It's a program based on -- it's to fight childhood -- we call it a war on childhood obesity. See, they have a war on drugs. They have a war on this, a war on that. So we thought it was fitting for us to be the Grill Sergeants and start a war on childhood obesity.
All right. Thank you very much for your testimony. I appreciate that.
Next we're going to have ChrisAnne Smith, Breen Goodwin and Andy Dyson. I just called them out according to this list. 171 2/24/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 100098 (Witnesses approached witness table.)
Is there anyone here from the Urban League? (No response.)
Okay. Thank you. Good afternoon. Proceed. Identify yourself first.
Good afternoon. My name is ChrisAnne Smith. I am the Community Programs Coordinator at Esperanza Health Center located at 3156 Kensington Avenue. We are a federally qualified health center that has served the predominantly Latino community of Eastern North Philadelphia for the past years. From our two locations on 20 North 5th Street and on Kensington Avenue, our 15 clinicians and dedicated support staff provide bilingual, bicultural primary care services in Jesus' name to nearly 6,000 patients of all ages. 172 2/24/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 100098 Among our patients and throughout our North Philadelphia community, obesity continues to be a public health concern of epidemic proportions, which threatens the long-term well-being of our community. The statistics that I have for you today are quite alarming, as some of you have already heard. 4 percent of other children in the State of Pennsylvania. A recent study showed that the rate of severe childhood obesity in the United States has tripled in the last 20 years, increasing the risk for diabetes 21 and heart disease. 22 Among children and youth, 23 obesity may impact emotional health, 24 leading to low self-esteem and social 25 isolation, as well as lead to diabetes 173 2/24/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 100098 and other serious health complications in adulthood such as cardiovascular disease, breast cancer and arthritis. Because of the increase in childhood obesity, it is projected that half of Latino newborns nationwide will develop diabetes during their lifetime. For the past four years, Esperanza Health Center's dietitian and health educator, Ms. Tabitha Miller, has provided nutrition counseling services serving several hundred patients each year, and now I would like to share some of Tabitha's personal insights concerning obesity problems among our patients at Esperanza Health Center, and I bring you Tabitha's words. Most of our patients I see are overweight or obese. Even if someone is seeing me for high cholesterol or high blood pressure, they usually have weight problems as well. In addition, many patients feel more comfortable being overweight and do not see obesity as a 174 2/24/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 100098 health problem that we at Esperanza Health Center see it as. My patients' poor eating habits include skipping meals, especially breakfast, then eating large dinners, followed by desserts or other snacks in the evening. I find that many of my patients do not drink much water, and some drink mainly soda. A greater number of them frequently drink the sweetened iced teas and fruit juices, which also contribute to weight gain. Many like to eat fruits, but, again, they are not regularly able to purchase them. Sometimes the reason is because of economic hardship. More often I find that they are not in the habit of purchasing fresh fruits and vegetables. People in our community generally lack access to fresh produce and often fresh fruits and vegetables available at local stores -- I'm sorry; fresh fruits and vegetables available at local stores are not of good quality, if they are there. 175 2/24/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 100098 She says, I see a number of children who are either obese or at high risk for obesity. These children usually don't sense a problem with being overweight, so they have very little motivation to do anything to change. For example, a child will oftentimes eat breakfast both at home and at school, have a school lunch, then go to an after-school program and have a snack and juice, then go home to eat dinner, then have a snack -- and this is true -- ice cream or a glass of milk before bed. In these situations parents have very little control over what the children are actually eating during the course of the day.
Through the nutrition counseling and medical care that they receive at Esperanza Health Center, a significant number of our patients who are overweight or obese have been helped to improve their diets and to lose weight and have achieved improved health. 176 2/24/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 100098 Esperanza is also committed to public health education and outreach in our community. Our new Lay Health Promoters program is a bilingual and bicultural initiative that will train 40 laypersons to educate others in our community on multiple health topics, including obesity and the importance of nutrition and maintaining good health. We also seek to partner with other non-profit organizations and especially with the City of Philadelphia in providing health education on diet and nutrition. In closing, I want to read that obesity presents a significant health threat to the predominantly Latino North Philadelphia community we serve, as well as to the entire City of Philadelphia and to our nation as a whole. Esperanza Health Center believes that it is vital that the City of Philadelphia continue its investment in initiatives that are focused on nutrition and diet education, including bilingual and bicultural health 177 2/24/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 100098 education and on improving access in the disadvantaged communities for fresh fruits and vegetables and other healthy foods. We appreciate City Council's attention to this very important health topic. Thank you very much for your time.
Good afternoon, Councilwoman. My name is Breen Goodwin and I'm representing the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia today.
You're going to have to slow down. My ears can't hear that fast, and speak into the mike, please.
