The following links recognize many of the amazing resources available to North Carolina communities and neighborhoods to create fit communities that support both active living and healthy eating.
Fit Community To address the growing obesity epidemic, commissioners of the Health and Wellness Trust Fund partnered with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina to launch Fit Together in 2004, a statewide campaign designed to raise awareness around the dangers of unhealthy weight and to equip individuals and communities with the tools they need to address this serious health concern. In 2005, Fit Together unveiled Fit Community, a program to recognize and reward municipality and county-wide efforts to promote physical activity, healthy eating and tobacco-free programs, policies, environments and lifestyles.
Fit Community Grantees Fit Community grants provide funding and technical assistance to North Carolina communities that seek to improve health and wellness outcomes by implementing innovative strategies to increase routine physical activity and/or healthy eating among the local population.
Fit Community Designees Fit Community designations recognize North Carolina towns and counties that currently excel in supporting physical activity, healthy eating and tobacco use prevention in the community, schools and workplaces. Fit Community designations are valid for three years.
Fit Community Application The Fit Community application process is a thorough evaluation that can and will benefit your community in numerous unexpected ways.
Fit Kids www.FitKidsNC.com is a constantly evolving resource for schools; a site where best practices from North Carolina’s best teachers will be submitted by and shared with their colleagues statewide. It will also include content for assisting families and after-school programs with their efforts to meet an additional 30 minutes of physical activity recommended outside of the school day.
Healthy Neighborhood Toolkit Each toolkit has facts, plans, and goals that you need to work with others to make healthy changes in your community.
Fit Together Increased physical activity and healthier food choices are considered essential elements in preventing obesity and maintaining good health. To promote these cornerstone principles, the NC Health and Wellness Trust Fund (HWTF) has joined with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC) to launch Fit Together - a statewide campaign designed to raise awareness around the dangers of unhealthy weight and more importantly equip individuals, families and communities with the tools they need to address this very serious health concern.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina is proud of its long tradition of improving the health and well-being of North Carolinians through innovative solutions to community health issues. We have provided financial support, volunteer hours and community involvement through our Community Relations Department to help build and keep communities healthy. BCBS NC addressing childhood obesity
Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation Since Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation founding in November 2000, we have invested more than $33.5 million into communities across the state by supporting more than 245 grants and special initiatives. Through a combination of grantmaking, multi-year initiatives and Signature Programs, we commit the resources and time needed to support opportunities impacting the health of our state.
Healthy Active Communities The aim of Healthy Active Communities is to lead North Carolinians, young and old, to healthier, more active lifestyles. We believe one of the best ways to improve the health of our state is to encourage physical activity and healthy eating on the individual, family and community levels.
Fit Together Increased physical activity and healthier food choices are considered essential elements in preventing obesity and maintaining good health. To promote these cornerstone principles, the NC Health and Wellness Trust Fund (HWTF) has joined with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC) to launch Fit Together - a statewide campaign designed to raise awareness around the dangers of unhealthy weight and more importantly equip individuals, families and communities with the tools they need to address this very serious health concern.
Fit Together Grantees The Fit Together grants program was created in 2005 to provide funding and technical assistance to communities seeking to improve community health. The program supports the statewide Fit Together campaign, which was created in partnership between Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina and the North Carolina Health and Wellness Trust Fund. Fit Together grants are designed to promote innovative and integrated strategies to increase access and reduce barriers to physical activity in rural communities.
Eat Smart Move More North Carolina Eat Smart, Move More North Carolina is a statewide movement that promotes increased opportunities for healthy eating and physical activity wherever people live, learn, earn, play and pray. We want communities, schools and businesses to make it easy for people to eat healthy food and be physically active. We encourage individuals to think differently about what they eat and how much they move, and to make choices that will help them feel good and live better.
North Carolina Physical Activity and Nutrition Data Resources Eat Smart Move More North Carolina offers an excellent web page full of the latest and most comprehensive date resources on physical activity and nutrition levels of North Carolina citizens. There are also many links to invaluable tools and national organizations that are related to obesity.
