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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: June 8, 2016 Contact: Jennifer Sykes Phone: (816) 241-7006
Kansas City, MO — The Health Forward Foundation (Health Forward) has awarded 22 nonprofit organizations a total of $2.59 million in 2016 Healthy Communities funding. These grants increase access and use of healthy foods, safe environments for physical activity and support tobacco use prevention among the uninsured and underserved.
“Health Forward is proud to support these organizations who are using best practices and forging multi-sector partnerships that mobilize the uninsured and underserved to create communities that ensure everyone has the opportunity to prosper,” said Bridget McCandless, M.D., President/CEO of Health Forward.
In November 2015, Health Forward released its Healthy Communities Requests for Proposals (RFP). The Foundation received a total of 44 proposals totaling more than $6.3 million in requests.
The following grants were awarded during the June Board of Directors meeting:
[efstable width =”100%”] [efstable_head] [efsth_column]Agency[/efsth_column] [efsth_column]Amount Awarded[/efsth_column] [efsth_column]Project Description[/efsth_column] [/efstable_head] [efstable_body] [efstable_row] [efsrow_column]After the Harvest[/efsrow_column] [efsrow_column]$200,000[/efsrow_column] [efsrow_column]To support and expand the work of After the Harvest by increasing the amount and variety of the fresh fruits and vegetables it provides to food banks and feeding agencies in Missouri and Kansas (3 million by the end of the grant period). [/efsrow_column] [/efstable_row] [efstable_row] [efsrow_column]Argentine Neighborhood Development Association[/efsrow_column] [efsrow_column]$98,389[/efsrow_column] [efsrow_column]The overarching purpose of the Argentine Healthy Challenge Initiative is to significantly improve and sustain a positive health trajectory among Argentine neighborhood residents by increasing access and removing barriers to healthy lifestyle opportunities. This will be accomplished by strengthening the Argentine Healthy Food Council to include and serve residents of all ages, and the public-private partnerships at the Argentine Community Center and elsewhere in the community. The project will improve health education, family wellness and fitness-oriented activities, and thus promote generational lifestyle change. [/efsrow_column] [/efstable_row] [efstable_row] [efsrow_column]BikeWalkKC[/efsrow_column] [efsrow_column]$171,344[/efsrow_column] [efsrow_column]The Active Living Policy Council will convene regional leaders and community residents in a collaborative process of strategic planning, policy making, implementation, and mobilization. Leaders from government, business, health, education, faith, nonprofit, and neighborhoods will provide strategic leadership and build high level consensus around active living and transportation public policy. The Policy Council will be a venue for sharing success and challenges, promising practices, barriers, and innovative public policy. [/efsrow_column] [/efstable_row] [efstable_row] [efsrow_column]City of Independence, Health Department [/efsrow_column] [efsrow_column]$45,000[/efsrow_column] [efsrow_column]The proposed programs will mobilize the community by encouraging youth participation in advocacy, providing assistance with policy change, and providing education and resources to promote tobacco-use prevention and initiation among youth, young adults, and the Independence community at large. [/efsrow_column] [/efstable_row] [efstable_row] [efsrow_column]Communities Creating Opportunity Organization [/efsrow_column] [efsrow_column]$150,000[/efsrow_column] [efsrow_column]To leverage partnerships to shape and implement a congregation-based initiative within six target Kansas City zip codes to achieve increased active living and healthy eating. [/efsrow_column] [/efstable_row] [efstable_row] [efsrow_column]Cultivate KC, Inc. [/efsrow_column] [efsrow_column]$164,500[/efsrow_column] [efsrow_column]To support two farmer training programs that increase the production of healthy food in our community and invest in the future of our food system. [/efsrow_column] [/efstable_row] [efstable_row] [efsrow_column]DeLaSalle Education Center [/efsrow_column] [efsrow_column]$40,268[/efsrow_column] [efsrow_column]To educate students and staff about the importance of good nutrition and exercise in their lives, provide opportunities for them to adopt healthier eating habits and increase physical activity, increase opportunities for students to engage in outreach activities both in the home and at other schools, and expand the staff wellness program. [/efsrow_column] [/efstable_row] [efstable_row] [efsrow_column]Developmental Disability Services of Jackson County — EITAS[/efsrow_column] [efsrow_column]$90,000[/efsrow_column] [efsrow_column]To develop the role of the community health worker in formal services provided to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.A coalition of community service providers and public health organizations will continue to work on policy and practice changes to improve the nutrition and physical activity of people with I/DD and their caregivers. [/efsrow_column] [/efstable_row] [efstable_row] [efsrow_column]Episcopal Community Services, Inc.