Almost every Philadelphian has a commute for work. Almost every student has a commute to school. All Philadelphians go on regular errands for basic necessities. How can we as a community begin to incorporate the principles of active living into our daily life? 178 2/24/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 100098 Active living is a way of life that values physical activity as an integral part of the individual and social development process. It integrates physical activity into daily life. It is accessible to all throughout every stage and aspect of life and is valued in all its forms. What is the simplest and most straightforward way to incorporate an active lifestyle into a daily routine? The answer is simple. Incorporate physical activity into what we do each day - going to work, going to school, running daily errands. The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia is doing just this. We are helping to address the growing obesity epidemic by promoting biking as a healthy and low-cost form of transportation and recreation. The Bicycle Coalition takes two approaches to increasing the level of active transportation in the City of 179 2/24/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 100098 Philadelphia, including direct education programs, direct encouragement initiatives and encouragement through infrastructure change. Bicycling is a major component in a citywide effort to combat the rising obesity epidemic. As a low-cost and accessible tool for transportation and recreation, the bike is not only a means to get around, but it is also an activity which adults and youth can enjoy. We have the opportunity to change behavior by prescribing fun. How can we get people out of their cars and walking or bicycling for short trips or errands? More than 18 percent of all trips are made within one 19 mile of the home. S. 22 working population commutes five miles or 23 less to work. Yet, more than 82 percent 24 of trips five miles or less are made by 25 personal motor vehicle. This has to 180 2/24/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 100098 start changing by targeting these short trips. One of the most powerful tools of the bicycle, as I've mentioned already, is that it is inherently fun. Once we get over the hurdle of fear and apprehension, the bicycle becomes a tool to manage one's health. On average, commuting two miles a day by bike instead of car burns 11,025 calories. Commuting by bicycle for minutes each way, about 13 two to three miles, meets the CDC's 14 minimum recommendations for 30 minutes of 15 moderate intensity physical activity per day. The Bicycle Coalition's direct education initiatives include our Bicycle Ambassadors program focused on the adult population and Safe Routes Philly, our youth-based education program launching this spring. The Bicycle Ambassadors program promotes the bike as an inexpensive, accessible, healthy and fun way of getting around town. Bicycle 181 2/24/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 100098 Ambassadors encourage adults to ride more often and ride more safely. Ambassadors are the first link for people to consider active living. They quell the fears of adults about -- they help to quell the fear adults have about adult riding and empower people to get back on their bikes. During 2009, Ambassadors spoke to over 25,000 people at over 250 outreach opportunities. We're looking to exceed that number in 2010. In 1969, according to the National Household Travel Survey, approximately 50 percent of children in the United States got to school by walking or bicycling. By 2001, the numbers had plummeted, with only about 15 percent of students traveling to school by walking or bicycling. This trend helped spur the efforts in the United States to encourage children to walk and bicycle to school by enhancing the appeal, feasibility and safety of these modes of transportation. 182 2/24/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 100098 Safe Routes Philly is the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia's youth-based bicycle safety program offered to 5th graders in Philadelphia.
The 45-minute class introduces cycling as fun, healthy and environmentally friendly for all children to enjoy. Students learn the basics of bicycle safety, including helmet fitting, a pre-ride safety check and the fundamental rules of the road. By the end of 2010, Safe Routes Philly will have taught more than 3,000 5th graders in Philadelphia to ride more safely. In order to put this effort into perspective, we must look at recent statistical data. Walking one mile to and from school each day is two-thirds of the recommended 60 minutes of physical activity a day. Children who walk to school have higher percentages of physical activity throughout the day and higher levels of cardiovascular fitness. Incorporating walking and bicycling into 183 2/24/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 100098 a daily routine gets kids engaged with their community as well as increases their daily activity level. Parents can also become involved with their children's commute and increase the amount of quality time spent with their kids, set a good example for physical fitness and offer adult supervision during the walk or bike to school. Over the past 40 years, rates of obesity have soared among children in the United States, and approximately 15 million children and adolescents, more 16 than 33 percent, are now overweight or 17 obese or at risk of becoming so. The 18 prevalence of obesity is so great that 19 today's generation of children may be the 20 first in over 200 years to live less 21 healthy and have a shorter lifespan than 22 their parents. Walking and bicycling to 23 school is the first step in the larger 24 effort to improve physical fitness and 25 nutrition among our youngest generation. 184 2/24/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 100098 In addition to our direct education initiatives, the Bicycle Coalition is also involved in numerous direct encouragement initiatives. I'm going to touch on three briefly - Bike Philly, Bike Month and infrastructure change. Bike Philly is our family-friendly bike tour celebrating the freedom of car-free Philadelphia streets. Bicyclists of all skill levels are welcome. It's a non-competitive event, and riders are able to pedal at their own pace. Events such as Bike Philly provide an opportunity for people to set personal goals to achieve their active lifestyle. The month of May is National Bike Month in Philadelphia. The Bicycle Coalition and other organizations host many different encouragement activities throughout the month. Our largest event is National Bike to Work Day. This year we're hoping to have over six local organizations provide rest stations in 185 2/24/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 100098 various neighborhoods of the City and provide support to those commuting by bike. The Bicycle Coalition is also involved in numerous initiatives to promote health and well-being through infrastructure change. The new Spruce and Pine bike lanes running river to river has stirred up many emotions with the public. Although there will always be pros and cons with changing the streets, the importance and necessity of change can be captured in the stories of those riding in the lanes. I would also like to bring your attention to the work being done by the Philadelphia City Planning Commission in partnership with many organizations you have heard from today. The Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan is under development and will be presented to City Council in June. This Master Plan will address many of the concerns shared with you today. 186 2/24/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 100098 By providing adequate walking and biking facilities, more Philadelphians will be able to incorporate active transportation into their daily routine. It is important to understand the importance of infrastructure change in the entire picture of creating a healthy environment and community. Changing the streets encourages people to have a more active and healthy lifestyle.
