A Year of Relentless Commitment to Equity & Progress
Letters from Leadership
A Letter to Advocates from American Heart Association CEO Nancy Brown
Investing in Champions for Health Equity
All children, no matter where they live, should grow up with access to healthy and affordable foods, safe drinking water and family-friendly places for physical activity.
Voices for Healthy Kids, an initiative of the American Heart Association, with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, makes it easier and more enticing for children to eat healthy, drink smart and move more.
This mission is more important than ever as communities nationwide manage health disparities exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
That is why the American Heart Association, as a long-standing champion for health equity, is putting a stake in the ground to dismantle structural barriers to health and well-being. Simply put, we are relentless in our commitment to create a world where every person has the opportunity to live a full, healthy life.
Lighting our path is our 2024 Impact Goal to advance cardiovascular health for all, including identifying and removing barriers to health care access and quality.
In pursuit of that goal, we made 10 Commitments, which we are systematically fulfilling through investments, advocacy, innovation and engagement.
I could not be prouder of the role that Voices for Healthy Kids plays in realizing these commitments, working tirelessly with local and national organizations to transform communities from the ground up.
Over the past year, campaign efforts doubled in support of community organizations disproportionately affected by the pandemic.
Whether leveraging our leading science to make an advocacy impact, building advocacy capacity, funding equity-focused community organizations or creating messaging playbooks, including the Racial Equity in Public Policy Message Guide, Voices for Healthy Kids is a trusted and enduring connector across the country.
On behalf of the American Heart Association and Voices for Healthy Kids, I extend heartfelt thanks to our funders, supporters, grantees and collaborators for helping lead the way as champions of health equity for all.
All my best,
Nancy BrownChief Executive OfficerAmerican Heart Association
From the Voices for Healthy Kids Executive Director Lori Fresina
This past year, Voices for Healthy Kids reimagined our purpose. We pushed ourselves to think about more ways we could create and support opportunities for all children to thrive by putting our powerful institutional tools and assets directly into the hands of the communities most impacted by structural racism. We hope that anyone who collaborates with Voices for Healthy Kids as a grantee, trainee, community-based organization, or leadership volunteer leaves this experience more prepared to successfully advocate for any issue they deem important while prioritizing equity.
We’ve challenged ourselves to provide the greatest value possible — and that has changed how we approach grantmaking, policy development, campaign support, leadership development, and more. None of this reimagination was done in isolation. We are becoming better and more active listeners, seeking and accepting input with humility, curiosity, and openness.
Our Strategic Advisory Committee remains a driving force behind the scenes, propelling our equity work and impacting our policies, practices, and culture. We expanded the committee to include more community perspectives and past and current grantees, bringing important local voices into the room as thought partners. We also welcomed a new committee chair, Donna Arnett, Ph.D., M.S.P.H., B.S.N., dean of the University of Kentucky College of Public Health and past president of the American Heart Association.
We added equity-focused experts to our Policy Research Network to help us become more anti-racist in our policy agenda. We centered equity in our grantmaking process, and awarded 57 grants in FY 2020 - 2021.
We pulled out all the stops to provide grantees and other organizations with the best, most relevant assistance and resources possible. Early in the pandemic, we launched an online, accessible training series that builds and cultivates advocates’ skills to extend beyond a single campaign or policy conversation. We trained hundreds of people in storytelling, communicating with decision-makers, and digital advocacy.
We are grateful for the ongoing support of the American Heart Association and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and thank our new funders, including the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, and The Pritzker Children's Initiative.
And, of course, we are thankful for our entire Voices for Healthy Kids network — our grantees, national collaborators, community-based organizations, researchers, and more — as each of you plays a unique and critical role in creating equitable neighborhoods nationwide.
With respect and gratitude,
Lori FresinaExecutive DirectorVoices for Healthy Kids
By The Numbers, 2013-2021
Increasing Impact
294policy successes (as of 8/1/21)
273 millionpeople affected by Voices for Healthy Kids policy wins* **Represents population of states and/or communities impacted by policies passed. Policies must meet American Heart Association’s guidelines, which are based on science and potential population impact (as of 8/1/21).
50%increased chance of passing a state policy with Voices for Healthy Kids support* * Bleich, Sara N, et al. The Voices for Healthy Kids Campaign and US State Legislation to Prevent Childhood Obesity. American Journal of Public Health: March 2016, Vol. 106, No. 3: 436-439.
$4.2 billionsecured in appropriations to support mission-related programs and services that address the root causes of childhood obesity and health inequities (since the start of the initiative)
Building A Movement
260campaigns funded (as of 8/1/21)
27organizations in the Strategic Advisory Committee aligning with policy priorities and centering health equity (2021 committee)
144organizations participating in Voices for Healthy Kids’ advisory committees, work groups and other collaborations (as of 8/1/21)
79,148online grassroots advocates (as of 8/1/21)
Training and Resources
21advocacy toolkits created
19national message research projects
5,875requests for skills building, planning and consultation (technical assistance)
Policy Wins Across the U.S.
Alabama
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
District of Columbia
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indian Country
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
Alabama
Advocates defeated multiple bills that would have stripped authority from local county health departments during a public health threat and the COVID-19 pandemic.
American Heart Association - Alabama
Alabama
Alabama Board of Education adopted statewide nutrition standards for competitive foods sold in schools
American Heart Association – Alabama
Arizona
A special appropriation of $500,000 for SNAP incentives was included in the Arizona COVID-19 pandemic response budget to ensure increased access to fruits and vegetables.
Pinnacle Prevention
Arizona
Advocates defeated a bill that would have preempted local ordinances on tobacco.
American Heart Association - Arizona
Arizona
Advocates secured an annual appropriation of $500,000 for the SNAP Double Up Food Bucks program to continue addressing food insecurity in the state.
Pinnacle Prevention, American Heart Associatoin - Greater Phoenix Division
Arizona
An Arizona bill that would have preempted local control of tobacco work and undone all previous tobacco control policies at the local level was stopped.
American Heart Association – Arizona
Arizona
In Tucson, AZ, approved a ballot measure that will create a pool of $67.1 million through the sale of bonds to implement connectivity projects in the city.
American Heart Association – Arizona
Arizona
Multiple groups joined together during the 2020 legislative session to stop almost 20 preemptive bills put forth by the Arizona legislature.
American Heart Association – Arizona
Arizona
Tuscan AZ City Council unanimously adopted a Complete Streets ordinance that prioritizes equity and will improve transportation options within the community for all people.
Living Streets Alliance
Arizona
Voters in Mesa approved the Mesa Moves bond program, which will help fund regional roadway improvements, projects to reconstruct arterial roads across the city, and active transportation like biking and walking.
American Heart Association - Arizona
Arizona
Voters passed a tax ballot measure expected to generate $16.7 billion over the life of the tax, with a significant portion being spent on walking and biking infrastructure.
American Heart Association – Phoenix
Arkansas
Arkansas lawmakers passed Act 775, which requires that all new schools have water bottle filling stations, and for the stations to be installed when existing schools make major renovations.
American Heart Association - Arkansas
Arkansas
Fayetteville, AR, mayor signed an executive order requiring all vending machines on city property to comply with GSA/HHS nutrition standards and that all vending machines provide calorie labeling.
American Heart Association – Arkansas
Arkansas
Rogers, AR, mayor issued an executive order requiring all city vending machines to comply with nutrition guidelines to ensure that healthier food and beverage options are available on local public property.
American Heart Association – Arkansas
Arkansas
Springdale, AR, adopted nutrition standards for vending machines on city owned and leased property.
American Heart Association – Arkansas
Arkansas
The Arkansas Legislative Committee authorized a request from the Arkansas Department of Human Services to allocate $1.8 million in CARES Act funds to go to Statewide Critical Direct Feeding Services for Children, Elderly, and Families
American Heart Association - Arkansas
Arkansas
The Little Rock School District was the first district in the nation to adopt a water access policy requiring all new construction and major renovation projects in schools to include water bottle filling stations.
