Wednesday, April 2, 2025
4/2/2025
Be Wild, Be Wonderful, Be Healthy: Expanded - West Virginia (WV) needs increased opportunities and access to physical activity and healthy, affordable foods. The 2020 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) provides compelling data which show that WV ranks first in the nation for the prevalence of obesity (39.5% adults), second in the prevalence of fair or poor general health, and second in the number of adults not getting the recommended servings of fruits and vegetables. Improving availability, connectivity, access to safe places for physical activity, and access to healthy foods are imperative to help prevent and potentially treat obesity and the subsequent development of chronic disease. The capacity for WV and its local communities to address the barriers related to increased physical activity and healthy eating is increasing as more state, and local leaders have begun working on strategies to improve the health and well-being of WV communities. The ten target counties for this project are Braxton, Boone, Calhoun, Clay, Fayette, Lincoln, Logan, Mingo, Monroe, and Summers counties in WV, identified in the NOFO because of adult obesity rates > 40% (BRFSS, 2020). This project aims to build upon and strengthen the existing capacity and partnerships to implement evidence-based approaches to improve access to physical activity opportunities and healthy foods for all in these target counties. Through the implementation of a community-based participatory model and the establishment of community coalitions, targeted programming efforts will be implemented in each of the project counties focused on healthy food access and connectivity to safe places for physical activity. West Virginia University (WVU) College of Applied Human Science’s Center for Active WV is the lead organization for this project. Through WVU’s statewide partnerships and WVU Extension’s local partnerships, the project team and community coalitions will collaborate to develop sustainable strategies to address childhood and adult obesity levels.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).