The Spruce and Pine buffered bike lanes are not only a nice neighborhood amenity, but they are a direct health initiative. A lack of bike lanes, unsafe road conditions and the speed and volume of traffic were cited by bicyclists as the top three reasons for not riding. The City of Philadelphia has a major opportunity to create a more livable community with safe and healthy opportunities for active lifestyle choices. I thank you for taking the time to hear all of the testimony today. The 187 2/24/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 100098 Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia looks forward to working with City Council to develop policy and initiatives to help combat the growing obesity epidemic. Thank you.
Thank you very much for your testimony. Mr. Dyson, can you kind of summarize your statement?
Because short is beautiful. I'm Andy Dyson. I'm the Executive Director of Neighborhood Bike Works. We are a youth development agency. We've been going for about ten years. Our main program is called Earn a Bike. Young people come in, after-school program, weekends and summer and they fix up and repair a donated used bike. So in 188 2/24/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 100098 those classes, they're getting skills, practical technical skills there, but we also cover bike safety. So young people are learning to ride safely. They're also getting nutrition and health education. So we have a couple of health programs too that we do, basically like a spinning class for young people, which is in one school in Southwest Philly, but we also have three locations where we do this Earn a Bike. Now, when people are finished with Earn a Bike, they can go on to things like racing team. We have entrepreneurship programs and we also have the young people taking a leadership role in the classes too, which has been shown to be something which young people respond well to, is learning health information from their peers. So there's many of us who are from back in the day or before video games, and in those days a bicycle was 189 2/24/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 100098 the big thing that you always wanted, and we are trying to bring that back and bring that front and center, and also make it possible for young people who might not be able to get a bike to get one from us. When kids come there, a lot of times they're like, Oh, is this a regular free bike? And it's not a free bike, because you do have to work for it. You have to take part and learn. I suppose I should be real quick. We're working with -- Dr. Foster from Temple University is monitoring and evaluating our North Philadelphia program. So the programs are not just something where people are coming in and getting a bike. There is information going back and forth between researchers and us about whether or not this is helping the children. We're working also with St. Christopher's Foundation. There's going 190 2/24/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 100098 to be -- it kind of ties together a lot of things that have been said today, and I hope it's a good ending. We're going to be involved in a program called Farm to Families in North Philly where community-supported agriculture, fruits and vegetables, will be distributed to families in North Philadelphia, the four zip codes. So Bike Works youth are going to be helping with that. That's going to be summer jobs for some of our young people. It's really a strategy to improve access to fresh, healthy food, and it will go along with education also from St. Christopher's Hospital. I suppose I just wanted to end up with saying that programs like Bike Works, Neighborhood Bike Works, are cheap and something that can encourage life-long patterns of healthy behavior. We do a lot with limited resources. It's not just exercise, as Breen was saying. I was pointing out that it's transportation. So exercise, instead of 191 2/24/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 100098 becoming something that you do at a gym or some special time, it's something you're doing all the time. I rode down here from West Philly and it was really a lot of fun. Once you get used to it, it's pretty relaxing. We find that although a lot of times there's very, very justifiable fears from families about having their kids riding around the neighborhoods, people here want to change this city and want to make it a better, safer place for people, and I'm hoping that Neighborhood Bike Works can be part of that. And like many of the agencies here -- in fact, some people who I'm hoping to talk to after this -- we're going to partner and we're going to make this happen. So thank you very much.
Thank you. I was trying to -- I'm using the phone because I'm trying to get the correct name of this company who has provided to me and my district over the last three 192 2/24/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 100098 years 150 bicycles --
-- to the schools in the 9th Councilmanic District. And I'm going to say it. I always get it confused. CH2M Hill, the engineering firm. They do it every year. I'm sure they do it in other parts of the City, in other districts, but in the 9th District we've gotten about 150 bicycles, and we are very pleased to be able to present them to elementary school students.