American Heart Association – Arkansas
Arkansas
The Little Rock, AR, city manager signed a healthy vending policy for all vending machines located in buildings and on property owned by the city.
American Heart Association – Arkansas
Arkansas
The North Little Rock School District added a water bottle filling station requirement to its district wellness policy, requiring filling stations for any new construction or school renovation.
American Heart Association – Arkansas
California
Albany, CA, voters passed a one-cent per ounce tax on sugary drinks.
American Heart Association – California
California
Berkeley, CA passed a one-cent per ounce tax on sugary drinks, with proceeds going toward public health initiatives.
American Heart Association – California
California
California AB 1613, an amendment to the 2016 budget, redirected $900 million in cap-and-trade funds to greenhouse gas reduction efforts, including $10 million in new funding for the Active Transportation Program.
American Heart Association – California
California
California AB 841 restricts junk food marketing in all California schools during the school day.
American Heart Association – California
California
California adopted a smart snacks competitive foods policy, ensuring that 6,314,700 students have access to healthier snacks in schools.
American Heart Association – California
California
California allocated over $142 million over four years to increase access to and provide support for Head Start and Early Head Start programs.
California Head Start Association
California
California became the first state in the nation to permanently adopt free school meals for all K–12 students.
California Association of Food Banks and the Center for Ecoliteracy
California
California became the first state in the nation to permanently adopt free school meals for all K–12 students, helping to end hunger, eliminate stigma, and support students' academic success.
American Heart Association - California
California
California passed legislation requiring the default beverage offered with restaurant kids’ meals to be water or milk.
Public Health Advocates
California
California secured $9.5 million for water filtration systems for schools in low income neighborhoods and $500,000 for technical assistance to those schools.
American Heart Association – California
California
California's Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved $2 million in discretionary funds from redirected federal American Rescue Plan dollars to go toward SNAP incentives, Los Angeles' Market Match program.
Hunger Action L.A.
California
Los Angeles County, CA, voters passed Measure M, a 0.5% sales tax and 0.5% traffic relief tax, which will funnel an estimated $25 billion into active transportation projects over the coming years.
Yes on Measure M/Investing in Place
California
Monterey County, CA, voters approve Measure X, a sales tax increase, which will provide $20 million for pedestrian and bike improvements, $20 million for Safe Routes to Schools programs and $360 million to local road maintenance and safety over 30 years.
American Heart Association – California
California
Oakland, CA, voters approved a one-cent per ounce tax on sugary drinks.
American Heart Association – California
California
San Diego County Board Members unanimously approved $2 million in funding for SNAP incentives and $1 million in funding for produce prescriptions
American Heart Association - California
California
San Francisco, CA, adopted a new ordinance that improves the nutritional quality of foods and beverages in vending machines on city and county-owned properties.
American Heart Association – California
California
San Francisco, CA, voters passed a one-cent per ounce tax on sugary drinks.
American Heart Association – California
California
Santa Clara County, CA, voters approved Measure B, a 0.5% sales tax, with $250 million of the money generated by the tax dedicated to improving walking and biking infrastructure.
American Heart Association – California
California
Stanislaus County, CA, voters passed Measure L, a 0.5 cent sales tax, estimated to generate $960 million dollars over 25 years for local transportation investments.
American Heart Association – California
California
Stockton, CA, City Council unanimously passed an ordinance requiring the default beverage offered with kids’ meals to be water, milk or non-dairy milk-alternative.
California Center for Public Health Advocacy
California
The 2018-2019 California State Budget included $9 million in funding for the CalFresh Fruit and Vegetable EBT Pilot program to help low-income residents purchase and consume more California-grown produce.
American Heart Association – California
California
The Cathedral City, CA, city council passed an ordinance requiring healthy beverages to be the default option in restaurant kids’ meals.
American Heart Association – California
California
The city council in Daly City, CA, unanimously approved a new policy requiring the default beverage offered with kids’ meals to be water, milk or non-dairy milk-alternative
American Heart Association – California
California
The City of Los Angeles approved the 2018 budget, including $27 million to support the Vision Zero initiative, an effort to eliminate pedestrian traffic deaths by creating safer active transportation infrastructure
Investing in Place & LA County Bicycle Coalition (AHA)
California
The Long Beach, CA, city budget was approved, including $10 million dollars for bike and pedestrian safety improvements throughout the city. Funds were available thanks to successful ballot measures that provided the necessary transportation dollars.
American Heart Association – California
California
The Long Beach, CA, City Council unanimously passed the Kids First Choice policy, removing sugary drinks from restaurant kids’ meals.
Public Health Advocates
California
The Los Angeles City Council allocated over $100 million to make streets accessible for everyone: $34.6 million for Vision Zero, $30.9 million for Complete Streets and $38.7 million for bike and pedestrian projects.
Investing in Place
California
The Perris, CA, City Council passed an ordinance making water, milk and 100% juice the default drinks served with children’s meals in restaurants.
California Center for Public Health Advocacy
California
The San Francisco fiscal year 18-19 budget included over $1 million in funding for Healthy Food Vouchers.
American Heart Association – California
California
The San Jose City Council unanimously approved $6.78 million in funding for active transportation infrastructure improvements.
American Heart Association – California
California
The Santa Clara County, CA, Board of Supervisors adopted an ordinance prohibiting restaurants from offering drinks other than water or milk in combination with a kids’ meals.
California Center for Public Health Advocacy
Colorado
A preemption law in Colorado was repealed, giving local governments more power to tax and regulate tobacco products.
American Heart Association – Colorado
Colorado
Boulder, CO, voters voted “yes” on measure 2H, a two-cent per ounce tax on sugary drinks.
American Heart Association – Colorado
Colorado
Colorado adopted a competitive foods statewide policy to ensure the nutritional quality of foods in schools.
American Heart Association – Colorado
Colorado
Colorado adopted updated early care and education rules for childcare centers, improving nutrition and physical activity requirements and limiting screen time.
The Fund for a Healthier Colorado
Colorado
Denver, CO secured $7.1 million for bicycle and pedestrian projects, a $1 million increase from previous years’ budget allocations.
American Heart Association – Colorado
Colorado
Denver, CO, voters voted yes on the Denver GO Bond, securing more than $115 million for walking and biking infrastructure, including $30 million just for sidewalk improvements.
American Heart Association – Colorado
Colorado
Lafayette, CO, City Council approved an ordinance requiring the default beverage offered with kids’ meals to be water, milk or non-dairy milk-alternative.
American Heart Association – Colorado
Colorado
The Colorado legislature approved $1.1 million in physical education appropriations, prioritizing funding for high-need schools and districts.
Healthier Colorado
Colorado
The Colorado Transportation Commission allocated $2.5 million annually, starting in fiscal year 2016, to fund the Safe Routes to School Program that was created through legislation in 2014.
American Heart Association – Colorado
Colorado
The Denver, CO, 2019 budget included $15 million for citywide bike and pedestrian infrastructure improvements.
American Heart Association – Colorado
Connecticut
Connecticut authorized bonds for construction of walkways and bikeways ultimately securing $9.8 million to build active transportation infrastructure.
American Heart Association – Connecticut
Delaware
House Bill 79 was passed by the Delaware legislature, requiring healthy drink options as the default beverages in all kids’ restaurant meals.
American Heart Association – Delaware
Delaware
The Delaware legislature approved over $15 million in bike and pedestrian appropriations as part of the 2021 Capital Improvements Act.
American Heart Association – Delaware
District of Columbia
The District of Columbia Council Committee on Health recommended doubling $500,000 for the Produce Rx program
DC Greens
Florida
Florida advocates responded to multiple preemptive policies during the 2020 session, effectively stopping the passage of new preemption bills and paving the way for future preemption repeal.
Statewide Alignment Group
Florida
Florida advocates successfully stopped multiple attempts to pass tobacco preemption in the state legislature.
American Heart Association – Florida
Florida
Pinellas County, FL, voters voted to renew an existing 1% sales tax that generates money for capital improvements, including an estimated $412 million over ten years for transportation projects.
