About the Nutrition and Physical Activity Branch 

Vision: 

Well-nourished, physically active Californians living in healthy communities. 

Mission: 

Through statewide, regional and local partnerships, programs and policy initiatives, we promote healthy eating, physical activity and nutrition security with an emphasis in communities with the greatest health disparities.  

Focus Areas:  

Food and Beverage; Nutrition Security and Physical Activity 

About Us 

The focus of the Nutrition and Physical Activity Branch is upstream public health approaches. What does that mean? It means individual, organizational and community level health promotion and community support to help Californians establish healthy eating habits and a physically active lifestyle to support primary prevention of disease. This includes working with sites such as schools and stores, and organizations like school districts and food banks, as well as cities and counties to implement changes that make the healthy choice the easy choice. Our branch supports a comprehensive public health approach that includes state and local governments, academics and community-based organizations that implement interventions and connect through partnerships and coalitions. These entities, along with representatives from the communities they serve, work together to prevent chronic diseases by creating healthy neighborhoods and communities with equitable and affordable access to nutritious foods and safe places to be physically active. 

Originally established in 1995, the Nutrition and Physical Activity Branch (NPAB), formerly the Nutrition Education and Obesity Prevention Branch (NEOPB) of the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) addresses nutrition security and physical activity through statewide, regional and local programs and partnerships with an emphasis on communities that experience the greatest health disparities. Through funding provided by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education (SNAP-Ed) and the United States Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), NPAB’s annual budget is approximately $81 million, of which approximately $55 million is dedicated to local projects across the state. Throughout its various programs, the branch maximizes and implements comprehensive, multi-level strategies for supportive food and physical activity environments and chronic disease prevention. In addition to funding local programs, NPAB manages a statewide social marketing campaign, implements state level nutrition and physical activity policy strategies and supports the Governor’s Advisory Council on Physical Fitness and Mental Well-Being.  

For more information about the Nutrition and Physical Activity Branch, email: NPAB@cdph.ca.gov.  ​