California Project LEAN (Leaders Encouraging Activity and Nutrition) (CPL) is a joint program of the California Department of Health Services and the Public Health Institute focusing on youth empowerment, policy and environmental change strategies, and community-based solutions. CPL works with state and local physical activity and nutrition leaders to conduct programs in communities throughout California. Through an infrastructure of ten regions, CPL implements local interventions that utilize the Spectrum of Prevention model which describes six levels of prevention activities – from strengthening individual knowledge and skills to influencing policy.

CANFit is a statewide, non-profit organization whose mission is to engage communities and build their capacity to improve the nutrition and physical activity status of California´s low-income African American, American Indian, Latino, Asian American, and Pacific Islander youth 10-14 years old. The organization provides training and technical assistance to youth serving organizations; develops evaluates and disseminates effective culturally-appropriate nutrition and physical activity educational materials and social marketing programs; advocates for policies that enhance nutrition and physical activity; awards academic scholarships; and funds innovative community-based projects.

A public-private partnership of more than 50 national organizations and government agencies representing education, health, fitness and nutrition, Action for Healthy Kids (AFHK) is the only nonprofit organization formed specifically to address the epidemic of overweight, undernourished and sedentary youth by focusing on changes at school. Through its national network, AFHK works to improve nutrition and increase physical activity in schools. AFHK has three major thrusts: 1) Improving children's eating habits by increasing access to nutritious foods and beverages throughout the school campus and by integrating nutrition education into the curriculum. 2) Increasing children's physical activity by adding or maintaining physical education courses and recess, and promoting after-school and co-curricular programs. 3) Educating administrators, teachers, children and parents about how nutrition and physical activity impact children's health and academic achievement.

With a focus on children and their families, the Center for Weight & Health in the University of California at Berkeley provides leadership in finding evidence-based solutions to weight problems. The Center's website offers a comprehensive listing and links to dozens of organizations working in the field, including model programs in Child Overweight Programs: Model Programs & Projects. In addition, its website provides scientific data, reports, program materials, and a guide to funding resources. Their toolkit, Children and Weight: What Communities Can Do, is targeted to bringing people together and mobilizing local resources.

The California Center for Public Health Advocacy (CCPHA) is a nonpartisan nonprofit organization that raises awareness about critical public health issues and mobilizes communities to promote the establishment of effective health policies. Since its inception in 1999, CCPHA has primarily addressed the growing childhood obesity epidemic by working to establish state and local public policies that support children and their families to make healthy eating and physical activity choices.

In fall 2005 CCPHA released two studies on childhood obesity, presenting their findings by city, county, and Assembly district in order to provide policy makers and the general public with a clear picture of the extent to which this epidemic affects their communities. The two publications: Rates of Childhood Overweight in California Cities and Counties and The Growing Epidemic: Child Overweight Rates on the Rise are available as a policy brief, full report, or as fact sheets.

The Strategic Alliance is a coalition of nutrition and physical activity advocates in California, working to shift the debate away from a primary focus on personal responsibility and individual choice to one that examines corporate and government practices and the role of the environment in shaping eating and activity behaviors. Children's environments are one of the five areas for which they provide a comprehensive set of policy recommendations, planning tools, research papers, as well as links to examples of successful community-based programs.

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