"Let's Move" to Empower Millions of Families and Make Schools Healthier
ST. LOUIS, MO, (SLFP.com), February 14, 2010 - ARAMARK, a leading provider of food and nutrition services to more than 3,000 K-12 schools nationwide, will join First Lady of the United States Michelle Obama in her Let's Move campaign to reduce childhood obesity and make the nation's schools models for healthier living.
As part of the First Lady's initiative, ARAMARK, which serves about 300 million school meals annually, will support the USDA's HealthierUS School Challenge, a program which encourages schools to create healthier school environments through the promotion of good nutrition and physical activity.
For its part, ARAMARK will offer menu options that include more fruit, juice, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat and fat-free milk in reimbursable school lunches. The initiative also includes a longer-term commitment to meet the Institute of Medicine recommended standards for fat, sugar, and whole grains over the next 5 years, and the standards for sodium through a 5% annual reduction over the next 10 years by pursuing discussions with suppliers to develop products which meet those standards. In addition, the Company will work to double produce offered in school meals over the next 10 years.
In a release, Dennis Maple, President of ARAMARK Education, said, "ARAMARK shares the First Lady's goal to eliminate childhood obesity within the next generation. We understand the impact and importance of addressing the relationship between food choices, regular daily activity and obesity. By engaging the entire school community in wellness and nutrition education, we can empower millions of families to make healthy decisions for their children."
ARAMARK's current wellness commitment aligns well with the HealthierUS Schools Challenge and anticipated changes to the Child Nutrition Act. Through Cool*Caf™, the company's elementary school dining environment, many schools have seen a 50 percent increase in fruit and vegetable consumption, a 30 percent increase in speed of service, and increases in meal participation, a key factor for schools seeking to increase federal funding for their food service program.
Missouri Receives Nearly $2 Million Grant to Reduce Smoking
JEFFERSON CITY, MO, (SLFP.com), February 14, 2010 - Missouri will receive slightly more than $1 million in federal stimulus money to expand its efforts to help smokers kick the habit, according to state health officials.
"This funding will help us expand our highly successful Tobacco Quitline," said Margaret Donnelly, director of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. "We know that this program reduces health care costs at the same time it provides Missourians with a better quality of life."
The funding is part of $119.5 million in grants that states received this month through the federal stimulus package, formally known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
The grants will provide $1,015,150 for Missouri's Quitline expansion. The Quitline provides counseling, referral services and nicotine replacement therapy to help smokers overcome their addiction to tobacco.
In the last year, Missouri's Quitline has been particularly effective. Aided by an advertising campaign featuring Gov. Jay Nixon and members of the St. Louis Cardinals and the Kansas City Royals, the Quitline's usage skyrocketed.
The number of calls last year from smokers seeking help more than doubled, from 5,200 in 2008 to 11,451 in 2009. The department provided nicotine replacement therapy to 7,453 callers, more than three times as many as the year before.
The new grant will allow health officials to continue to provide Quitline services after current funding from the Missouri Foundation for Health runs out later this year. The grant is expected to cover the cost of services to an additional 4,500 smokers, particularly pregnant women. In Missouri, more than one of every six pregnant women smokes, a rate 64 percent higher than the national average.
The funding also will allow the health department to provide free nicotine replacement to an estimated 951 smokers on Medicaid. By helping Medicaid recipients quit tobacco, the Medicaid program is expected to achieve significant long-term savings.
Missouri's grant was part of $44.5 million included in the stimulus package specifically to expand tobacco quitlines.
Law Enforcement Agencies to Receive Needed Equipment
ST. LOUIS, MO, (SLFP.com), February 14, 2010 - Law enforcement agencies across Missouri will share more than $817,000 in grants to obtain essential law enforcement equipment to increase officer and public safety. Funding provided by the U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Assistance will pay for ballistic vests, squad car lightbars, sirens, in-car cameras and police radios.
"Protecting the men and women of law enforcement, who risk their lives every day to protect the people of Missouri, is one my highest priorities," Gov. Nixon said. "This money will supply essential equipment such as bulletproof vests, radios and in-car cameras to 116 agencies across Missouri, in rural areas and in the largest metropolitan areas of the state."
A total of $817,235 in federal Local Law Enforcement Block Grants is being awarded to 116 law enforcement agencies, including local police, sheriffs' departments and the Missouri State Highway Patrol. Grant awards are limited to a maximum of $9,000 and require a ten percent local match. Grant recipients may choose, however, to pay for equipment expenses above $10,000.
"I talk with the state's law enforcement leaders and rank-and-file officers on a daily basis," Department of Public Safety Director John M. Britt said. "I know in these economic times there is a real need for this assistance, which helps protect officers and strengthen public safety."
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