News and Stories

The Child and Family Health Unit (CFH) within the UC San Diego Altman Clinical and Translational Research Institute’s Center for Community Health is thrilled to announce the seven awardees selected for the highly competitive 2025 Mini-Grant Program. The San Diego County Childhood Obesity Initiative (COI) partnered with the UC San Diego Human Milk Institute (HMI) to expand funding opportunities for community-driven breastfeeding and lactation projects. Together, with generous support from Kaiser Permanente ($30,000), we increased the total available funding for this year’s mini-grants from $10, 000 to $40,000. We had 49 organizations apply with over $230,000 in requested funding, demonstrating the immense community commitment to improving child and family health. Our diverse selection committee reviewed every innovative proposal to select the work most aligned with COI’s goals.

Four organizations received funding to advance COI’s goals for healthy eating and physical activity. Bancroft Elementary will launch a community garden and outdoor kitchen to teach families to grow and use fresh food. TranscenDANCE Youth Arts Project will empower teens to lead movement sessions for younger peers, fostering lifelong physical habits. Vista High School received funds for its "Strong Minds, Strong Bodies" project, supporting their Lunch Free Play program and restocking the community room with healthy food options. The Escondido Union High School District Cal-SAFE Program will engage young parents and their children with an on-site garden and provide take-home patio garden kits.

Three organizations received dedicated funds to reducing barriers to the initiation and continuation of breastfeeding, a key priority for HMI’s San Diego Human Milk Access Network (SDHuMAN). Around-Birth Collective will expand their "Tender Loving Care" wellness hub, offering culturally relevant food, nutritional counseling, and free lactation support for families receiving Medi-Cal. Global Communities will strengthen its lactation team by training new educators and supporting their collaboration with the San Diego Breastfeeding Coalition's multilingual phone service to help with families with breastfeeding concerns, accessing resources, and getting referrals for local services. Finally, the San Diego Lactation Equity Alliance will launch "Community Infant Safe Feeding Spaces" across the county, providing supportive and stigma-free public environments for parents to feed their babies and receive lactation support.

“We are excited to partner with these awardees over the next year,” shared CFH Unit Director Shana Wright at the conclusion of the first awardee meeting. “While these additional funds are modest, we hope they will support the continued expansion of the meaningful work [awardees] are already leading.”

COI will conduct site visits in early 2026 and share the awardees’ progress through blog posts and social media. Awardees will also have a chance to present their work to various partners throughout 2026. 

To get involved with COI or learn more, contact us at sd-coi@ucsd.edu.