Coalition gets $500K to combat obesity

The Boston Food and Fitness Collaborative, a coalition of 52 local organizations working to encourage healthy eating and lifestyle habits in the city, received a two-year, $500,000 grant from the Michigan-based W.K. Kellogg Foundation last week.

According to the Boston Public Health Commission, the purpose of the grant is to “support the creation of a comprehensive citywide plan to fight obesity and increase the availability of public space for physical activity.”

The Collaborative will receive $250,000 a year for two years through the grant, part of $4.5 million in funding the Kellogg Foundation will disburse to projects in nine communities across the nation. Those funds will be used to develop a community action plan that maps out ways that Boston can help youth and families have access to local healthy food and provide safe spaces in which children can play.

After the two-year development period, the Collaborative will be eligible for up to $3.5 million in additional funding from the Kellogg Foundation, to be spread out over eight years, to implement its ideas. Kellogg has already earmarked $18 million in initial funding for this effort.

“The problems of obesity, poor nutrition and physical inactivity present a major threat to the well-being of our children and our country,” said Sterling K. Speirn, president and CEO of the Kellogg Foundation. “An incredible number of people and organizations are working hard to attack this issue. … Our aim is to seize the energy and interest that already exists in communities and help them learn and grow new approaches.”

Evidence of the presence of such energy and interest in Boston can be found by looking at the Food and Fitness Collaborative’s expansive 52-organization membership, which includes a broad spectrum of groups involved in the life of Boston’s families, including educational institutions, hospitals, city agencies and community-based organizations.

“Healthy eating and exercise are keys to a healthy Boston, and the Boston Food and Fitness Collaborative, representing an impressively wide range of community organizations, will make them accessible to all of the city’s residents,” said Mayor Thomas M. Menino.

By tapping into this wide array of perspectives, the Collaborative plans to use the grant funds to better inform Boston residents about the numerous issues impacted by an increased emphasis on overall health, ranging from health care and education to environmentalism and economic development.

“Up until recently, community organizations have worked independently to help Boston families remain healthy,” said Sharon Reilly of the Boston Food and Fitness Collaborative. “Thanks to the Kellogg Foundation grant, these groups are now able to come together as the Collaborative and design a concrete plan that will both benefit the health of our residents and support our local economic structure and local farmers.”

The Collaborative’s long-term goals include making local and other produce more readily available and affordable for Boston residents, regardless of income level, making improvements to a number of walking and biking trails linking residential and commercial sections of city neighborhoods, and developing programs that set youths on a path to understanding the connection between diet and exercise and their physical well-being.

But to Linda Jo Doctor, program director in health for the Kellogg Foundation, the key is making people understand that “there’s more to the obesity story than just personal behavior.”

“What if your playgrounds aren’t safe? What if your local market doesn’t carry fresh fruits and vegetables?” she asked. “This initiative will help people in communities think together more about how they want to support kids and families, and address issues like physical activities in schools, safety in public spaces, creating community gardens, having markets for affordable local and regionally grown foods, and working with local planning boards to create more pathways for walkers and bicyclists.”

Other grant recipients include organizations from Holyoke, Mass., Detroit, New York City, Oakland, Philadelphia, Seattle, five counties in northeast Iowa and Sells, Ariz.