That's fantastic. Those bikes are assembled by youth from our program.
So that's a partnership between CH2 and us. It's a super program, because it gives Bike Works kids a job just before the holidays putting those bikes together.
Thank you. 193 2/24/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 100098 It is right, CH2M Hill. Thank you very much. Thank you all for your testimony. We appreciate it. I'm going to get to her, because we're done with them. I think the Councilman wanted to know -- all right. Thank you.
Well, let me see. Is there anyone else here to testify? I think these are the last two people. (Witnesses approached witness table.)
While our last witness approaches the table, let me just seize the moment to say thank you to our Health Commissioner and to all those who took the time to come and offer testimony, with offering a number of 194 2/24/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 100098 different perspectives on this important issue as we go forward. So I just want to put on the record a huge thank you, Dr. Schwarz.
Thank you. I want to say thank you, too. You provided some wonderful witnesses and great information, and we look forward to working with you and the Health Department on addressing this issue. Thank you.
My name is Amy Hillier and I am an Assistant Professor at the School of Design at the University of Pennsylvania, and my research expertise is in mapping geographic disparities. So that has come in great handy in this line of research. I've been doing research about the impact of the new WIC changes, which we're excited are making a difference. I've been doing research about physical activity in parks and about access to healthful foods, but today I'm really 195 2/24/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 100098 here to talk about outdoor advertising. There's been a lot less research on the impact of outdoor advertising on the availability, the accessibility of it and the impact on children than there has been on children's television, but I'm excited that I was part of a five-city study and have some results to report about Philadelphia. I'm speaking as a so-called expert, but I'm also speaking as a resident of the City, years in West 14 Philadelphia, and as a mom, and I think 15 that is relevant. So the study involved five cities, and some students from Cheyney University were involved in it, and the most important finding or one of the most important findings is that advertising looked different in areas where there were low income and when there were people of color. And across all five cities, including Philadelphia, areas with low-income residents, in areas where 196 2/24/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 100098 there were African American and Latino residents in greater numbers had more ads for what we called promoting sedentary behavior. So in addition to things promoting sugary beverages, fast food, there are also things that promoted people sitting. And there is evidence to show that advertising is specifically targeted to people of color. Perhaps more important in the context of these conversations are what we found out about how different the advertising profile was in Philadelphia compared to other cities. We had more of certain types of ads. We had more small ads outside of stores than we had in the other cities, and we found out -- as opposed to Austin, which had more billboards. We had fewer billboards, but we had more of the small ads outside of stores. And we found out that -- I kept asking my colleagues in the other cities, Aren't you counting these little ads outside the stores, and I'd send them 197 2/24/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 100098 photographs that we were taking in the field, and they said, We don't -- our zoning laws do not allow those kinds of ads. So doing more research on the zoning in Philadelphia, I found out that the stores are permitted to have a certain amount of signage. So a foot 10 typical corner row house that has 14 feet 11 of frontage is allowed to have 84 square 12 feet of signage, and that can be a sign 13 for the property, but it also can be a 14 sign for -- that could also have a logo for a particular product. And in particular, there's something called incidental ads, which can promote ads that are sold on the premises. And just to make sure everybody knows what I'm talking about, this will be an incidental ad. It's a Coca-Cola ad from Chestnut Street. And Philadelphia currently does not regulate those kinds of ads, and what we found is that Philadelphia had by far the most ads of that type. 198 2/24/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 100098 I know you were all listening to the testimony this morning. Philadelphia zoning does not permit stands of fresh fruits and vegetables outside corner stores, but we do allow ads that support tobacco, alcohol, sugary beverages and other products that are sold on the premises, and that's because they're sold on the premises that they're allowed, and that's something that relates to our Zoning Code.
