Interfaith Public Health Network (fiscal sponsor: Church of God of Prophecy)

According to the World Health Organization, food and beverage marketing shapes social norms, food preferences, and, ultimately, health.

Children are particularly susceptible to its influence; exposure is a risk factor for childhood obesity. Yet ads for unhealthy foods and beverages proliferate in communities with high rates of poverty, high percentages of Hispanic residents, and high percentages of children. In 2022, NYHealth awarded Interfaith Public Health Network (IPHN), through fiscal sponsor Church of God of Prophecy, a grant to explore ways to reduce unhealthy food and beverage marketing that targets children in downstate New York communities.

Under this grant, IPHN assessed the opportunities to curb unhealthy food and beverage advertisements that target children in under-resourced communities in New York City, Long Island, and the Hudson Valley. It also conducted a landscape analysis of faith communities and food-oriented groups interested in public health policy change and to seed a coalition poised to advocate for changes to these marketing practices. Finally, IPHN prepared a report with recommendations for potential pathways for change.