In Kansas City, Missouri, schools are undertaking a new approach to improving the health of children as well as their families. Dubbed "Food from the Farm," this program is aimed at teaching kindergarteners about healthy foods and healthy eating, providing them with the necessary tools to make the healthy choice. The aim of Food from the Farm is to connect kindergarteners and their families to local farmers as a means to encourage eating local fruits and vegetables and to help kids understand where food comes from.

  • In Wood County, 19 new gardens have been created at childcare centers serving 1,800 children. The gardens support early learning about healthy eating and increasing consumption of fruits and vegetables.
  • More than 200 second- through fourth-grade students at 10 Wood County elementary schools participated in Fit-tastic, an eight-week afterschool program that helped them develop healthier eating and physical-activity habits.

In Northeast Iowa, a coalition of diverse stakeholders is creating opportunities for healthy eating and physical activity in a rural, geographically spread out region. As a W. K. Kellogg Foundation Food & Fitness Initiative project site, the Northeast Iowa Coalition is proving that strong collaboration can help achieve a vision of a healthier, more sustainable community.

In an effort to improve health outcomes for children, youth, and families, the City of Salinas joined together with the Violent Injury Prevention Coalition (VIPC) and their foundation, Partners for Peace, to launch a community collaborative planning process. The resulting framework, Cultivating Peace in Salinas, focuses primarily on reducing youth violence but also addresses overall community well being.

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