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Funding Principles

Prevent Childhood Obesity
Funding Principles

How Can Policymakers Finance Reducing Childhood Obesity?

 Maximize Federal Funds

  • President Obama’s proposed Healthy Food Financing Initiative, a $400 million dollar effort led by the Departments of Health and Human Services, Treasury and Agriculture, will support both private sector investment and a public-private loan program to promote a range of interventions to expand access to nutritious food in “food deserts” across the country.”[1]
  • The Urban Circulator and Bus Livability Program disburses approximately $300 million to fund projects improving public transportation options. For example, the Massachusetts Regional Bike Share System will locate more than 500 Bike Share stops near bus and rail stations to encourage the use of public transit. The system will create two million new bike trips a year.
  • Federal highway funding programs , including the Surface Transportation Program, Transportation Enhancements, the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program and Safe Routes to School, all provide funding for infrastructure change to promote walking, biking and taking public transportation. [2]  A Wisconsin law requires the Department of Transportation to include bicycle and pedestrian accommodations in all new construction or reconstruction funded by state or federal dollars. [3] 
  • The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) funds states to develop and implement nutrition and physical activity initiatives. State Nutrition and Physical Activity Programs to Prevent Obesity and Related Chronic Diseases is a CDC project that funds states in the development and implementation of nutrition and physical activity initiatives, particularly through population-based strategies. [4] Wisconsin is using the funds to implement the Wisconsin Nutrition and Physical Activity State Plan.

 Partner with Foundations

  •  The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation funds projects to reverse childhood obesity nationwide. The National Council of State Legislatures, partnering with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, is providing policy assistance to Arizona, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas.
  • The Ruth Mott Foundation provides grants to both create more livable, vibrant communities and to support initiatives to improve children’s health. The Mott Foundation provides several grants to projects in Michigan in order to both increase health and enhance livability in communities. 
  • The W.K. Kellogg Foundation provides grants to ensure that children are healthy and have access to high-quality food, physical activity, interaction with nature and health care.
  • The Aetna Foundation, provides grants to fight obesity in a number of states including: Arizona, Maryland, Texas, Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia. 
  • The Wellmark Foundation, provides funding for programs “grounded in [the] community and [that] build on collaborations to address underserved populations,” specifically focusing on childhood obesity prevention and community wellness in Iowa and South Dakota.

 

[1] http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2010pres/02/20100219a.html.

[2] National Complete Streets Coalition (2010).  Implementation.  

[3] Trust for America’s Health (2010). F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America’s Future.48.

[4] The Finance Project (2004).  Funding Childhood Obesity Prevention.
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Resource . The Finance Project’s report, Financing Childhood Obesity Prevention Programs: Federal Funding Sources and Other Strategies, is a great resource about the funding available to support your state’s efforts to prevent childhood obesity.
states

The California Endowment is a private, California-wide health foundation focused on expanding access to affordable, quality health care for underserved individuals and communities and promoting fundamental improvements in the health status of all Californians. They have several initiatives aimed at reducing childhood obesity in the state.
states

The Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi Foundation is committed to making Mississippi a healthier state through the funding of community-based programs.