Explanation
1. BACKGROUND
The United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) announced the 2024 cycle for its Childhood Obesity Prevention/Environmental Health and Sustainability Awards. The application deadline was initially September 15, 2023, and it was extended until September 29, 2023.
Since 2012, the Childhood Obesity Prevention/Environmental Health and Sustainability Awards - a partnership between The United States Conference of Mayors and the American Beverage Association for a Healthy America (ABFHA) - has awarded nearly $6 million to cities of all sizes across the country to support programs that aim to improve the health and wellness of the nation’s children, families, neighborhoods, and cities. A total of $745,000 in funding will be awarded to nine cities, in three population categories: Small City (population less than 75,000); Medium City (population 75,000-250,000) and Large City (population more than 250,000). This award aims to support programs that engage community members and promote or stimulate behavior change, in the categories of: a) childhood obesity prevention; b) environmental health and sustainability or; c) a hybrid of both.
Childhood Obesity Prevention Initiatives including: increasing kids’ and families’ access to fresh fruits and vegetables, through the development of school and community gardens, and/or programs that support farmers’ markets and/or free or low-cost fruit and vegetable distribution in affected communities; cooking and nutrition programs that focus on teaching kids how to eat better and/or how to prepare healthy meals; programs that encourage kids to exercise in and out of school; and programs that empower youth to engage in educating their peers and in the community decision-making process about issues that directly impact their health and wellbeing. Environmental Health and Sustainability Initiatives included: strategies to encourage and improve residential recycling rates and reduce contamination; food waste red...
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