Increasing physical activity and access to healthy food for North Carolinians.

Vision

North Carolinians of all ages have access to the key components of healthy living through integrated initiatives that create environments for daily physical activity and healthy eating.

Target Population

Eligible target populations must either be located in a rural county or be a high-risk, low-income population in an urban county. We prioritize our work to focus on the following categories:

• Early childhood
• Schools (K-12 and before – and after – school programs)
• Faith-based
• Community (municipal, county or regional)
• Senior citizens

Measurable Results

We invest in projects that achieve at least one of the following results. The most competitive projects will integrate a number of different strategies to achieve results, with highest priority given to those applicants using strategies to affect both the built and policy environments in their projects:

1. Increase physical activity

• Enhance the physical environment to create spaces and places for physical activity
• Create and implement organizational/institutional policies that support increased physical activity
• Design programs that increase physical activity both during and upon completion of the program

2. Increase access to and consumption of healthy food

• Enhance the physical environment to create spaces and places that offer healthy food options
• Create and implement organizational/institutional policies that support healthy eating
• Design programs that increase knowledge of and exposure to healthy foods both within and outside of the program

3. Develop a plan to address physical activity and/or healthy eating in your community

• Plans that address the built environment
• Plans that address the policy environment

Examples

Physical Activity

1. Create trail linkages that make a community more walkable
2. Increase minutes of physical activity and restructure the outdoor play environment at a child care center
3. Train classroom teachers to create more active classrooms

Healthy Eating

1. Address food served in the school or child care center
2. Connect local farmers to institutional food systems
3. Link healthy eating to being faithful in a church-based setting

Planning

1. Greenways Plans
2. Pedestrian Plans
3. Parks and Recreation System-wide Master Plans
4. Active Living Plans

Project Examples

1. Train child care center teams to redesign the outdoor play environments at their child care centers to facilitate more active play during outside time. The child care center will adopt and implement a policy regarding active outdoor play time. Child care providers will be trained on developmentally appropriate curricula to facilitate active play both during outdoor play and in the classroom.
2. After school programs will adopt and implement a policy requiring a minimum standard of time dedicated to physical activity. The host site for the after school program will work to create a trail on property to facilitate additional physical activity, which will also be open to community members during non-school hours. After school staff will be trained to lead active play with program participants, and staff will work with local experts (nutritionists, dieticians, cooperative extension, etc.) to create a menu of healthy snack options that will be served in after-school time.
3. Faith organization will bring together a team of congregants to audit the food provided at church- sponsored functions and will create and implement policies around the types of food provided at church functions. Church leaders will integrate health and wellness messaging into communications, tying health to faithfulness and will create a church garden for congregants.

Guidelines for Integrated Projects

We recommend a multi-strategy approach to addressing physical activity and healthy food, such as the Active Living by Design (a National Program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation) 5 P Strategy. This model uses an integrated approach of Preparation, Promotion, Programs, Policy, and Physical Projects. Learn more about the model.