CANFIT pursues a multi-prong approach acting as a liaison between communities and policymakers, and engages youth-serving and community-based organizations through consulting, workshops and trainings. Since 1993, CANFIT has:
- Provided technical assistance to the following initiatives:
- Consulted with 12 school districts in California and 44 healthcare agencies in the U.S. including the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), the California Department of Education (CDE) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. View Our Organizations Served.
- Provided nutrition and physical activity services, training and materials (including Spanish language resources) to over 400 after school programs and community-based organizations across the country.
- Conducted 150+ workshops and trained more than 3,000 youth leaders, staff and youth.
- Awarded over $1 million in grants and scholarships to support programs and youth interested in pursuing the improvement of healthy eating and physical activity in communities of color (we are currently not giving out grants at this time). Full list of Our Past Grantees.
CANFIT’s unique approach consists of partnering with communities to build the capacity and leadership of grassroots efforts.
- We work with communities to increase their capacity to navigate systems and advance policy change.
- CANFIT builds on community strengths and assets to raise up local leadership so that efforts are sustainable.
- CANFIT understands that community members and youth need to be engaged as full partners in developing the programs and policies that seek to support them.
- We partner with community members and youth to advance community-based solutions.
We support the development of culturally resonant policies and practices so that all youth can thrive.
- We work with communities to develop programs and practices that are responsive to their food and physical activity needs.
- CANFIT works to incorporate rather than ignore cultural foods and traditions in an effort to celebrate difference as a community strength and asset.
- CANFIT has real world experience and longstanding support in African American, Latino/Hispanic, American Indian, Asian American and Pacific Islander communities.
CANFIT helps advance sustainable change in low income communities and communities of color.
- CANFIT works with communities to help them target the root causes of health inequities.
- CANFIT focuses on policies that advance systems change in historically underserved communities.