American Heart Association – Florida
Florida
St. Petersburg, FL, mayor signed an administrative healthy vending policy to improve foods available in all city owned and operated facilities.
American Heart Association – Florida
Georgia
Atlanta allocated over $1.4 million in transportation funding to support the Huff Road Complete Streets Project to bring equitable walking and biking to an underserved area of the city.
American Heart Association – Georgia
Georgia
Atlanta approved a tax district that will fund a trail system to provide a safe space for walking, biking, and other physical activity.
American Heart Association- Georgia
Georgia
Atlanta, GA, enacted a new Complete Streets policy, which will help shift more people from driving to other modes of transportation, expanding transportation options for all people.
American Heart Association – Georgia
Georgia
Atlanta, GA, voters approved a five-year increase in sales tax to generate $380 million to fund active transportation projects throughout the city.
American Heart Association – Georgia
Georgia
Augusta passed a referendum that provides at least $25 million specifically toward bike and pedestrian funding projects.
American Heart Association - Georgia
Georgia
Georgia advocates defeated legislation that would have prevented local governments from enacting or enforcing comprehensive smoke-free ordinances.
American Heart Association – Georgia
Georgia
Georgia Department of Education adopted a statewide nutrition policy to ensure healthier competitive foods are available in schools.
American Heart Association – Georgia
Georgia
The Savannah City Council passed a resolution implementing healthy vending and healthy food service policies, ensuring that the 2,600 city employees, as well as visitors to city property, have access to healthier foods and beverages.
American Heart Association – Georgia
Hawaii
After advocates acted, Hawaii SNAP participants will now have a Double Up Food Bucks (Da Bux) fruits and vegetables incentives program funded at $500,000 via state funding, with additional private funding pending.
Hawaii Appleseed
Hawaii
The Hawaii Governor signed Senate Bill 549 into law, requiring restaurant kids’ meals to have healthy beverages as the default option starting January 2020.
American Heart Association – Hawaii
Hawaii
The state legislature in Hawaii passed a $100,000 allocation ($50,000 per year for two years) for Double Up Food Bucks, making fresh, nutritious foods more affordable for people who can’t afford to shop at high-end grocery stores.
Hawai‘i Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice
Idaho
Advocates defeated a bill that would have preempted local ordinances on tobacco.
American Heart Associatin - Idaho
Idaho
Advocates successfully defended against preemptive language in the Idaho tobacco retail licensure bill.
American Heart Association – Idaho
Illinois
Chicago allocated over $550,000 in CARES Act funding to support SNAP incentives, supporting both SNAP participants and local farmers markets.
American Heart Association - Illinois
Illinois
Illinois included $500,000 in funding for SNAP incentives infrastructure in the 2020-2021 state budget.
American Heart Association - Illinois
Illinois
Legislators in Illinois passed a six-year transportation capital program that includes $50 million annually for bike and pedestrian projects.
American Heart Association - Illinois
Illinois
The Cook County, IL, County Board of Commissioners passed a one-cent per ounce tax on sweetened beverages.
American Heart Association – Ilinois
Indian Country
The Navajo Nation Council voted to extend the Healthy Diné Nation Act (HDNA) of 2014, a tax on unhealthy beverages – like sugary drinks – and foods like candy, chips, and frozen desserts
First Nations Development Institute
Iowa
Iowa HB 570 unanimously passed the Senate and was signed by the governor to clarify liability allowing the use of municipal property for recreational activities.
American Heart Association – Iowa
Iowa
The City Council of Des Moines, IA, voted unanimously to adopt a revised Complete Streets policy to improve the transportation network for all users within the city, with a focus on equity, prioritizing areas that have seen historical underinvestment.
American Heart Association – Iowa
Iowa
The Des Moines City Council built upon the success of their complete streets policy by approving nearly $60 million in streets funding, including $13 million for bike and pedestrian projects.
American Heart Association – Iowa
Iowa
The Iowa Governor allocated $1 million in CARES Act funding to the Double Up Food Bucks program to increase SNAP participants’ purchasing power for fruits and vegetables.
American Heart Association – Iowa
Kansas
Wyandotte County passed an equity-focused complete streets policy to make streets and sidewalks safer for walking, biking, and rolling.
American Heart Association - Kansas
Kentucky
Kentucky established early care and education standards on nutrition, physical activity, screen time, and sugary beverages in licensed centers.
American Heart Association - Kentucky & Kentucky Youth Advocates
Kentucky
Louisville, KY, mayor signed an executive order to increase healthier food and beverage offerings in vending machines on city property.
American Heart Association – Kentucky
Kentucky
The Louisville City Council updated the existing complete streets ordinance to focus more specifically on performance measures, transparency, accountability and equity to increase roadway safety and encourage active living.
Kentucky Youth Advocates
Kentucky
Water bottle filling stations are now required to be installed in all newly constructed schools and school modernization projects in Kentucky.
American Heart Association – Kentucky
Louisiana
Jefferson Parish, LA, president signed an executive directive requiring both healthy vending and healthy food service on all Jefferson Parish public property.
American Heart Association – Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana Governor signed Executive Order 17-15, requiring healthy vending for all state owned and leased properties, making Louisiana the first state in the country to meet all of AHA’s policy priorities for healthy vending.
Tulane
Louisiana
New Orleans passed a city ordinance requiring planning, designing, funding, operation, and maintenance of the city's transportation system
Bike Easy
Louisiana
New Orleans, LA, finalized a healthy food procurement vending and healthy food service procurement policy impacting over 5,500 city employees and 378,000 residents.
American Heart Association – Louisiana
Louisiana
Voters in Baton Rouge, LA, approved a sales tax that will generate approximately $170 million over 30 years to improve sidewalks, connectivity, safe biking and walking routes.
American Heart Association – Louisiana
Maryland
Baltimore, MD, passed the strongest Complete Streets policy in the country to date, with a major focus on equity.
Baltimore Complete Street Coalition
Maryland
Baltimore, MD, secured a long-term vending contract and procurement policy to ensure healthier choices on government properties.
American Heart Association – Maryland
Maryland
Howard County included $1.45 million in its 2019 budget for biking projects.
American Heart Association – Maryland
Maryland
Montgomery County, MD, County Council unanimously approved Bill 1-17, requiring healthy options in vending machines on county property.
The Horizon Foundation
Maryland
Prince George's County Council passed the Healthy Kids’ Meals bill (CB-071-2020), legislation that would curb the number of sugary drinks and unhealthy foods sold with restaurant kids’ meals.
Horizon Founation
Maryland
Prince George’s County, MD, County Council unanimously adopted a healthy vending policy to help ensure Prince George’s County’s over 900,000 residents have access to healthier options while on public property.
The Horizon Foundation
Maryland
The Baltimore City Council passed an ordinance requiring the default beverage offered with kids’ meals to be water, milk, non-dairy milk-alternative or 100% juice.
Sugar-Free Kids MD/Horizon Foundation
Maryland
The County Executive of Baltimore County issued an executive order that improves the nutritional quality of foods and beverages in vending machines on county-owned properties.
Sugar-Free Kids MD/Horizon Foundation
Maryland
The Howard County Council appropriated $5.3 million dollars for bike and pedestrian improvements, with a focus on ADA compliance.
American Heart Association – Maryland
Maryland
The Howard County Council approved $3 million in appropriations for biking and walking infrastructure products.
The Horizon Foundation
Maryland
The Howard County, MD, County Council approved the fiscal year 2018 budget, which included a more than $3.5 million investment in active transportation infrastructure and improvements.
The Horizon Foundation
Maryland
The Montgomery County Council in Maryland approved nearly $30 million in funding for implementation of the 2018 Master Bike Plan, which will support active transportation and recreation.
American Heart Association – Maryland
Massachusetts
Boston passed its fiscal year 2021 operating budget and its fiscal year 2021-2025 capital plan, allocating funding for safe, reliable, and accessible streets and spaces
American Heart Association - Massachusetts
Massachusetts
Massachusetts allocated $13 million for its Healthy Incentive Program, a SNAP incentive program that provides a one-to-one match for fresh and fruits and vegetables at farmers markets.