Probably even more disturbing was that we found that ads for unhealthful products -- and we were talking about tobacco, alcohol, sugary beverage and fast food -- that they cluster -- that's our scientific word -- around places where kids spend time - schools, day cares, rec centers and libraries. And that meets the scientific standard for clustering, but basically it means there's more ads around places where kids spend time than places where they don't. And we do not have any 199 2/24/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 100098 evidence to say that they're targeted to children. We did look at other reasons why they might be, but I don't know that it matters the intent of why there's more ads. There's more ads around those places where kids spend time, and particularly in Philadelphia, areas where African Americans live. In Los Angeles it was areas where Latinos live. So Vikki Lassiter's testimony about the higher incidence of diabetes and obesity among people of color, the fact that people of color are living in a different food environment and a different advertising environment in Philadelphia and in other places certainly contributes to that, not exclusively. One other -- Philadelphia, the way we license billboards -- and I think you folks have been on Council long enough to know that there's been issues about billboards within 660 feet of schools. That's our zoning regulation. 200 2/24/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 100098 There shouldn't be any within 660 feet, but in a deal the Law Department struck with Clear Channel, some of those were grandfathered. So now one in five of our institutions, schools and other places that serve kids have a billboard within 660 feet. And so many of our billboards are within the schools. So it's not unusual to have, say, at the Wilson Elementary School in West Philadelphia to have a tobacco ad facing the entrance to the school across the street, or at Dobbins Tech to have an alcohol ad on the building literally across the street, and that's allowable because it's part of the store signage. This is a complicated issue, all these different factors, and there's less evidence about how this impacts children, but there has been some research to show the ads are impacting their behavior. The advertising companies would not pay for these ads if it wasn't affecting the choices people 201 2/24/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 100098 were making. They are very effective. There's no question about that. And I think your question all morning has been, is there a role for government, and particularly is there a role for City government, and I think one of the most encouraging things is that this, of all the issues, the outdoor advertising, may be something that we have more control over than a lot of these other issues that have to do with how healthcare is paid for and food is subsidized. One thing we cannot do in Philadelphia is, we cannot regulate the content of ads. It doesn't matter if it's a building wrap or if it's a small store sign. You cannot regulate the content of ads if it's a legal product. Admirably, City Council tried to prohibit ads for alcohol within 1,000 feet of schools, and that has been held up in court ever since, and consistently what I've been hearing from the legal world is 202 2/24/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 100098 that you cannot regulate content. So if we allow ads, we have to know that it could be for a sugary beverage or it could be a promotion, a health promotion, but we cannot regulate content. We can revise our Zoning Code, and there's so many other reasons why we are doing that in Philadelphia. We can regulate incidental ads. We can reduce the amount of signage that's allowed on stores. There's models all over the country, and that may be one of the easiest ways. We can restrict ads, outdoor ads, around places that kids spend time if we are willing to regulate all of those regardless of content.
The City has also been looking at street furniture as a way to generate revenue, and that would generate revenue because there would be a contract and people would pay to do this because then they could have ads. Understandably, the City is in a pretty tight fiscal situation. That opens new opportunities 203 2/24/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 100098 to have ads, if those benches are near places where kids spend time. Again, we will not be able to regulate the content of those ads. And I just say that the last issue is voluntary agreements, and The Food Trust has been doing remarkable work with corner stores. I went into the corner store down at the -- down where I live at 43rd and Baltimore and there's one of those ads, Coca-Cola ads, which, by the way, are illegal because they're in the right-of-way. They're attached outside of the store, and I said, Will you take this down? I was with my one-year-old son. I said, This is illegal, will you take this down, and he did. And I don't have the energy to take my son all over the City, but using bully pulpit and using shame or using incentivizing, it certainly is possible. And I think bottom line the message that we really want to have is that our kids are not for sale. 204 2/24/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 100098
Thank you very much. We appreciate your testimony. Thank you for -- you left us with some interesting thoughts and probably future action. Good afternoon. MR. McGREEVY: Good afternoon, Councilwoman and Madam Chair and members. Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today and thank you for having this hearing. My name is Jim McGreevy. I'm from the American Beverage Association. The ABA represents over 200 non-alcoholic beverage makers and distributors in the United States. In the City of Philadelphia, our member companies have two beverage production facilities in North Philadelphia and on Roosevelt Boulevard in Northeast Philadelphia. These facilities employ nearly a thousand people in beverage production, distribution and in other jobs. The problem of childhood obesity, the epidemic of childhood 205 2/24/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 100098 obesity, is a critical one for our society to overcome. I'd like to briefly tell you about some of the initiatives that the beverage industry has committed to to play a role in combatting this epidemic. In 2006, the beverage industry committed to changing the beverage landscape in schools over the following three years. Modeled after your leadership in 2003, in particular, our alliance with the William Jefferson Clinton Foundation and the American Heart Association, known as the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, pulled full-calorie soft drinks out of schools. Our implementation of the Alliance for a Healthier Generation school beverage guidelines is nearly complete nationwide. We now offer more no and lower calorie beverages in reduced portion sizes in schools where our members have contracts. This has reduced the calories shipped to schools nationwide by nearly 60 percent. 206 2/24/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 100098 A final report will be released next month on the final implementation of the beverage guidelines nationwide, and I'd be happy to provide it to the Committee when it's ready. In addition, in 2008, the industry implemented worldwide our global marketing policy. The policy applies to all non-alcoholic beverages other than water, juices and dairy-based beverages. Our commitment is not to advertise or market other beverages to audiences primarily comprised of children 12 years and younger. Fifty percent or more is the threshold for those audiences. This advertising and marketing policy applies to the following media: television, radio, print, Internet, phone messaging and cinema, including product placement. It is the first industry-specific global marketing standard of its kind. Finally, and most recently last week, the industry announced our support 207 2/24/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 100098 for First Lady Michelle Obama's "Let's Move" initiative to combat childhood obesity. Our commitment with the First Lady is to make the calories on our products more clear and the information provided more consumer-friendly by putting the calorie information on the front of all containers, vending machines and fountain machines. It's kind of our menu labeling -- industry menu labeling program. Our commitment includes ongoing innovation and reformulation of our products, as well as a continued development to produce smaller package sizes, which we sell in schools, and dedicating marketing resources -- more marketing resources to our no and lower calorie products. We are working daily with the First Lady and the FDA to create a comprehensive, uniform and easy-to-understand front-of-pack label, which will be deployed very shortly, and clear information on our vending fronts 208 2/24/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 100098 and fountains.