Eat Smart Move More North Carolina Plan Eat Smart, Move More NC's Plan is a five-year plan (2007-2012) offering overarching goals and measureable objectives for anyone working in the area of overweight and obesity prevention. The plan is designed to help organizations and individuals address overweight and obesity in their community and begin to create policies and environments supportive of healthy eating and physical activity.
Community Resources Explore resources that professionals and community members can use to help communities in their efforts to Eat Smart and Move More.
Funding Opportunities The ESMM Community Grants Program provides funding to local communities to implement strategies that advance the goals and objectives of the Eat Smart, Move More NC Plan. Funding is awarded yearly, based on availability of funds. The RFA is generally released in May, with funding distributed to grant recipients in September.
NC Fruits and Veggies Nutrition Program The NC Fruits & Veggies Nutrition Program strives to promote better health for all North Carolinians by increasing their fruit and vegetable consumption. The program is administered at the state level by the N.C. Fruit & Vegetable Nutrition Coordinator in conjunction with the N.C. Fruits & Veggies Nutrition Coalition.
Active Community Environments (ACEs)
The North Carolina Division of Public Health recognizes this unique opportunity for impacting physical activity levels and has developed Winning with ACEs! How You Can Work toward Active Community Environments (referred to as the ACEs Guide). The ACEs Guide was developed to assist North Carolinians who are interested in making their communities more supportive of physical activity.
Bring Fresh Produce to Your Setting Bring Fresh Produce to Your Setting is a planning and resource tool for anyone who would like to have fruits and vegetables, especially locally grown, available to buy in their worksite, place of worship, neighborhood or at any gathering place. The guide provides practical information on developing a partnership with a local farmer/produce vendor to bring and sell fresh fruits and vegetables in a variety of settings.
Eat Smart Move More North Carolina County Profiles These county profiles highlight local accomplishments that increase opportunities for community members to eat smart and move more in each of North Carolina's 100 counties. However, they also point out the need for more policies and environments to help people achieve a healthy weight.
Eat Smart Move More Physical Activity and Healthy Eating Policy A policy establishing an organization’s support for physical activity and healthy eating is one of the simple organizational policy changes that can be made to help us all eat smart and move more. The NC Division of Public Health’s landmark Physical Activity and Healthy Eating Policy proclaims that meetings will include physical activity breaks as well as healthy foods and beverages, and participation in Division worksite wellness activities and facilities on the main campus will be supported by Division management.
Be Active NC Be Active North Carolina, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to improving the health of all North Carolinians. Our mission is to increase physical activity and promote healthy lifestyles among all North Carolinians through people, programs and policies.
North Carolina Alliance for Health The North Carolina Alliance for Health works to improve the health of North Carolinians by advocating policies that promote wellness and reduce the impact of tobacco use and obesity.
Fit City Challenge The Fit City Challenge is a community level initiative to encourage and empower program participants to increase their level of physical activity and fruit and vegetable consumption. The Fit City Challenge is the result of the work of the Mecklenburg County, NC Healthy Weight Task Force and its charge to identify best practices and galvanize the community in overcoming the factors that contribute to overweight and obesity, particularly in children and youth.
Active Living by Design Active Living by Design is a national program of theRobert Wood Johnson Foundation and is a part of the North Carolina Institute for Public Health at the UNC School of Public Health in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. This program establishes innovative approaches to increase physical activity and healthy eating through community design, public policies and communications strategies.
Lessons Learned
The lessons learned presented here are for the use of Active Living and Healthy Eating Partnerships and other partners of Active Living by Design. The observations and recommendations described at this link represent an ongoing compilation of lessons as they are emerging from ALbD’s experience with community partnerships.
Community Action Model Active Living by Design’s community action model depicts how active living supports can be incorporated into a community and should ultimately result in increased physical activity. The community action model follows a local active living movement from its establishment and strategies to short, middle and long term changes. The model is based on a logic model concept, using a diagram to illustrate a process of community change.
