H i s t o r y
California Project LEAN (Leaders Encouraging Activity and Nutrition) was one of ten programs nationwide selected as part of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation's 1987 public awareness campaign to promote low-fat eating. During California Project LEAN's first phase (1989-91), the Bay Area Cancer Coalition, California Beef Council, California Department of Health Services and Safeway, Inc., collaborated on a lean-meat nutrition education/media campaign. More than 15,000 consumers per week bought the lower-fat meats and one million shoppers were reached through the media campaign, which included a month-long series on KPIX-TV in the San Francisco Bay Area.
In 1991, the California Department of Health Services assumed leadership of California Project LEAN and expanded its reach by funding regional programs across the state. California Project LEAN is administered by the California Department of Health Services and the Public Health Institute with funds from the California Nutrition Network, Cancer Research Section of the California Department of Health Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, federal block grant, and The California Endowment.
C u r r e n t l y
California Project LEAN works with state and local physical activity and nutrition leaders to conduct programs in communities throughout California. Project LEAN funds 12 regional offices that are housed within local health departments, community-based organizations and other local agencies. California Project LEAN's Statewide Steering Committee includes health, university, and non-profit representatives who serve in an advisory capacity.
California Project LEAN programs include Food on the Run, School Board Nutrition Policy Project and the California Bone Health Campaign for Low-Income Latino Mothers. California Project LEAN also directs Community-based Social Marketing projects in communities across the state and serves as the local lead agency for the California Nutrition Network. It also is a lead partner on the California Obesity Prevention Initiative.