We as an industry are involved in these activities and others to address the epidemic of childhood obesity and believe that the most important thing is to work with all in the community, yourselves as policymakers, universities, parents, to stress the need for energy balance, which you heard earlier from Commissioner Schwarz, the idea of calories in and calories out. We think through greater information, the energy balance equation can be reached better. We look forward to working with this Committee and others in the City of Philadelphia on these issues. Again, thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today and for holding this hearing, and I'm happy to stand for any questions.
I have no 25 questions, Madam Chair, at this hour. 209 2/24/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 100098
Thank you very much for your testimony. Thank you all for coming out. I think Councilman Goode would like to have Dr. Schwarz come back to the table. (Witness approached witness table.)
As we transition from the Health and Human Services Committee to the Appropriations Committee, we will consider the appropriation of stimulus dollars. Of those stimulus dollars that will be appropriated, there's $7.9 million being appropriated to the Department of Public Health, which I'm sure you're familiar with.
Of those dollars, there's $4.87 million dedicated 210 2/24/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 100098 to the purchase of services.
Which I believe is for -- well, you can actually explain what those dollars are for.
This is an award that we look forward to from the Centers for Disease Control. In the request for applications, the Centers for Disease Control specified specific activities that were -- we were to choose among a series of activities and we had to provide those activities in order to be eligible to receive funding. In many cases, those activities are things that are done in Philadelphia by others, not the City. We were required to partner with agencies to show evidence of that partnership, and that's reflected in support for those agencies that are included as partners.
Two areas of 211 2/24/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 100098 concern?
I believe there are two campaigns that will be launched from those dollars, anti-smoking --
Can you explain the purpose of the childhood obesity dollars, what they're meant to do?
They're not just childhood obesity, but they're obesity overall in the City. They're designed to change infrastructure, policy and the climate in the City of Philadelphia around issues that promote obesity.
And how much is available in terms of those dollars to fight obesity? 212 2/24/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 100098
The Centers for Disease Control said that they would fund cities up to $10 million a year for two years.
How much is available to the City? Is there a specific dollar amount that's coming to the City?
I believe you were awarded. You put out a request for proposal?
So here's -- I'm sorry if there's been confusion on this issue. So the Health Department --
I'm not confused. I'm actually at the hearing that precedes the Appropriations hearing where we will appropriate money.
Correct. We are required by the Centers for Disease Control to be in the field. This is Recovery dollars. We are required to be 213 2/24/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 100098 in the field for some activities within 30 days of award and for others within 90 days of award. The decision was made that we have a strong application, we would put this particular potential in so that we had an appropriation, should we be funded, in order to be able to move dollars forward in a rapid --
There is, I think, in the transfer ordinance. I don't know the amount of award from the Centers for Disease Control.
What is the appropriation amount that's within the transfer ordinance, and, more specifically, you did issue an RFP?
We did. We've done all of those things in advance if we are awarded. And we've told everybody, if awarded, we will move them.
Did the RFP have a dollar amount? 214 2/24/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 100098
The RFP, I believe, is $1.2 million for the obesity media campaign, which is part of the whole --
So now we got it down to there is actually a potential $1.2 million obesity campaign.
If the Centers for Disease Control approves the application and approves that amount of money.
I'm not trying to in any way avoid it. I just want to be clear so that you are clear.
So an RFP was released for potentially $1.2 million to fight obesity.
And it's a 215 2/24/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 100098 campaign that is essentially a media marketing campaign?
How do you envision minority and women-owned businesses being involved in that campaign?
I believe that they can and have, I believe, applied to be the media intermediary for that campaign.
Do you believe that a campaign can be effective without the utilization of minority and women-owned businesses?
Do you believe that campaign could possibly be more effective with the utilization of minority and women-owned businesses?
I am completely supportive of minority and women and disabled-owned businesses as the vendor 216 2/24/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 100098 for this application, yes.
Then why did the RFP go out with a goal of zero percent for minority-owned businesses and women-owned businesses?
I can ask others who assigned that number to come forward, but I can tell you my understanding.
Let me tell you my understanding. My understanding is that since this is a single vendor award from the CDC, that the decision was made that it either was zero or 100 percent minority contractor.
