Little Rock anti-obesity program gets $25,000

WASHINGTON - Little Rock received a $25,000 grant this week that will go toward expanding the city’s child obesity prevention program, Mayor Mark Stodola said.

Stodola received the second-place award from the American Beverage Association while at the United States Conference of Mayors’ winter meeting in Washington, D.C.

Little Rock received second place in the medium-city category for its “Love Your School” Childhood Obesity Intervention and Prevention Initiative.

The program is in place in seven high-poverty elementary schools in the Little Rock School District. Students learn about healthy eating and exercise. Hundreds of school garden beds have been started, and walking trails have been built. Cooking classes for parents are also provided, Stodola said.

“The teachers are very important to this process, so we’re doing Zumba classes for them,” he said, adding that the dance classes relieve stress.

According to the mayor’s office, 2,600 students in high-poverty elementary schools are currently enrolled.

The mayor said 23 more schools in the district want to participate. More information on the Love Your School program can be found at www.loveyourschool.org

“We hope to be able to expand it as we go into the next school year,” Stodola said. “We’ve got food deserts in Little Rock.”

The U.S. Department of Agriculture defines a food desert as urban neighborhoods and rural towns without ready access to fresh, healthy and affordable food through supermarkets and grocery stores. Instead, these communitiesmay have no food markets or are served only by fastfood restaurants and convenience stores.

Stodola said there is a tendency for families to go to convenience stores and get something cheap and easy to eat that is not nutritious.

“We hope that we’re going to be able to change that cycle. It really is an epidemic,” he said.

The winner in the medium-city category, Waterbury, Conn., received $120,000 for a children’s marathon that encourages youths to run 26.1 miles over several weeks.

Winners in other categories were Dallas; Denver; Monrovia, Calif.; and York, Pa.

The American Beverage Association gave out nearly $500,000 in grants. Stodola said it’s a sign that companies that produce soda, juice and energy drinks recognize that Americans need to change their diets, including cutting back on sugary drinks.

“They are putting their money into organizations that are really trying to change … attitudes,” he said. “That is some real money.”

Stodola said he’s dropped 40 pounds in the past few months, too, in part by no longer drinking soda.

“I’ve got to walk the talk,” he said.

Stodola and nearly 300 other mayors met with congressmen, business leaders and administration officials during the winter meeting, including a meeting and reception at the White House on Thursday afternoon. Fayetteville Mayor Lioneld Jordan also was scheduled to attend.

Stodola said the group has discussed economic development, crime and justice, housing needs and the environment.

“This administration has been very receptive to the importance of mayors,” Stodola said.

Northwest Arkansas, Pages 12 on 01/26/2014

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