Embrace a Healthy Florida An Initiative Addressing the Causes of Childhood Obesity Florida Philanthropic Network February 12, 2010

2 Overview  The Blue Foundation for a Healthy Florida is the philanthropic affiliate of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida  Founded in 2001, with a mission to increase access to quality health-related services for all Floridians, with an emphasis on the uninsured and underserved  Over 200 grants and awards given over 8 years.  In 2007 the Board of Directors created an initiative to address the causes of childhood obesity, Embrace a Healthy Florida  Planning for implementation began in the Fall of 2007

3 Obesity: Areas of Potential Intervention  Getting people to eat right  Getting people to exercise more  Addressing poverty and other disparities  Correcting environmental factors  Increasing access to healthful foods  Increasing access to safe and regular exercise facilities  Addressing depression and other mental health factors  Implementing policy level interventions to create healthier environments

4 Overview  Three areas of intervention: Statewide community grants to non-profit organizations Jacksonville Miami East Central Florida Applied research grants Fostering community collaboration and engagement  Five Florida cities for community engagement: Tallahassee Tampa

5 Obesity: Who Needs to Be Involved  Funders and both public and private sector support  Parents, children and families  Schools, Pre-school programs, and After-school programs  Sports, park and rec, and physical activity groups  Educators, administrators, and policy makers  Faith-based and other community groups  Medical, oral health and mental health professionals  The whole community

6 Strategic Framework The Blue Foundation for a Healthy Florida RESEARCH Grants to universities and colleges for evidence-based research Measurement and evaluation POLICY Community engagement PRACTICE Grants to community programs Measurement and evaluation

Statewide Community Grants  9 grants awarded in October 2008 across the state ($835,068)  Supporting a variety of practices and communities  Group met December 5, 2008 after The Sapphire Award ceremony in Orlando to coordinate evaluation and implementation  Group will meet again in December 2009

Applied Research Grants  5 research grants awarded in November 2008 ($499,418)  Supporting a variety of research efforts to extend knowledge base  Academic and community-based efforts to gather data, test hypotheses, and impact communities across Florida

Community Engagement: Jacksonville area  Held series of three meetings: Funders, Public sector, and Community through Winter and Spring 2008  Supported the development of a consortium to address childhood obesity, healthy eating and active lifestyles  Monthly meetings are now being held to strengthen and expand coalition  Report released on June 19, 2009: Call to Action; Parents’ Resource Guide  Community Grants announced October 9, 2009  Awarded RWJF Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities grant  Website for Jacksonville :

 Partnership with Winter Park Health Foundation and other interested funders to address the causes of childhood obesity  Funders Meeting held October 2008 in Orlando – 24 funders in attendance  Connection to Nemours Health and Prevention Services  Awarded grant to the Health Council of East Central Florida to support the development of a consortium to address childhood obesity, healthy eating and active lifestyles through the use of a best practice model from Chicago  Follow-up meetings with consortium resulted in new Coalition: ROCK – Reducing Obesity in Central Florida’s Kids  Central Florida Childhood Obesity Conference held on October 30  Focus on communities in Orange County – Parramore and Apopka Community Engagement: East Central Florida area

Winter Park Health Foundation: Community Health Policy - To support access to information that assists our community in pursuing health and wellness - To promote healthy eating - To encourage physical activity - To reduce tobacco use.

 Held Funders, Public Sector and Community meetings between November 2008 and May 2009  Two community meetings focusing on Opa-Locka and Hialeah  Developed partnership with Health Foundation of South Florida and other interested funders to address the causes of childhood obesity  Will support the development of a consortium to address childhood obesity, healthy eating and active lifestyles in this area  Two farmers markets receiving EBT machines for Food Stamps Community Engagement: Miami-Dade County area

Health Foundation of South Florida: Healthy Lifestyle initiative Funding supports evidence-based and/or innovative programs in the school and after school setting. –SPARK in after school programs – $500K in the last 4-5 years –130 after-school sites in Miami-Dade and Broward County; –close to 20,000 children reached School Setting— –Integrated school garden nutrition curriculum—over 10 public schools in Miami Dade County and 15 parochial schools –OrganWise Guys in Miami-Dade and Monroe County elementary schools –SPARK PE in 10 elementary schools Child Care Center –Salsa, Sabor y Salud at two child care centers targeting Hispanic families

Community Engagement Tampa Bay area  Funders meeting on March 27, 2009  Partnership with the Conn Memorial Foundation  Embrace grants awarded to St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital and USF  Grant made through competitive grant process: Florida Improvement Network for Kids (FINK Program), a network of 44 pediatricians and other providers focusing on childhood obesity  Will support the development of a consortium to address childhood obesity, healthy eating and active lifestyles in this area  Looking to focus in two communities: Sulphur Springs (Hillsborough) and North Greenwood (Pinellas

Community Engagement Tallahassee area  Funders meeting on September 2, 2009  Public Sector Meeting November 16, 2009  Community Meeting March 1, 2010  Partnership with the Capital Health Plan  Embrace grant awarded to Leon County Health Department for community asset mapping  Will support the development of a consortium to address childhood obesity, healthy eating and active lifestyles in Leon County

Next Steps  Community meetings in Tallahassee in 2010  Tampa area community meetings in spring 2010  Continue community engagement meetings  Ongoing evaluation coordinated by MGT of America  Support the development of a Florida Convergence to address Healthy Eating and Active Lifestyles. Based upon the National Convergence Partnership

18 Contact   Michael S. Hutton, Ph.D., Director Grants Administration and Policy Implementation  