If the choice was zero or 100, then the choice was zero, because that's what the RFP said. 217 2/24/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 100098
So who made the decision that the choice was zero, and is it appropriate that the decision was zero as opposed to 100? Is there not a minority and/or woman-owned firm that is capable of implementing this campaign to fight obesity and receive the prime contract?
I'm certain that there are competent minority, women and disabled-owned firms who should be competent to compete for this request for proposals, yes.
They should be competent to do so. I don't know what the applicants are at the moment.
So if you set a goal of 100 percent and then didn't meet that goal because you could not select a prime contractor that was a 218 2/24/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 100098 minority, woman or disabled business, that will be disappointing. More disappointing is not setting the goal at 100 percent.
Could someone explain it? (Witnesses approached witness table.)
My name is Kevin Dow. I'm the Acting Chief Operating Officer for the Commerce Department, and I would like to comment on behalf of Dr. Schwarz in regards to the --
I would 219 2/24/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 100098 appreciate it if you would not. I'm going to deal with OEO at the Appropriations hearing. I'm trying to find out why the Health Department decided.
I'm not asking what OEO approved or what OEO's opinion is. I will ask that question in the Appropriations hearing. Now I'm asking -- we're at a hearing dealing with the issue of obesity, how we combat obesity. We spent hours dealing with this. As we transition into the Appropriations hearing, my question is simply, if we have $1.2 million coming from the federal government in the form of stimulus dollars to fight obesity, why did an RFP go out when it's a media marketing campaign that said that it should be zero percent participation for minority-owned businesses and women-owned businesses? And you said the choice was between zero percent or 100 percent, and 220 2/24/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 100098 the decision was zero percent. I simply want to know on the record why it was zero percent.
And that's the question I think I can answer for you, out of respect to Dr. Schwarz.
I'm actually asking why the decision was made by the Health Department, if it was made by the Health Department. If it was not made by the Health Department, then you can answer the question, but if it was made by anyone else other than OEO, then --
The decision was made not by the Health Department but by Office of Economic Opportunity.
Well, I actually have e-mails from OEO that dispute that. Can Mr. Gregory approach the witness table. (Witness approached witness table.)
Point of 221 2/24/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 100098 information. Councilwoman Brown.
The context of this, which is confusing for us, is when we hear all of the very, very compelling testimony that says that this issue adversely, most negatively impacts communities of color and then we are faced with the possibility or the potential that X number of dollars do not factor in women, people of color and disabilities to have access to a pocket of dollars designed to address an issue in that community, that is unacceptable.
Mr. Gregory, did you send an e-mail to my Chief of Staff on February 4th at 12:40 p.m. that contradicts what Mr. Dow just said?
Yes, I would, please. Thank you. Thank you. 222 2/24/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 100098
Sadique. I'm sorry. "Thank you for bringing this to our attention. Have you reached out to the Health Department? If not, I can certainly do so, but it sends a great message to them that participation is their responsibility."
Why would we reach out to the Health Department to find out about the goals set in an RFP if the goals were set by OEO?
Because the responsibility for actually achieving those goals is on the -- is within --
Our question was why the goal was set at zero. That's the question I asked in this hearing now. If OEO sets the goal, why would you send us an e-mail telling us to reach out to 223 2/24/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 100098 the Health Department relating to why the goal was set at zero?
I'm finished. I'm going to deal with it in the Appropriations Committee.
The request for proposal -- we don't have funding. I just want to be clear, but the request has been put out. We've received applications back. We're waiting to hear about funding from the Centers for Disease Control. DEPUTY COMMISSIONER VAUGHAN: Councilwoman, may I speak? 224 2/24/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 100098
Yes. DEPUTY COMMISSIONER VAUGHAN: Deputy Commissioner Kevin Vaughan. The Health Department, after we received the RFP back from OEO, then proceeded to go to several minority vendor forums in order to make sure that it was fully advertised to minority vendors so that we could attract somebody to make a bid for the RFP. In addition to which, anyone who even talked to us at the table when they came to see us at those forums, we followed up with e-mails to them to make sure that they knew when the RFP was let, so that if they were interested, they could then apply. So, I mean, the Health Department not only understood its responsibility, but took affirmative action on several different fronts to try to attract somebody who would then be able to put in a bid and win the RFP.
I'll let the Councilman deal with it, but it seems 225 2/24/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 100098 to me that -- because we do have another hearing, Appropriations hearing, and maybe we can ask those questions then, but to OEO, why would you put out an RFP with no participation? That's the question.
My understanding from this particular RFP from the interaction we had with the Health Department was that this was going to be a sole source provider opportunity. In other words, there are no subcontracting opportunities with this particular RFP.
There's only going to be -- there's no subcontracting opportunities. That was my understanding.