Massachusetts Food Systems Collaborative
Massachusetts
Massachusetts secured the release of $12.5 million in state revenue for the newly created complete streets certification program.
American Heart Association – Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Boston City Council approved over $500,000 in funding for SNAP incentives infrastructure as part of the fiscal year 2021 budget.
American Heart Association – Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Boston City Council included $14.3 million in the fiscal year 2021 budget to fund bike and pedestrian projects in low-to-moderate income neighborhoods.
American Heart Association – Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Boston City Council voted unanimously to approve the 2020 budget and 2020-2024 capital budget, including $16.15 million in funding for bike and pedestrian infrastructure.
American Heart Association – Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Massachusetts Capital Budget for fiscal year 2021 included more than $35 million for bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure.
American Heart Association – Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation approved more than $110 million as part of the five-year capital investment plan to fund walking and biking projects throughout the state.
American Heart Association – Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Massachusetts fiscal year 2020 budget includes $6.5 million in funding for the SNAP Healthy Incentive Program, which provides SNAP recipients with $1 back on their EBT cards for each dollar spent on eligible produce.
Massachusetts Food System Collaborative
Massachusetts
The Massachusetts’ Governor issued the 2020-2024 Capital Investment Plan, which includes $11.5 million per year for the Complete Streets Funding Program.
American Heart Association – Massachusetts
Michigan
A coalition of advocates defeated a six-bill package that would have prohibited local bans on flavored e-cigarette products.
Keep Michigan Tobacco Free Alliance
Michigan
Michigan lawmakers allocated 5% of annually appropriated funds from the Community Revitalization Program to support healthy food access, totaling an estimated $12-$15 million over that five-year period.
American Heart Association – Michigan
Michigan
Michigan passed SB 690, a mid-year supplemental bill that allows the state to spend funding from the CARES Act, and allocated a one-time appropriation of $1 million to the Double Up Food Bucks program.
Fair Food Network
Minnesota
A coalition of nearly 40 organizations secured funding for $1 million annually for Safe Routes to School infrastructure
American Heart Association - Minnesota
Mississippi
Jackson, MS, mayor signed an executive order implementing nutrition standards for all vending machines and food service operations on city property.
American Heart Association – Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi adopted Smart Snacks Standards for all foods and beverages sold in Mississippi schools, going above and beyond by not allowing nutrition standard exemptions for fundraisers.
American Heart Association – Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi State Department of Healthy adopted updated licensing standards for both center-based and home-based child care, improving physical activity requirements to complement their strong nutrition and screen time rules.
American Heart Association – Mississippi
Mississippi
The Brookhaven School District Board of Trustees unanimously approved a measure that will allow students and staff to carry refillable water bottles at schools.
American Heart Association - Mississippi
Mississippi
The Jackson, MS, mayor signed an executive order that strengthened the city’s existing complete streets ordinance, adding equity components that were missing from the original ordinance.
American Heart Association – Mississippi
Missouri
Advocates defeated a bill that would have preempted local ordinances on tobacco.
American Heart Association - Missouri
Missouri
Kansas City, MO, improved their 2014 vending policy to bring it up to date with modern nutritional standards. Residents, city employees and visitors will have access to healthier options while on city property.
American Heart Association – Missouri
Missouri
Missouri voted to expand Medicaid to cover an additional 230,000 adults.
Beyond Housing
Missouri
St. Louis mayor signed an executive order implementing nutrition standards for all vending machines and food service operations on city property.
American Heart Association – Missouri
Missouri
The City Council in Kansas City, MO, passed an ordinance requiring new transportation infrastructure projects to include Complete Streets components, with a priority on ensuring successful implementation of Complete Streets in low and moderate-income neighborhoods.
American Heart Association – Missouri
Missouri
The Kansas City, MO, Board of Education adopted an updated school wellness policy to promote student health and help facilitate student learning of lifelong healthy habits around nutrition and physical activity.
Communities Creating Opportunity
Missouri
Voters in St. Louis approved Proposition R, which will raise $2.3 million annually for Early Childhood programs and services each year.
WEPOWER
Montana
A Montana bill that would have stripped local authority to regulate tobacco and e-cigarettes was defeated
American Heart Association – Montana
Montana
Advocates defeated a bill that would have preempted local ordinances on tobacco.
American Heart Association - Montana
Nebraska
A Nebraska bill that would have impacted the ability of local communities to regulate tobacco licensing, taxes and fees was defeated.
American Heart Association – Nebraska
Nebraska
A Nebraska bill with potential to preempt the local regulation of “consumer merchandise,” including tobacco and soda taxes, was defeated.
American Heart Association – Nebraska
Nevada
Clark County, NV, voters voted “yes” on Question 5, allotting approximately $43 million for Safe Routes to School projects and $119 million to biking and walking projects over the next 10 years.
American Heart Association – Nevada
Nevada
The City of Las Vegas funded eight active transportation projects, providing nearly $10.5 million to make the city more bike and pedestrian friendly.
American Heart Association – Nevada
Nevada
The Regional Transportation Commission in Nevada approved budget items allocating $10.33 million and $20.83 million in bike and pedestrian infrastructure and safety funding to the City of Henderson and Clark County respectively.
American Heart Association – Nevada
Nevada
The Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada approved over $12 million in funding to support a connected and safe active transportation network in Las Vegas
American Heart Association – Nevada
Nevada
The Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada approved over $35 million for walking and biking projects in Las Vegas.
American Heart Association – Nevada
New Mexico
Advocates in New Mexico ensured an amendment that would have preempted any and all local regulation of tobacco usage and sales was not included in SB 131.
American Heart Association – New Mexico
New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM, City Council passed a resolution to provide access to healthier food options in city owned and operated facilities.
American Heart Association – New Mexico
New Mexico
During New Mexico’s 53rd legislative session, advocates worked to defeat three bills that would have prevented local governments from taxing foods and beverages.
American Heart Association – New Mexico
New Mexico
The Albuquerque City Council passed an ordinance to amend the existing complete streets policy to ensure equity, transparency, accountability and community involvement are integral parts of the City’s road and street construction process.
American Heart Association – New Mexico
New York
New York AB 3009C, an appropriations bill, allocated $200 million to fund the Empire State Trail system throughout the state.
American Heart Association – New York
New York
New York City allocated $21 million to support physical education programs for the city’s 1.16 million students.
American Heart Association – New York
New York
New York City allocated additional funding to physical education, investing approximately $385 million over four years to support capital improvements for physical education programs.
American Heart Association – New York
New York
New York City allocated an additional $101 million to expand the city’s greenway through East Harlem.
American Heart Association – New York
New York
New York City became the first city in the northeast to pass legislation requiring restaurants to automatically serve kids’ meals with healthy drink option.
American Heart Association – New York
New York
New York City Capital Budget was approved, including $100 million of initial funding to create a seamless greenway along the waterfront of the East Side of Manhattan.
American Heart Association – New York
New York
New York City received a $5.5 million Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP) grant and commited to matching that amount for a total $11 million investment in SNAP incentive programs.
American Heart Association - New York
New York
New York City secured an additional $39.8 million in physical education appropriations to help hire additional certified physical education teachers.
American Heart Association – New York
New York
New York City, NY, secured $9 million in physical education appropriations.
American Heart Association – New York
New York
Physical education assessment and accountability measurements were approved by the New York City Council to determine where more resources are needed to ensure every child has access to effective physical education.
American Heart Association – New York
New York
Street Design Checklist bill was passed by the New York City Council, making the city’s Complete Streets policy official.
American Heart Association – New York
New York
The New York State Legislature included $2.1 billion for the Fund for Excluded Workers as part of the state's budget
Make the Road NY
North Carolina
Charlotte, NC, voters approved a general obligation bond that will provide $30 million for investments to improve sidewalk and active space infrastructure in the city.