North Carolina Institute for Public Health The North Carolina Institute for Public Health (NCIPH) is the service and outreach arm of the prestigious School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Its mission is to bring the public health scholarship and practice communities together for the common purpose of improving the public's health and human well-being
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Childhood Obesity
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation wants to help all children and families eat well and move more—especially those in communities at highest risk for obesity. Our goal is to reverse the childhood obesity epidemic by 2015 by improving access to affordable, healthy foods and increasing opportunities for physical activity in schools and communities across the nation.
NC Department of Transportation Bike and Pedestrian Division
This is the Bicycle and Pedestrian division of the North Carolina Department of Transportation. They offer funding and guidance in developing infrastructures that support biking and walking.
Pedestrian Projects The Division of Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation (DBPT) currently receives an annual allocation of $200,000 for the advancement of pedestrian safety. To stretch these dollars and gain the greatest benefit, DBPT has focused its efforts on statewide or regional demonstration projects, initiatives, or programs to encourage pedestrian safety and the development of walkable communities.
Bicycle TIP Projects The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) has established a multi-year schedule for all its transportation projects—including bicycle-related projects—called the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). Requests from localities for bicycle facilities undergo rigorous study and feasibility considerations before being approved. Once projects have been adopted by the Division of Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation (DBPT) and the North Carolina Board of Transportation, they are incorporated into the TIP.
NC Safe Routes to School NC Safe Routes to School (SRTS) is a program that enables and encourages children to walk and bicycle to school; makes walking and bicycling to school a safe and more appealing transportation option, and facilitates the planning, development, and implementation of projects and activities that will improve safety and reduce traffic, fuel consumption, and air pollution in the vicinity of school.
NC Parks and Recreation Trust Fund The Parks and Recreation Trust Fund (PARTF) provides dollar-for-dollar matching grants to local governments for parks and recreational projects to serve the public.
NC Trails Program The NC Trails Program offers grants and resources to create and revitalize trails across North Carolina.
NC Main Street Program
The North Carolina Main Street Center promotesdowntown revitalization based on economic development within the context of historic preservation, a concept developed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation that has proven successful in more than a thousand smaller communities across the country.The North Carolina Main Street program helps small towns to recognize and preserve theirhistoric fabric, and, using local resources, build ontheirunique characteristics to create vibrant central business districts that meetthe needs of today's communities.
NC Clean Water Trust Fund Created in 1996, the Clean Water Management Trust Fund makes grants to local governments, state agencies and conservation non-profits to help finance projects that specifically address water pollution problems. Many times greenways and trails are situated in water easements.
Million Acre Initiative With an end goal of preserving one million additional acres of open space in North Carolina this decade, the Million Acre Initiative coordinates preservation efforts between a number of organizations — federal, state and local governments, conservation groups and citizens. While supporting existing programs, the initiative also encourages cooperation by providing technical assistance and information to people interested in helping our state meet its goal.
NC Economic and Development Rural Center Grants For more than a decade, the Rural Center has been making sound investments in North Carolina's rural communities. The center puts public and private dollars to work -- investing in new ideas, expanding rural infrastructure and supporting community-based organizations. Discover how these programs can meet your local needs.
National Center for Safe Routes to School The National Center for Safe Routes to School aims to assist these communities in developing successful Safe Routes programs and strategies. The Center offers a centralized resource of information on how to start and sustain a Safe Routes to School program, case studies of successful programs as well as many other resources for training and technical assistance.
NC Coalition for Bicycle Driving The North Carolina Coalition for Bicycle Driving is a grass-roots organization of people who believe that lawful, vehicular-style bicycle driving is the safest and most effective way to travel by bicycle.
NC Chapter of American Planning Association The North Carolina Chapter of the American Planning Association recognizes that through partnerships with professionals and citizens, planning can achieve a high rate of success in the State of North Carolina.
NC Office of Environmental Education The Office of Environmental Education serves as a clearinghouse linking people to EE materials, facilities, programs and professionals across the state. Our staff serves all North Carolinians whether in the field of education, business, government, non-profit, or members
of the general public
NC Public Transit Association NCPTA works with the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT), the Federal Transit Authority (FTA), state and national public transit associations, human services agencies, civic and community groups, businesses, and universities to promote public transit services and create an integrated, multimodal transportation system in the state. Together, we aim to enhance public transportation programs in North Carolina.
