners include the City of Baldwin Park, Kaiser Permanente, Citrus Valley Health Partners, the Baldwin Park Resident Advisory Committee (BP-RAC) and Healthy Teens on the Move.

To celebrate the success of the initiative, a kick-off event is scheduled on June 17 with Mayor Lozano at the city’s Arts and Recreation Center at Noon. The participating restaurants will unveil their new menu boards and provide samples of their food.

About Healthy Eating, Active Communities
Healthy Eating, Active Communities (HEAC) is a $26 million, statewide initiative sponsored by The California Endowment to prevent obesity in children and youth. Bringing together community residents, the health and education sectors, public officials, and private businesses, HEAC aims to model effective approaches and mobilize advocates to promote healthier environments for nutrition and physical activity. HEAC features local partnerships in six communities, a statewide network of technical support, communications and policy advocacy, new tools and other resources, research, and evaluation. For more information, visit www.healthyeatingactivecommunities.org and www.baldwinpark.com



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