American Heart Association – North Carolina
North Carolina
Charlotte, NC, voters passed a transportation bond that dedicated $42 million to improving the walking and biking infrastructure throughout the city.
Sustain Charlotte & Transportation Choices Alliance.
North Carolina
Greensboro, NC, voters approved a $28 million transportation bond that earmarked $5 million for sidewalks, bike lanes and intersection improvements.
American Heart Association – North Carolina
North Carolina
Mecklenburg County, NC, adopted a healthy food procurement vending policy to ensure healthier choices on county properties.
American Heart Association – North Carolina
North Carolina
Raleigh, NC, voters passed a transportation bond that dedicated $35 million to improving the walking and biking infrastructure throughout the city.
American Heart Association – North Carolina
North Carolina
The Durham, NC, city budget was approved, including $7.87 million dollars for sidewalk infrastructure.
American Heart Association – North Carolina
North Carolina
The Mecklenburg County, NC, Board of Commissioners agreed to direct $49 million from a 2008 bond package funding source to support the greenway trail system throughout the county
American Heart Association – North Carolina
North Carolina
The Mecklenburg County, NC, Board of Commissioners approved the fiscal year 2018 Parks and Recreation Project Ordinance, which allocated $4 million for the Little Sugar Creek greenway near downtown Charlotte.
American Heart Association – North Carolina
North Carolina
The North Carolina Child Care Commission voted to updated licensing standards for both center-based and home-based child care, strengthening physical activity, nutrition, screen time, tobacco and CPR requirements.
American Heart Association – North Carolina
North Carolina
The Raleigh, NC, fiscal 2018 budget and fiscal 2018-2022 Capital Improvement Plan were approved, allocating approximately $9 million to fund bicycle and pedestrian improvements, invest in greenways and fund the City’s BikeShare program.
American Heart Association – North Carolina
North Carolina
Voters in Wake County, NC, passed a bond measure that includes $120 million for walking and biking infrastructure.
American Heart Association – North Carolina
Ohio
Cleveland passed a healthy default drinks policy for restaurant kids’ meals in the city, making water, nonfat or 1% milk, or 100% fruit juice in a serving size of no more than 6 ounces the default beverage in meals for children.
American Heart Association - Cleveland & Neighborhood Leadership Institute
Ohio
Columbus adopted a default beverage policy to make healthy drink options the default for kids and families when they dine out.
American Heart Association - Ohio
Ohio
Ohio increased funding to the Produce Perks (Double Up Food Bucks program) from $250,000 per year to $500,000 per year.
American Heart Association - Ohio
Ohio
The Ohio General Assembly passed legislation to modernize water access requirements for school buildings by ensuring that newly built schools include water bottle filling stations.
American Heart Association - Ohio
Ohio
Toledo passed an ordinance to make healthy drinks, such as water, low-fat milk, or 100% juice, the first option to kids and families when they dine out.
American Heart Association - Ohio
Oklahoma
A temporary penny sales tax was approved by 71.7% of Oklahoma City voters to raise a projected $978 million over eight years, with $87 million allocated for sidewalks, bike lanes, trails and streetlights to support safe active transportation.
American Heart Association – Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Advocates defeated a bill that would have preempted local ordinances on tobacco.
American Heart Association - Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma City voters approved a $967 million bond package and a temporary continuation of a penny sales tax, to provide funding for infrastructure and public safety investments, including active transportation projects and improvements.
American Heart Association – Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma City, OK, City Council unanimously passed a resolution implementing a healthy vending policy, followed by a policy memorandum from the City Manager detailing the policy requirements.
American Heart Association – Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma voted to expand Medicaid in the state and prevent state lawmakers from limiting or reversing expansion.
The Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy
Oklahoma
Oklahoma voters approved a measure that expands Medicaid to cover more working adults with low incomes.
Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy
Oklahoma
The City Council in Oklahoma City, OK, unanimously approved an updated comprehensive plan that implements Complete Street standards, ensuring transportation infrastructure is designed to enable safe access and use for all people.
American Heart Association – Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Tulsa, OK, adopted a healthy food procurement vending policy to ensure there are healthy food and beverage options served on city owned and leased properties.
American Heart Association – Oklahoma
Oregon
Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington counties, OR, secured $3.5 million for Safe Routes to School, including $1.5 million for a regional Safe Routes to School program and $2 million for street improvements near low-income schools and trails.
Bicycle Transportation Alliance
Oregon
Multnomah County established a "Preschool for All" program (universal preschool)
American Heart Association - Oregon
Oregon
Oregon HB 2017 was passed, allocating $125 million in funding over ten years to the Safe Routes to School fund.
American Heart Association – Oregon
Oregon
Oregon passed a competitive foods policy to ensure the nutritional quality of foods available in schools.
Upstream Public Health
Oregon
Oregon voters protected the right of local governments to pass local sugary drink taxes by voting against a beverage industry led constitutional ballot initiative.
American Heart Association – Oregon
Oregon
Portland, OR, voters passed a motor fuels tax, Portland’s first local funding source dedicated to active transportation infrastructure, estimated to generate $64 million over four years.
Fix Our Streets Portland Campaign
Oregon
The Oregon legislature appropriated $1.5 million to support infrastructure development and expand access to the Oregon SNAP incentives program.
American Heart Association – Oregon
Pennsylvania
A bill preempting sugary drink taxes was successfully defeated in the Pennsylvania legislature.
American Heart Association – Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
Advocates defeated a preemption bill that would have jeopardized sugary drink taxes in the state.
American Heart Association - Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
Advocates in Philadelphia successfully opposed legislation to repeal the existing sugary drink tax.
American Heart Association – Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
Philadelphia adopted nutrition standards for vending machines on city owned and leased property.
American Heart Association – Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA, City Council passed a 1.5 cent per ounce sweetened beverage tax with a 13-4 vote.
American Heart Association – Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Philadelphia City Council approved an increase in subsidy reimbursement rates for child care programs, which will increase the number of early child care spots for eligible children.
American Heart Association - Philadelphia
Pennsylvania
The Philadelphia City Council approved an ordinance to make the default drink in kids’ restaurant meals a healthy option, like water, milk or 100% juice.
American Heart Association – Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Philadelphia City Council approved the city’s budget, which included $15 million in bike and pedestrian funding.
American Heart Association – Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Philadelphia fiscal year 2021 budget includes $20 million in funding for safe and equitable bike and pedestrian projects.
American Heart Association – Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
More than 78% of Rhode Island voters approved a bond referendum to allocate $10 million to bike and recreation projects.
American Heart Association – Rhode Island
Rhode Island
Rhode Island allocated $15 million for physical improvements to and development of licensed Early Childhood care and education facilities.
American Heart Association - Rhode Island
Rhode Island
Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth and Families updated licensing rules for child care centers, improving nutrition, physical activity and screen time standard.
American Heart Association – Rhode Island
Rhode Island
Rhode Island now has a smart snacks competitive foods policy in all schools to ensure the nutritional quality of foods in schools.
American Heart Association – Rhode Island
Rhode Island
Rhode Island voters approved the $35 million Green Economy Bonds, which included $10 million for the State Bikeway Development Program to design and construct bikeways throughout the state.
Yes on 6 Coalition
Rhode Island
The Rhode Island Governor signed Senate Bill 2350A/House Bill 7419A into law, prohibiting advertising and marketing of unhealthy foods and beverages on school property.
American Heart Association – Rhode Island
South Carolina
Advocates defeated preemption proposals that would have effectively prevented any local flavored tobacco ordinances and any local tobacco retail licensure ordinances.
American Heart Association - South Carolina
South Carolina
Columbia, SC, City Council passed a healthy vending and food service resolution to ensure that healthier food and beverage options are available on local public property.
Eat Smart Move More South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina adopted a competitive foods statewide policy to ensure the nutritional quality of foods in schools.
American Heart Association – South Carolina
South Carolina
Spartanburg County, SC, enacted a binding administrative policy that requires healthy vending options on all county owned property.
