Media Advisory for 7/20/12: YOUTH LAUNCH HEALTHY NEIGHBORHOOD STORES NETWORK IN NORTH FAIR OAKS

MEDIA ADVISORY   

CONTACT: Katrina Socco
Senior Director of San Mateo County Programs
Youth Leadership Institute
(650) 308-8252 (cell) or ksocco@yli.org

YOUTH LAUNCH HEALTHY NEIGHBORHOOD STORES NETWORK IN NORTH FAIR OAKS

WHAT: Youth advocates from the Youth Leadership Institute (YLI) will hold an event to unveil their most recent store makeover and publicly launch the Healthy Neighborhood Stores Network, a youth-led collaborative effort between local merchants and multiple agencies, including project partner Kaiser Permanente. Youth advocates will release data findings from surveys that demonstrate community members in the low-income neighborhood of North Fair Oaks want more fresh produce available in their local corner stores. Youth will be joined by store owners, elected officials, and health experts taking a united stand to support the goals of the Healthy Neighborhood Stores Network. Youth will lead a walking tour through the neighborhood to meet the owners of three corner stores and highlight the changes made in each store makeover. Store makeovers are physical store conversions aimed at promoting fresh produce, decreasing alcohol and tobacco advertisements, and shifting community norms.

WHEN: Friday, July 20, 2012, 11:00am-1:00pm

WHERE: Michoacan Produce Market 3380 Middlefield Road.
North Fair Oaks, CA 94025 (unincorporated area between Redwood City & Menlo Park)

WHO: (Confirmed Speakers)

• Carole Groom, Supervisor, San Mateo County Board of Supervisors
• Luis Ortiz, Youth Advocate, Youth Leadership Institute
• Katrina Socco, Senior Director of San Mateo County Programs, Youth Leadership Institute 
• Ruben Robles, Owner of Michoacan Produce Market 
• Patricia Brown, Executive Director of Redwood City 2020 
• Stephan Wahl, Community Health and Benefit Manager, Kaiser Permanente, San Mateo Area 
• Dr. Scott Gee, Director of Prevention & Health Information, Kaiser Permanente Northern California ST Mayer, Director of San Mateo County Health Policy & Planning Department

Additional Information: There will be opportunities to photograph & interview bilingual youth leaders (Spanish/English), merchants (Spanish/English via translation), elected officials, and health experts. Other photo opportunities include physical changes made to stores, ribbon-cutting ceremony, large campaign posters and banners.
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Youth Advocate Reflection from Kassy

YLI has given me a lot of experience and has taught me how to help my community. Being part of the store makeover campaign has taught me how important stores are in our community and I believe that they should always promote healthy choices first. 

It’s very important for us to recognize the stores that do make healthier choices easier to find because many stores don’t provide any healthy choices at all.  Healthy choices, especially in low-income communities such as North Fair Oaks, should be everywhere we go because now we are seeing high rates of obesity affecting our younger generations. If we want to create a healthy community, it is fundamental to help the stores in the neighborhood because we can teach them how to provide healthy choices, and it not only benefits the stores but also everyone living nearby.

During the process of the store makeovers I was fascinated by what we were doing because I knew I was doing a job to help improve my community but we were also really getting to know the store owners and became like family with them.  Working on the store makeovers helped me both professionally and personally because I feel very proud of myself for helping my community to grow and be more successful, and I also know that I have learned a lot of new skills and knowledge that will help me in the future. 

My favorite part of the store makeovers was when we were planning the layout arrangements for the stores, looking for furniture, equipment, & baskets, and choosing banners. Trying to figure out and plan how it should look kept me very excited to finish it to see the results! I recommend young teens to get involved with YLI or start projects like this in their own community. 

The Healthy Neighborhood Stores Network will benefit everyone who lives in North Fair Oaks because we are helping the community be a safer place for families to live. 

~Kassy, YLI Youth Advocate