CHICAGO (September 17, 2019) – Action for Healthy Kids has awarded 605 schools across the U.S. grant funding and programmatic support valued at $987,500 to improve the health and well-being of their students and school communities during the 2019-2020 school year. Grants (623 in total) support schools and parents in implementing health and wellness programming and expanding access to school breakfast in order to create healthier school environments for all students, especially in communities with the greatest need.

“Despite the evidence that supports the importance of good health in all aspects of our lives, our country is struggling when it comes to improving child health,” said Rob Bisceglie, CEO, Action for Healthy Kids. “Schools play a critical role in helping children learn to live healthy lives, but they can’t do it alone. Thanks to the partnerships we have formed with our committed sponsors, we are able to provide funds and resources that schools, families and communities need to improve children’s health, well-being and learning.”

School grants are an important part of AFHK’s mission to address complex childhood health challenges by bringing together educators, parents, organizations and communities to transform school into a place where children are healthy, active, and ready to learn and thrive. Grants this year include:

• Game On Grants (355 grants, $1,000-$2,500 each) help schools implement or expand programs that support students’ overall physical and emotional health and learning, using AFHK’s flagship Game On program, a free online guide that provides six key steps for building a healthier learning environment and includes hundreds of healthy activities.
• Game On: BE Time Grants (14 grants, $3,000-$7,000 each) support student health and well-being though Game On with a special focus on incorporating more free, unstructured time at school to support children’s social and emotional growth and learning.
• Parents for Healthy Kids Grants (100 grants, $1,000 each) are awarded to individual parent applicants or parent-led groups (e.g. PTAs, PTOs) to implement or expand programs that support students’ overall physical and emotional health and engage more parents and caregivers in supporting health at school and at home.
• School Breakfast Grants (154 grants between $1,000 to $3,000) help districts and schools purchase equipment and start or expand alternative school breakfast programs that are proven to increase breakfast access for students, combat hunger, improve student performance, reduce absenteeism and help hungry kids start the day right.

Since 2009, AFHK has awarded grants to more than 8,800 schools, impacting more than 2.7 million students. AFHK’s grants provide schools not only with needed funding but also with the support and tools to build school health teams, assess school health environments, and successfully implement and create sustainable programs. AFHK’s core supporters and sponsors of school grants include: ALDI (Parents for Healthy Kids Grants); Cargill, CSX, Kellogg Company Fund, and Saputo (Game On Grants); Materne GoGo squeeZ (Game On: BE Time Grants); and Walmart Foundation (School Breakfast Grants).

See the list of this school year’s grantees and learn more about how we are partnering with our sponsors to improve health, well-being and learning for students nationwide. Learn more about our grants at actionforhealthykids.org/grants.