TRAVERSE CITY – SEEDS has received a $20,000 grant from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Foundation and the General Mills Foundation to improve youth nutrition and physical activity behaviors in the community. The award, part of the highly competitive Champions for Healthy Kids program, is one of 50 issued this year – totaling $1 million in 2014.

The grant award will allow SEEDS to implement an integrated program that includes Cooking MattersTM, intentional physical activities and self-directed goal setting. The program, “Food-shed, Fitness, and Fun” will help students and their families find intrinsic motivation to develop healthy eating habits and incorporate daily physical activity as a way of life. SEEDS will also provide participants with exposure to local agriculture and culinary leaders – farmers, producers, chefs, researchers and local food business-people – and offer community events that showcase the developing skills and culinary creations of the participants.

“We are thrilled to be a Champion for Healthy Kids grant recipient,” said Sarna Salzman, Executive Director of SEEDS. “Even in a strong agricultural region, many of our youth and families do not have access to fresh produce – in fact much of Kalkaska County is considered a ‘food desert’ by the USDA. Perhaps of even greater concern is the decline in the practice of cooking from scratch and shared family meals. This opportunity allows us to offer significantly more high quality culinary enrichment where it is needed most.”

The goal of the Champions for Healthy Kids grant program is to encourage communities in the United States to partner with registered Dietitian Nutritionists to improve the eating and physical activity patterns of youth, ages 2-18.

Through this grant award, SEEDS will collaborate with the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Foundation, the world’s largest organization of food and nutrition professionals. Munson Medical Center Dietitian, Diane Roach, RD, added “We have a great and growing community of professionals working to combat the obesity epidemic. This funding will help expand their work and connect with new partners empowering families to feed themselves wholesome foods.”