Eat Smart Move More South Carolina
South Carolina
The mayor of Charleston, SC, signed a healthy vending policy covering all city owned and leased properties.
Eat Smart Move More South Carolina
Tennessee
The Board of Education in Hamilton County approved the installation of water bottle filling stations in all newly constructed or majorly renovated schools.
American Heart Association - Tennessee
Tennessee
The child care licensing regulations were streamlined to cover both centers and home-based care, establishing strong statewide nutrition, physical activity and screen time standards.
American Heart Association – Tennessee
Tennessee
The Nashville, TN, mayor amended an executive order (passed by her predecessor) to strengthen the city’s Complete Streets policy, expanding access to all modes of transportation for all users and promoting equity and transparency.
American Heart Association – Tennessee
Texas
Advocates defeated a bill that would have preempted local ordinances on tobacco.
American Heart Association - Texas
Texas
Austin, TX, approved a budget that had $800,000 earmarked to expand access to nutritious food, including $500,000 for healthy food retail and $300,000 to expand SNAP outreach efforts.
American Heart Association – Texas
Texas
Austin, TX, secured funding to establish a healthy corner stores program to increase the availability of healthy food options in Austin.
American Heart Association – Texas
Texas
Austin, TX, voters approved a transportation bond that included more than $110 million to support a Safe Routes to School program, as well as sidewalk, bikeway and urban trail construction and maintenance.
Bike Austin
Texas
Dallas allocated over $8 million to bike and pedestrian projects in city to make streets, sidewalks, and pathways safer for all.
American Heart Association - Dallas
Texas
Dallas County approved $7 million for bike and pedestrian projects, with much of the funding targeting two of the most underserved zip codes in the county.
American Heart Association – Texas
Texas
Dallas County, TX incorporated healthy vending standards into their contracting process for food vending service providers, ensuring access to healthy food and beverage options on all county property.
American Heart Association – Texas
Texas
Texas advocates worked diligently to stop a broad preemption bill that would have limited local lawmaking power and nullified many existing laws, including 104 comprehensive smoke-free ordinances.
American Heart Association – Texas
Texas
Texas passed a bill to simplify the certification and recertification requirements for Texas seniors and people with disabilities accessing SNAP benefits
American Heart Association - Texas
Texas
Texas SB 1873 requires physical education quality reporting as part of the existing School Health Survey.
American Heart Association – Texas
Texas
The Austin Independent School District updated its Project Development Manual to include at least one bottle filling station on each floor, wing, or other building section of a school building
American Heart Association - Texas
Texas
The San Antonio, TX, 2019 budget included $9 million for sidewalks and $1 million for bike lanes and other pedestrian safety measures.
American Heart Association – Texas
Texas
The Texas legislature passed Senate Bill 952 into law, requiring child care licensing regulations be updated to improve nutrition, physical activity and screen time standards for both center-based and home-based childcare programs.
American Heart Association – Texas
Texas
Travis County, TX, voters approved a transportation bond that allocate approximately $65 million to walking and biking projects over the life of the bond.
American Heart Association – Texas
Texas
Voters in Austin, TX, approved two ballot measures that will provide $38 million for sidewalk rehabilitation, Vision Zero/pedestrian safety and urban trails, and $5 million for parks and recreation projects in the city.
American Heart Association – Texas
Texas
Voters in Dallas, TX, supported the 2017 Dallas Capital Bond program, securing tens of millions of dollars for walking and biking infrastructure throughout the city.
American Heart Association – Texas
Utah
Advocates mobilized to prevent a bill that would have preempted the state health department from protecting public health with regard to tobacco.
American Heart Association - Utah
Utah
Advocates prevented $400,000 in SNAP funding from being cut from the state budget, protecting the state's SNAP Double Up Food Bucks program.
American Heart Association - Utah
Utah
Advocates successfully worked with legislators to remove tobacco preemption language out of House Bill 324.
American Heart Association – Utah
Utah
Salt Lake County, UT, voters passed a parks and recreation bond measure that included several million dollars in funding for sidewalks, bikeways and walking paths throughout the community.
American Heart Association – Utah
Utah
The child care licensing standards for both centers and home-based care were updated to require more nutritious food service, increased physical activity opportunities and limited screen time to promote a healthier child care environment.
American Heart Association – Utah
Utah
The Salt Lake City Council approved a $25 million sales tax initiative to fund improvements to the city’s active transportation system.
American Heart Association – Utah
Utah
The Salt Lake City Council approved their Capital Improvement Program Projects, which included over $13 million for bike and pedestrian infrastructure, with 82% of the funding dedicated to projects in low income communities.
American Heart Association – Utah
Utah
Utah Governor signed House Bill 208 into law, codifying the state’s Safe Routes to School program with a priority to fund projects in low-income communities.
American Heart Association – Utah
Vermont
Vermont Department for Children and Families adopted updated licensing standards for center-based and family-based care centers, improving nutrition and physical activity requirements and limiting screen time.
American Heart Association – Vermont
Virginia
Advocates worked to pass SNAP "Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility," which will result in over $8 million in new SNAP benefits coming into the state.
American Heart Association - Virginia
Virginia
Richmond Public Schools updated its school wellness policy to make water access in schools a priority for the district.
American Heart Association - Virginia
Virginia
The Chesterfield County, VA, School Board adopted an update to the school wellness policy, bringing the school’s competitive food policy into full alignment with USDA standards for school foods.
American Heart Association – Virginia
Virginia
The Northern Virginia Transportation Authority is creating a six-year transportation plan that will support bicycle and pedestrian projects that will create or increase multimodal regional access for residents in low to moderate income communities.
American Heart Association – Virginia
Virginia
The Virginia legislature included a $1.25 million appropriation for SNAP incentives in the 2020-2022 biennium budget.
American Heart Association – Virginia
Washington
Advocates helped secure additional state investment in the statewide Fruit and Vegetable Incentive Program (FVIP), which provides a match to SNAP shoppers to purchase additional fruits and vegetables
American Heart Association - Washington
Washington
Advocates worked for multiple years to develop an Early Head Start pilot program that grew into $18.7-million-funded Early Head Start program, as well as to codify the program into state law.
Washington State Association of Head Start and ECEAP
Washington
The Seattle 2020 budget included a $2.7 million investment in the City’s Fresh Bucks program, which offers a match to SNAP participants purchasing fruits and vegetables at authorized retailers.
Childhood Obesity Prevention Coalition
Washington
The Seattle City Council approved the mayor’s 2018 budget, which includes $2.4 million for the city’s Fresh Bucks SNAP incentive program. The money is available thanks to the newly enacted sugary drink tax, which generated an estimate $14 million in 2018.
American Heart Association – Washington
Washington
The Seattle, WA, City Council approved a 1.75 cent per ounce excise tax on sugary drinks, with generated funds used to support public health initiatives.
Childhood Obesity Prevention Coalition
Washington
The Washington child care licensing rules were updated for family-home and center-based childcare settings throughout the state, improving nutrition, physical activity and screen time standards.
Childhood Obesity Prevention Coalition
Washington
Washington HB 1235 requires physical education quality reporting at the school, district and state levels, assessing key factors of quality PE to help strengthen physical education programs throughout the state.
Washington
Washington HB 1299 secured $15.3 million for walking and biking infrastructure to support active transportation across the state.
Childhood Obesity Prevention Coalition
Washington
Washington SB 5988 secured $75 million for the Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Grant Program, $89 million for the Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Project List and $56 million for Safe Routes to School as part of a 16-year transportation package.
Childhood Obesity Prevention Coalition
Washington
Washington secured $5 million in funding for a “Healthy Kids Healthy Schools” grant program that can fund projects such as water bottle filling stations.
American Heart Association – Washington
West Virginia
Advocates in West Virginia defended against several preemptive bills to protect the rights of local governments.
The American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation
West Virginia
Preemptive language was successfully removed from a West Virginia bill, preserving the rights of local governments to regulate the sale, marketing and use of tobacco products.
American Heart Association – West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia passed SB 238, allowing members of the community to use school property for recreational use outside of school hours.