[/efsrow_column] [efsrow_column]$150,000[/efsrow_column] [efsrow_column]To transform the Kansas City Community Kitchen into a fully immersive learning kitchen, provide programming to address poverty and unemployment — the root causes of hunger — and strengthen the emergency food service network in the Greater Kansas City area. [/efsrow_column] [/efstable_row] [efstable_row] [efsrow_column]KC Healthy Kids [/efsrow_column] [efsrow_column]$125,000[/efsrow_column] [efsrow_column]To provide staff support and project materials to conduct “Advocacy for Thriving Communities” in four counties. This program will improve the food and physical environments by advancing policies that promote healthy eating and active living — particularly through advocacy communications to mobilize partners and persuade decision makers — and by educating and engaging youth to promote healthy school and community environments. [/efsrow_column] [/efstable_row] [efstable_row] [efsrow_column]Harvesters — The Community Food Network [/efsrow_column] [efsrow_column]$80,000[/efsrow_column] [efsrow_column]To support Harvesters’ Healthy Eating Initiative, which increases access to healthy food through our agency network and empowers food-insecure children, families, and seniors to make healthier food choices. [/efsrow_column] [/efstable_row] [efstable_row] [efsrow_column]Ivanhoe Neighborhood Council[/efsrow_column] [efsrow_column]$95,000[/efsrow_column] [efsrow_column]The Sustainable Healthy Urban Living (SHUL) Initiative will address healthy food access, grocery gap conditions and community engagement by empowering residents with the resources and with equitable environments to make informed decisions and sustainable action regarding their current quality-of-health/quality-of-life. [/efsrow_column] [/efstable_row] [efstable_row] [efsrow_column]Johnson County Mental Health [/efsrow_column] [efsrow_column]$134,360[/efsrow_column] [efsrow_column]To prevent the initiation of tobacco and vapor product use by encouraging policy changes that raise the age of sale of tobacco and vapor products from 18 to 21. This will be accomplished through community and youth education, engagement and outreach. [/efsrow_column] [/efstable_row] [efstable_row] [efsrow_column]Kansas City Community Gardens, Inc.[/efsrow_column] [efsrow_column]$133,367[/efsrow_column] [efsrow_column]To improve health for Kansas City’s students by supporting and promoting school gardening at the school and district levels city-wide. Grant funds will be used for staffing for KCCG’s Schoolyard Gardens program, providing direct garden support to schools in order to establish and nurture successful school gardens and create a healthier food environment in Kansas City’s schools. [/efsrow_column] [/efstable_row] [efstable_row] [efsrow_column]Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences [/efsrow_column] [efsrow_column]$175,000 [/efsrow_column] [efsrow_column]To provide staff support, project materials and evaluation to achieve behavioral changes at the family level and policy changes at the professional level to improve outcomes around obesity in children in participating schools. [/efsrow_column] [/efstable_row] [efstable_row] [efsrow_column]Mattie Rhodes Center[/efsrow_column] [efsrow_column]$80,213[/efsrow_column] [efsrow_column]To finance the activities and program supplies and support necessary to create safe spaces for physical activity through the Indian Mound In Motion program. [/efsrow_column] [/efstable_row] [efstable_row] [efsrow_column]Rosedale Development Association Inc. [/efsrow_column] [efsrow_column]$89,998[/efsrow_column] [efsrow_column]To expand and continue Rosedale Healthy Kids, a community-based project to improve equitable access to healthy food and opportunities for active living for all who live, work and play in Rosedale, a neighborhood of Kansas City, Kansas. [/efsrow_column] [/efstable_row] [efstable_row] [efsrow_column]The Food Conservancy, Inc.[/efsrow_column] [efsrow_column]$109,800[/efsrow_column] [efsrow_column]To grow the impact of a local faith-based Good Food market by including other inner-city churches as key players and stakeholders. [/efsrow_column] [/efstable_row] [efstable_row] [efsrow_column]Tri-County Mental Health Services, Inc. [/efsrow_column] [efsrow_column]$150,000[/efsrow_column] [efsrow_column]To provide staff support, necessary program materials, and media support needed to reduce underage tobacco use among Kansas City youth in Clay and Platte counties. [/efsrow_column] [/efstable_row] [efstable_row] [efsrow_column]Unified Government of Wyandotte, Public Health Department[/efsrow_column] [efsrow_column]$131,341[/efsrow_column] [efsrow_column]To support the alignment of multiple agencies’ activities with the 20/20/20 Movement, a community-wide effort in Wyandotte County to build 20 new miles of trails, bicycle routes, and high priority sidewalks by the Year 2020. [/efsrow_column] [/efstable_row] [efstable_row] [efsrow_column]Unified Government of Wyandotte, Public Health Department [/efsrow_column] [efsrow_column]$46,420[/efsrow_column] [efsrow_column]To support the assessment and improvement of city and county policies to increase access to healthy foods within Kansas City, Kansas, and Wyandotte County. The project seeks to use planning and policy change to integrate access to more fruits and vegetables into the places where they are most needed in the county. [/efsrow_column] [/efstable_row] [efstable_row] [efsrow_column]Upper Room, Inc.[/efsrow_column] [efsrow_column]$130,000[/efsrow_column] [efsrow_column]To support the Neighborhood Transformation Initiative by providing fitness and nutrition programs at the Mary L. Kelly Center and building capacity among the Blue Hills and Town Fork Creek Neighborhood Associations to advocate for policy change. [/efsrow_column] [/efstable_row] [/efstable_body] [/efstable]
The Healthy Community grants are the first round of Foundation Defined Grants awarded by Health Forward in 2016. Mental Health grants will be announced in August, and Safety Net grants, in December. For more information on applying for Health Forward Foundation Defined Grants, visit our grants section.
