SACRAMENTO—The California Department of Health Services has selected a team including Hill & Knowlton to handle its 5-a-Day nutrition education program over the next three years. The entire account, which will be led by advertising agency Lawrence Mayo & Ponder, is worth close to $20 million over three years, including an estimated $1 million a year in public relations fees.

The program combines the California Nutrition Network, California 5-a-Day, Women’s 5-a-Day, and the youth-oriented Power Play programs, all previously handled separately. LM&P handled the bulk of the program, in conjunction with Brown-Miller Communications, a California-based firm.

The LM&P and H&K team beat out Sacramento advertising agency Runyon Saltzman & Einhorn, which pitched with Brown-Miller, and Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide.

H&K handles several California social marketing initiatives, including the Healthy Families program, the BabyCal campaign, and the recently-renewed teen pregnancy prevention campaign.