American Heart Association – West Virginia
Wisconsin
Advocates worked to ensure the state did not lose its eligibility for enhanced SNAP funding of $50 million.
American Heart Association - Wisconsin
Wisconsin
The mayor of Madison, WI, signed an executive order implementing nutrition standards for vending machines on all city-owned or managed properties, helping ensure nutritious foods are available to employees and the public.
American Heart Association – Wisconsin
Wisconsin
The Milwaukee, WI, City Council adopted a new Complete Streets policy, which will expand transportation options for all users regardless of age, race, ethnicity, income or ability
Wisconsin Bike Fed
Wyoming
There was a successful campaign in Wyoming to defend against preemptive language in the tobacco tax bill, stopping the legislature from removing local authority on tobacco control.
American Heart Association – Wyoming
Alabama
Defending and Repealing State Preemption - 2021
Advocates defeated multiple bills that would have stripped authority from local county health departments during a public health threat and the COVID-19 pandemic.
American Heart Association - Alabama
Alabama
Access to Healthy Food and Physical Activity in Schools - 2015
Alabama Board of Education adopted statewide nutrition standards for competitive foods sold in schools
American Heart Association – Alabama
Arizona
Access to Healthy Food in Communities - 2020
A special appropriation of $500,000 for SNAP incentives was included in the Arizona COVID-19 pandemic response budget to ensure increased access to fruits and vegetables.
Pinnacle Prevention
Arizona
Defending and Repealing State Preemption - 2021
Advocates defeated a bill that would have preempted local ordinances on tobacco.
American Heart Association - Arizona
Arizona
Access to Healthy Food in Communities - 2021
Advocates secured an annual appropriation of $500,000 for the SNAP Double Up Food Bucks program to continue addressing food insecurity in the state.
Pinnacle Prevention, American Heart Associatoin - Greater Phoenix Division
Arizona
Defending and Repealing State Preemption - 2019
An Arizona bill that would have preempted local control of tobacco work and undone all previous tobacco control policies at the local level was stopped.
American Heart Association – Arizona
Arizona
Active Places - 2019
In Tucson, AZ, approved a ballot measure that will create a pool of $67.1 million through the sale of bonds to implement connectivity projects in the city.
American Heart Association – Arizona
Arizona
Defending and Repealing State Preemption - 2020
Multiple groups joined together during the 2020 legislative session to stop almost 20 preemptive bills put forth by the Arizona legislature.
American Heart Association – Arizona
Arizona
Active Places - 2019
Tuscan AZ City Council unanimously adopted a Complete Streets ordinance that prioritizes equity and will improve transportation options within the community for all people.
Living Streets Alliance
Arizona
Active Places - 2020
Voters in Mesa approved the Mesa Moves bond program, which will help fund regional roadway improvements, projects to reconstruct arterial roads across the city, and active transportation like biking and walking.
American Heart Association - Arizona
Arizona
Active Places - 2015
Voters passed a tax ballot measure expected to generate $16.7 billion over the life of the tax, with a significant portion being spent on walking and biking infrastructure.
American Heart Association – Phoenix
Arkansas
Access to Healthy Food and Physical Activity in Schools - 2021
Arkansas lawmakers passed Act 775, which requires that all new schools have water bottle filling stations, and for the stations to be installed when existing schools make major renovations.
American Heart Association - Arkansas
Arkansas
Access to Healthy Food Options in Restaurants and Workplaces - 2016
Fayetteville, AR, mayor signed an executive order requiring all vending machines on city property to comply with GSA/HHS nutrition standards and that all vending machines provide calorie labeling.
American Heart Association – Arkansas
Arkansas
Access to Healthy Food Options in Restaurants and Workplaces - 2017
Rogers, AR, mayor issued an executive order requiring all city vending machines to comply with nutrition guidelines to ensure that healthier food and beverage options are available on local public property.
American Heart Association – Arkansas
Arkansas
Access to Healthy Food Options in Restaurants and Workplaces - 2016
Springdale, AR, adopted nutrition standards for vending machines on city owned and leased property.
American Heart Association – Arkansas
Arkansas
Access to Healthy Food in Communities - 2020
The Arkansas Legislative Committee authorized a request from the Arkansas Department of Human Services to allocate $1.8 million in CARES Act funds to go to Statewide Critical Direct Feeding Services for Children, Elderly, and Families. The money will be distributed through the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance, which operates the state’s food banks.
American Heart Association - Arkansas
Arkansas
Access to Healthy Food and Physical Activity in Schools - 2020
The Little Rock School District was the first district in the nation to adopt a water access policy requiring all new construction and major renovation projects in schools to include water bottle filling stations.
American Heart Association – Arkansas
Arkansas
Access to Healthy Food Options in Restaurants and Workplaces - 2017
The Little Rock, AR, city manager signed a healthy vending policy for all vending machines located in buildings and on property owned by the city.
American Heart Association – Arkansas
Arkansas
Access to Healthy Food and Physical Activity in Schools - 2020
The North Little Rock School District added a water bottle filling station requirement to its district wellness policy, requiring filling stations for any new construction or school renovation.
American Heart Association – Arkansas
California
Access to Healthy Drinks in Communities - 2016
Albany, CA, voters passed a one-cent per ounce tax on sugary drinks.
American Heart Association – California
California
Access to Healthy Food Options in Restaurants and Workplaces - 2015
Berkeley, CA passed a one-cent per ounce tax on sugary drinks, with proceeds going toward public health initiatives.
American Heart Association – California
California
Active Places - 2016
California AB 1613, an amendment to the 2016 budget, redirected $900 million in cap-and-trade funds to greenhouse gas reduction efforts, including $10 million in new funding for the Active Transportation Program.
American Heart Association – California
California
Access to Healthy Foods and Physical Activity in Schools - 2017
California AB 841 restricts junk food marketing in all California schools during the school day.
American Heart Association – California
California
Access to Healthy Food and Physical Activity in Schools - 2016
California adopted a smart snacks competitive foods policy, ensuring that 6,314,700 students have access to healthier snacks in schools.
American Heart Association – California
California
Access to Healthy Food and Physical Activity in ECS/OST - 2019
California allocated over $142 million over four years to increase access to and provide support for Head Start and Early Head Start programs.
California Head Start Association
California
Access to Healthy Food and Physical Activity in Schools - 2021
California became the first state in the nation to permanently adopt free school meals for all K–12 students. Schools will receive $650 million in ongoing funding beginning in 2022-2023 to cover the costs of two free meals a day for every K–12 student to help end hunger, eliminate stigma, and support academic success.
California Association of Food Banks and the Center for Ecoliteracy
California
Access to Healthy Food and Physical Activity in Schools - 2021
California became the first state in the nation to permanently adopt free school meals for all K–12 students, helping to end hunger, eliminate stigma, and support students' academic success.
American Heart Association - California
California
Access to Healthy Food Options in Restaurants and Workplaces - 2019
California passed legislation requiring the default beverage offered with restaurant kids’ meals to be water or milk.
Public Health Advocates
California
Access to Healthy Food and Physical Activity in Schools - 2016
California secured $9.5 million for water filtration systems for schools in low income neighborhoods and $500,000 for technical assistance to those schools.
American Heart Association – California
California
Access to Healthy Food in Communities - 2021
California's Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved $2 million in discretionary funds from redirected federal American Rescue Plan dollars to go toward SNAP incentives, Los Angeles' Market Match program.
Hunger Action L.A.
California
Active Places - 2016
Los Angeles County, CA, voters passed Measure M, a 0.5% sales tax and 0.5% traffic relief tax, which will funnel an estimated $25 billion into active transportation projects over the coming years.
Yes on Measure M/Investing in Place
California
Active Places - 2016
Monterey County, CA, voters approve Measure X, a sales tax increase, which will provide $20 million for pedestrian and bike improvements, $20 million for Safe Routes to Schools programs and $360 million to local road maintenance and safety over 30 years.