And why 226 2/24/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 100098 would there be no subcontract opportunities? Who decided there would be no subcontract opportunities?
Who recommended before it was collaboratively decided that there be no subcontract opportunities?
Well, that would be -- the purchasing managers would make that determination.
The Health Department decided there would be no 20 subcontract opportunities, Dr. Schwarz?
I don't know if I testified that they said that they were --
You said someone decided it was a single source 227 2/24/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 100098 contract and there would be no 3 subcontract opportunities.
But I'm asking who decided there would be no 10 subcontract opportunities? All I need to know is the name. Who decided it? Who recommended it? Who was in the room when the decision was made? Why? I mean, do you think that it actually makes sense there would be no 16 subcontract opportunities? Does that even make sense that there could not be a joint venture on this matter, that it would mean that it's not zero or 100 percent? Does it even make sense there would be no subcontract opportunities?
It made sense that it could be without subcontracting. I viewed it --
I'm not 228 2/24/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 100098 saying potentially could be. I'm saying in this case. This is a real RFP with potentially $1.2 million to fight obesity in a media marketing campaign. Does it purely have to be zero or 100? Is there absolutely no opportunity whatsoever for a joint venture that would allow at least some minority or women-owned business participation?
It was my understanding that it was a sole source provider contractor. If we -- we were not allowed to put 100 percent participation range on a sole source or single source provider contract.
Actually, to be honest, 100 percent is not a range; 100 percent is a number.
Zero to 100 percent is a range, 10 to 100 percent is a range. You can put a range to 100 percent.
So it's your 229 2/24/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 100098 recommendation we should have put zero to 100 percent?
My recommendation is someone tell the truth here about who decided there would be no 7 subcontract opportunities. Somebody give me an answer. Who decided it?
Well, I suggest while you all figure out who decided --
Point of information. Point of information, Madam Chair.
Again, my answer I guess is, OEO did it in conjunction with the Health Department.
The record should reflect that Councilman Goode and 230 2/24/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 100098 I were informed of this faux pas and we were also assured that given the inconsistency with the Mayor's new Executive Order with regards to ensuring participation of women, people of color and disabilities, that this particular RFP would be pulled back and fixed before released. So the question becomes in the next hearing that Councilman Goode will take up, what happened? Thank you, Madam Chair.
Well, thank you all very much. Councilman Goode will address this issue in Appropriations. We still believe we had a good discussion about the issue of obesity, and we thank the Health Department for its leadership and what you're trying to do, and we will, I'm sure, straighten this matter out. We have one young lady who will give a brief statement, brief, because we have other people who have been waiting 231 2/24/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 100098 an hour and a half for their hearing. Identify yourself. (Witness approached witness table.)
Yes. My name is Stephanie Grier. I'm the Administrator for the Consortium for Latino Health, and the Consortium for Latino Health is a member organization comprised of community-based organizations, hospitals, health providers, insurers and others that have combined their efforts to improve the health of Latinos in the City of Philadelphia. You should have written testimony, so I'm just going to very briefly echo what you heard already in testimony this morning, which is the understanding that overweight and obesity disproportionately affects Latinos. There's been a great discussion of that about the communities, which are most affected, and neighborhoods in the City of Philadelphia are also neighborhoods 232 2/24/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 100098 where there is the highest concentration of Latinos in the City. The one thing I would like to point out is that additionally there is strong evidence -- and this is not just on Latinos, but there is strong evidence that immigration to this country, the length of time that you live in the U.S., causes a significant increase in the levels of overweight and obesity, with the most research suggesting after about ten years, there's significant dietary and lifestyle changes that take place, where people are adopting the more American lifestyle and, therefore, the more significant increases in overweight and obesity. The things that we would just like the Committee and City Council to be aware of as we continue to create and support programs to battle this epidemic is the need to remain culturally and linguistically appropriate, that if we can offer, particularly in reference to 233 2/24/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 100098 Latino immigrants, we can make efforts to offer foods that they recognize and are able to prepare in their homes. This strongly correlates to the ability for them not to adopt the processed foods lifestyle. So we just want to continue to support that, and the rest of it is on there.
It will become part of the record. The full testimony will be in the record.
Thank you very much for coming in, and thank you all for being so patient, those of you who are here for the Appropriations Committee. This Committee will stand and adjourn until the call of the Chair. Thank you. 234 2/24/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 100098 (Committee on Public Health and Human Services concluded at 2:30 p.m.) - - - 235 CERTIFICATE I HEREBY CERTIFY that the proceedings, evidence and objections are contained fully and accurately in the stenographic notes taken by me upon the foregoing matter on February 24, 2010, and that this is a true and correct transcript of same. ______________________________ MICHELE L. MURPHY RPR-Notary Public (The foregoing certification of this transcript does not apply to any reproduction of the same by any means, unless under the direct control and/or supervision of the certifying reporter.)