Elizabeth Brotherton-Bunch Content Strategy Manager Netcentric Campaigns Twitter: @ebrotherton
Project Overview Launched in fall 2010 with funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Goal: Build and empower a network of advocacy Leaders working to improve public policy and environments to reverse the childhood obesity epidemic
Project Overview Advocacy network of more than 3,500 Leaders and 300,000 grassroots Supporters dedicated to taking action to build a healthier future for children.
PreventObesity.net s 3,500 Leaders drive network activities. Project Overview
Project Overview Nonpartisan and Diverse Eclectic mix of issues: school nutrition, healthy food access, physical activity in school, improving child care environments, reducing sugar sweetened beverage consumption, menu labeling... Different roles: Policy advocates, government officials, nonprofit employees, teachers and principals, bloggers, chefs, moms and dads, coaches, volunteers
Project Overview PreventObesity.net brings Leaders together so they can more effectively create change.
Project Overview PreventObesity.net s more than 300,000 grassroots Supporters take action on campaigns to Leaders advocacy efforts.
Case Study No. 1: Competitive Foods
Case Study No. 1: Competitive Foods U.S. Department of Agriculture released proposed long-awaited nutritional guidelines for competitive foods (roughly defined as snacks and drinks) in February 2013. PreventObesity.net Leaders aimed to generate grassroots support for guidelines during the USDA s 60 day open comment period on the proposed rule.
Case Study No. 1: Competitive Foods PreventObesity.net worked with a large coalition of Leaders to draft language to send to the USDA in support of the proposed guidelines. These organizations collected comments from Supporters to send to USDA.
Case Study No. 1: Competitive Foods PreventObesity.net sent emails signed by Leaders to grassroots Supporters urging them to take action to the USDA to finalize and implement the guidelines. Celebrity chef Rachael Ray signed the first email on behalf of the Alliance for a Healthier Generation. Shavon Arline-Bradley from the NAACP signed the second email. Some partner organizations used PreventObesity.net s landing page petition as place for their base to send comments.
Case Study No. 1: Competitive Foods Utilized petition websites Change.org and Care2 to generate additional support. Partnered with Leaders and organizations such as MomsRising to host #FoodFri weekly chats on Twitter about the importance of healthy snacks and drinks in schools.
Case Study No. 1: Competitive Foods More than 180,000 PreventObesity.net grassroots Supporters wrote to the USDA by the end of the comment period. Coalition-wide, nearly 250,000 people took action.
Case Study No. 1: Competitive Foods USDA issued interim final rule in June 2013.
Case Study No. 2: NYC 16 oz Sugary Drink Limits
Case Study No. 2: NYC 16 oz Sugary Drink Limits Mayor Michael Bloomberg proposed limiting size of sugary drinks in many city venues to 16 ounces. New York City Board of Health opened comment period seeking feedback on the proposal.
Case Study No. 2: NYC 16 oz Sugary Drink Limits Beverage industry quickly responded, forming a coalition to fight the proposal and investing heavily in opposition messaging. New York-based organizers and advocacy groups ask PreventObesity.net to mobilize our grassroots Supporters to send comments to Board of Health supporting proposal.
Case Study No. 2: NYC 16 oz Sugary Drink Limits PreventObesity.net worked with a New York-based Leader to draft email language to Supporters. Deployed coordinated online advertising campaign with Change.org and Care2.
Case Study No. 2: NYC 16 oz Sugary Drink Limits Result: More than 25,000 PreventObesity.net Leaders and Supporters took action to support the proposal. On Sept. 13, 2012, Board of Health voted unanimously in favor of the proposal. Judge struck down size limits on March 11, just before the new regulation was to be implemented.
Other Major Advocacy Campaigns Thanked Walt Disney Company for setting strong standards for companies marketing to children on its media outlets. Asked Nickelodeon to follow Disney s lead and set higher nutritional standards. Asked state and federal transportation officials to support Safe Routes to School programs. Preparing to launch educational effort on food access, highlighting 25 to 30 million residents who can t buy healthy food within a reasonable distance of their home.
Join the Movement Elizabeth Brotherton-Bunch Netcentric Campaigns elizabeth@netcentriccampaigns.org @ebrotherton PreventObesity.net info@preventobesity.net @prevent_obesity www.facebook.com/preventobesitynet