FYI - Rochester One of 41 Sites Selected for National Program to Fight Childhood Obesity

Rochester One of 41 Sites Selected for National Program
to Fight Childhood Obesity

Finger Lakes Health Systems Agency Receives Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Major Grant to Expand Healthi Kids Initiative

ROCHESTER, N.Y., Jan. 12, 2010 – Finger Lakes Health Systems Agency (FLHSA) has been awarded a four-year, $360,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) to improve opportunities for physical activity and access to affordable, healthy foods for children and families in Rochester and Monroe County, N.Y. Based on a rigorous selection process that drew more than 500 proposals from across the country, Rochester is one of 41 sites selected for the RWJF Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities initiative.

Specifically, this grant will fund the FLHSA Healthi Kids Coalition’s activities to increase access to safe places to play and to establish healthier food standards in child-care centers and after-school settings. These are two major policy changes advocated for by the Healthi Kids Coalition, along with healthier school food and increased physical activity among children in school. Currently, 40 percent of children ages 2 to 18 in Rochester, and 25 percent of children in Monroe County, are overweight or obese.

“FLHSA and our partner agencies are delighted that the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is investing in the Healthi Kids initiative,” said Wade S. Norwood, FLHSA’s director of community engagement. “Children in Greater Rochester are the true beneficiaries of this funding, which will enable them to play more actively in public areas and to receive more nutritious food in child-care locations.”

“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, FLHSA 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 investment to date in community-based solutions to 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 could have the greatest impact on healthier eating, more active living and obesity prevention. 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
Milledgeville, GA
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
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.

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About FLHSA and Healthi Kids
Finger Lakes Health Systems Agency (www.flhsa.org) is an independent, regional health planning organization working to improve health care in Rochester and the Finger Lakes. The agency analyzes community needs, brings together organizations to solve health problems, and measures results.

Healthi Kids (www.healthikids.org) is a grassroots advocacy initiative to help Monroe County children lead healthier, more active lives. It is an FLHSA initiative, with the support of the University of Rochester Medical Center’s Center for Community Health, URMC’s Department of Pediatrics, and the Children’s Agenda. Healthi Kids also receives funding from the Greater Rochester Health Foundation.

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.