Grant to develop trails, increase access to healthy foods

The Center for Health and Social Issues at Georgia College & State University (GCSU) has been awarded a $360,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) to improve opportunities for physical activity and access to healthy, affordable foods for children and families in Milledgeville and Baldwin County.

Based on a rigorous selection process that drew 540 proposals from across the country, Milledgeville is one of 41 sites selected for the RWJF Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities initiative.

“On behalf of Milledgeville and Baldwin County, Georgia College is honored to join such a prestigious organization as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in its battle against childhood obesity,” said Dr. Jim Lidstone, Director of the Center for Health & Social Issues at GCSU.  “In forming the Live Healthy Baldwin coalition, every individual, agency and organization that I contacted was more than willing to partner with us to address this public health crisis that threatens the quality of life of our children, particularly those who are most vulnerable.”

According to a recent report entitled “F as in Fat,” by the Trust for America’s Health, Georgia ranks 14th in adult obesity and 3rd in obesity among children and adolescents. Thirty-seven percent of youth ages 10-17 are obese or at risk for becoming obese.  In the North Central Health District, where Baldwin County is located, 27 percent of children enrolled in Women, Infants and Children (WIC) ages 2-5 were at risk for becoming overweight or were already overweight.  

 Closer to home, a study of the physical fitness levels of Georgia elementary students – including 159 Baldwin County elementary students ages 9 – 11 -- found that 62 percent of boys and 51 percent of girls were categorized as moderately high to very high on percentage of body fat.  

Live Healthy Baldwin -- a coalition of city and county governmental agencies, organizations, businesses, faith-based organizations, public schools, and educational institutions --   will work to change healthy eating choices and physical activity levels in Baldwin County.  The coalition will establish community vegetable gardens where neighborhood residents can plant, grow, harvest and share healthy foods and advocate for policy and environmental changes that will transform Milledgeville and the surrounding county into a community where active transportation is utilized for activities of daily living in addition to exercise and recreation.

“To reverse this epidemic, communities are going to have to rally around their kids and provide the opportunities they need to be healthy,” said Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, M.D., M.B.A., president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. “Through this project, Georgia College and its partners are doing what it takes to make sure children lead better lives.”

Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities is a $33 million national program and RWJF’s largest single investment to date in community-based solutions to prevent childhood obesity. With nine Leading Sites chosen in late 2008, the program now spans 50 communities from Seattle to Puerto Rico. All are targeting improvements in local policies and their community environment—changes that research indicates help children eat healthier and be more active, and thereby prevent obesity..  Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities is a cornerstone of RWJF’s $500 million commitment to reverse the country’s childhood obesity epidemic by 2015.

The 40 other cities and regions just announced as Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities sites are:

 Benton County, OR
Boone and Newton Counties, AR
Buffalo, NY
Caguas, PR
Charleston, WV
Chattanooga, TN
Cook County, GA
Cuba, NM
Denver, CO
Desoto, Marshall and Tate Counties, MS
El Paso, TX
Fitchburg, MA
Flint, MI
Grant County, NM
Greenville, SC
Hamilton County, OH
Houghton County, MI
Houston, TX
Jackson, MS
Jacksonville, FL
Jefferson County, AL
Kane County, IL
Kansas City, MO
Kingston, NY
Knox County, TN
Lake Worth, Greenacres and Palm Springs,   FL
Milwaukee, WI
Moore and Montgomery Counties, NC
Multnomah County/Portland, OR
Nash and Edgecombe Counties, NC
New Orleans, LA
Omaha, NE
Philadelphia, PA
Phoenix, AZ
Rancho Cucamonga, CA
Rochester, NY
San Antonio, TX
San Felipe Pueblo, NM
Spartanburg County, SC
Watsonville and Pajaro Valley, CA
 

All were selected because of strong vision, partnership and a commitment to make lasting change in their communities.  The new program grants will continue through June 2013.

Visit www.healthykidshealthycommunities.org to learn more about these communities’ work and plans.

About the Center for Health and Social Issues
The mission of the Center for Health and Social Issues at Georgia College & State University is to improve the health of the residents of Central Georgia through collaborative campus/community partnerships to provide research and education concerning contemporary health problems and social issues.  The primary focus areas of the Center are obesity (children and adults), cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, and heath care access.  The Live Healthy Baldwin project is a major effort to address childhood obesity which will also impact co-morbidities such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and some forms of cancer.  To learn more about Live Healthy Baldwin go to www.gcsu.edu/chsi.

About Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities
Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities, a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), advances community-based solutions that will help reverse the childhood obesity epidemic. It focuses on changing policies and environments to support active living and healthy eating among children and families. The program places special emphasis on reaching children who are at highest risk for obesity on the basis of income, race/ethnicity and geographic location. It will support RWJF’s efforts to reverse the childhood obesity epidemic in the United States by 2015.

The Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities national program office is housed at Active Living By Design, part of the North Carolina Institute for Public Health at the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Established in 2001 as an RWJF national program, Active Living By Design now serves funders and partnerships across the country that are fostering community-led change to build a culture of active living and healthy eating.

About the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing our country. As the nation's largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to improving the health and health care of all Americans, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, meaningful and timely change. For more than 35 years, the Foundation has brought experience, commitment, and a rigorous, balanced approach to the problems that affect the health and health care of those it serves. When it comes to helping Americans lead healthier lives and get the care they need, the Foundation expects to make a difference in your lifetime. For more information, visit www.rwjf.org.