The War on Poverty-Florida has received a $20,000 grant from the Jaguars Foundation in partnership with Baptist Health. The grant dollars were awarded in support of War on Poverty-Florida's initiative to combat childhood obesity through its flagship Build a Healthy Community Childhood Obesity Prevention Project in Jacksonville.
The Build a Healthy Community: Childhood Obesity Prevention Project is a three-year initiative aimed at reducing the prevalence of obesity and health-related issues among youth and families in northwest Jacksonville. Key components of the project initiative include creating access to nutrition education and fresh foods, providing opportunities for urban/community gardening, encouraging increased physical activity and education on budget shopping.
Since the February 2009 inception of the project initiative, War on Poverty-Florida has provided nutrition education to over 1,200 youth, engaged in a pilot nutrition education program at Brentwood Elementary, and completed a multi-phase seasonal community garden in a Brentwood neighborhood.
The grant from the Jaguars Foundation and Baptist Health will support the development and implementation of community gardens with three of the War on Poverty-Florida's community partners in northwest Jacksonville, including Brentwood Elementary School and Eugene Butler Middle School.
Baptist Health and the Jaguars Foundation are partnering together to provide more than $500,000 in grants to help promote physical activity and healthy eating habits in order to reduce childhood obesity in Jacksonville. War on Poverty is the partnership's newest grantee.
*"We are pleased to support the War on Poverty-Florida as they serve youth and families in critically important neighborhoods in our communit," remarked Peter Racine, Executive Director of the Jaguars Foundation.
Michael Lanier, Vice President for Community Health at Baptist Health, added, "Education about and access to foods that provide proper nutrition and good health are important in helping our future generation reach their full potential."*
About the Jaguars Foundation:
The Jaguars Foundation focuses on strategic grant making, networking, and volunteer support to serve economically and socially disadvantaged youth and families in the greater Jacksonville area.
About Baptist Health:
As the region's most comprehensive health care provider, our talented and compassionate employees are committed to providing medicine, education, research, technology and information that translates into a daily demonstration of our ability to provide excellence and support to our community. Baptist Health is the official Jaguars health provider.
About the War on Poverty-Florida:
War on Poverty-Florida, Inc. is a nonprofit organization committed to the revitalization of minority communities in Florida. Through work in targeted Florida communities, War on Poverty-Florida endeavors to help reduce poverty and racial inequality, close the wealth gap and ensure minority voices are heard in major policy debates.
The Build a Healthy Community Childhood Obesity Prevention Project (BHC), was originally funded in part by grant from The Blue Foundation for a Healthy Florida, Embrace a Healthy Florida initiative. For more information visit www.waronpoverty.org.