American Heart Association – California
California
Access to Healthy Drinks in Communities - 2016
Oakland, CA, voters approved a one-cent per ounce tax on sugary drinks.
American Heart Association – California
California
Access to Healthy Food in Communities - 2021
San Diego County Board Members unanimously approved $2 million in funding for SNAP incentives and $1 million in funding for produce prescriptions. This expansion aims to increase nutrition incentive benefits from approximately 1,500 San Diego County SNAP households to over 10,000 San Diego County SNAP households.
American Heart Association - California
California
Access to Healthy Food Options in Restaurants and Workplaces - 2016
San Francisco, CA, adopted a new ordinance that improves the nutritional quality of foods and beverages in vending machines on city and county-owned properties.
American Heart Association – California
California
Access to Healthy Drinks in Communities - 2016
San Francisco, CA, voters passed a one-cent per ounce tax on sugary drinks.
American Heart Association – California
California
Active Places - 2016
Santa Clara County, CA, voters approved Measure B, a 0.5% sales tax, with $250 million of the money generated by the tax dedicated to improving walking and biking infrastructure.
American Heart Association – California
California
Active Places - 2016
Stanislaus County, CA, voters passed Measure L, a 0.5 cent sales tax, estimated to generate $960 million dollars over 25 years for local transportation investments.
American Heart Association – California
California
Access to Healthy Food Options in Restaurants and Workplaces - 2016
Stockton, CA, City Council unanimously passed an ordinance requiring the default beverage offered with kids’ meals to be water, milk or non-dairy milk-alternative.
California Center for Public Health Advocacy
California
Access to Healthy Food in Communities - 2018
The 2018-2019 California State Budget included $9 million in funding for the CalFresh Fruit and Vegetable EBT Pilot program to help low-income residents purchase and consume more California-grown produce.
American Heart Association – California
California
Access to Healthy Food Options in Restaurants and Workplaces - 2018
The Cathedral City, CA, city council passed an ordinance requiring healthy beverages to be the default option in restaurant kids’ meals.
American Heart Association – California
California
Access to Healthy Food Options in Restaurants and Workplaces - 2018
The city council in Daly City, CA, unanimously approved a new policy requiring the default beverage offered with kids’ meals to be water, milk or non-dairy milk-alternative
American Heart Association – California
California
Active Places - 2017
The City of Los Angeles approved the 2018 budget, including $27 million to support the Vision Zero initiative, an effort to eliminate pedestrian traffic deaths by creating safer active transportation infrastructure
Investing in Place & LA County Bicycle Coalition (AHA)
California
Active Places - 2018
The Long Beach, CA, city budget was approved, including $10 million dollars for bike and pedestrian safety improvements throughout the city. Funds were available thanks to successful ballot measures that provided the necessary transportation dollars.
American Heart Association – California
California
Access to Healthy Food in Restaurants and Workplaces - 2017
The Long Beach, CA, City Council unanimously passed the Kids First Choice policy, removing sugary drinks from restaurant kids’ meals.
Public Health Advocates
California
Active Places - 2019
The Los Angeles City Council allocated over $100 million to make streets accessible for everyone: $34.6 million for Vision Zero, $30.9 million for Complete Streets and $38.7 million for bike and pedestrian projects.
Investing in Place
California
Access to Healthy Food in Restaurants and Workplaces - 2017
The Perris, CA, City Council passed an ordinance making water, milk and 100% juice the default drinks served with children’s meals in restaurants.
California Center for Public Health Advocacy
California
Access to Healthy Food in Communities - 2018
The San Francisco fiscal year 18-19 budget included over $1 million in funding for Healthy Food Vouchers.
American Heart Association – California
California
Active Places - 2020
The San Jose City Council unanimously approved $6.78 million in funding for active transportation infrastructure improvements.
American Heart Association – California
California
Access to Healthy Food in Restaurants and Workplaces - 2017
The Santa Clara County, CA, Board of Supervisors adopted an ordinance prohibiting restaurants from offering drinks other than water or milk in combination with a kids’ meals.
California Center for Public Health Advocacy
Colorado
Defending and Repealing State Preemption - 2019
A preemption law in Colorado was repealed, giving local governments more power to tax and regulate tobacco products.
American Heart Association – Colorado
Colorado
Access to Healthy Drinks in Communities - 2016
Boulder, CO, voters voted “yes” on measure 2H, a two-cent per ounce tax on sugary drinks.
American Heart Association – Colorado
Colorado
Access to Healthy Food and Physical Activity in Schools - 2016
Colorado adopted a competitive foods statewide policy to ensure the nutritional quality of foods in schools.
American Heart Association – Colorado
Colorado
Access to Healthy Food and Physical Activity in ECS/OST - 2016
Colorado adopted updated early care and education rules for childcare centers, improving nutrition and physical activity requirements and limiting screen time.
The Fund for a Healthier Colorado
Colorado
Active Places - 2015
Denver, CO secured $7.1 million for bicycle and pedestrian projects, a $1 million increase from previous years’ budget allocations.
American Heart Association – Colorado
Colorado
Active Places - 2018
Denver, CO, voters voted yes on the Denver GO Bond, securing more than $115 million for walking and biking infrastructure, including $30 million just for sidewalk improvements.
American Heart Association – Colorado
Colorado
Access to Healthy Food Options in Restaurants and Workplaces - 2017
Lafayette, CO, City Council approved an ordinance requiring the default beverage offered with kids’ meals to be water, milk or non-dairy milk-alternative.
American Heart Association – Colorado
Colorado
Access to Healthy Food and Physical Activity in Schools - 2019
The Colorado legislature approved $1.1 million in physical education appropriations, prioritizing funding for high-need schools and districts.
Healthier Colorado
Colorado
Active Places - 2015
The Colorado Transportation Commission allocated $2.5 million annually, starting in fiscal year 2016, to fund the Safe Routes to School Program that was created through legislation in 2014.
American Heart Association – Colorado
Colorado
Active Places - 2019
The Denver, CO, 2019 budget included $15 million for citywide bike and pedestrian infrastructure improvements.
American Heart Association – Colorado
Connecticut
Active Places - 2015
Connecticut authorized bonds for construction of walkways and bikeways ultimately securing $9.8 million to build active transportation infrastructure.
American Heart Association – Connecticut
Delaware
Access to Healthy Food Options in Restaurants and Workplaces - 2019
House Bill 79 was passed by the Delaware legislature, requiring healthy drink options as the default beverages in all kids’ restaurant meals.
American Heart Association – Delaware
Delaware
Active Places - 2020
The Delaware legislature approved over $15 million in bike and pedestrian appropriations as part of the 2021 Capital Improvements Act.
American Heart Association – Delaware
District of Columbia
Access to Healthy Food in Communities - 2020
The District of Columbia Council Committee on Health recommended doubling $500,000 for the Produce Rx program, in addition to increases for several other food access programs like produce Plus and Joyful Markets. The final budget has been approved and now requires congressional approval.
DC Greens
Florida
Defending and Repealing State Preemption - 2020
Florida advocates responded to multiple preemptive policies during the 2020 session, effectively stopping the passage of new preemption bills and paving the way for future preemption repeal.
Statewide Alignment Group
Florida
Defending and Repealing State Preemption - 2019
Florida advocates successfully stopped multiple attempts to pass tobacco preemption in the state legislature.
American Heart Association – Florida
Florida
Active Places - 2017
Pinellas County, FL, voters voted to renew an existing 1% sales tax that generates money for capital improvements, including an estimated $412 million over ten years for transportation projects.
American Heart Association – Florida
Florida
Access to Healthy Food Options in Restaurants and Workplaces - 2016
St. Petersburg, FL, mayor signed an administrative healthy vending policy to improve foods available in all city owned and operated facilities.
American Heart Association – Florida
Georgia
Active Places - 2020
Atlanta allocated over $1.4 million in transportation funding to support the Huff Road Complete Streets Project to bring equitable walking and biking to an underserved area of the city.
American Heart Association – Georgia
Georgia
Active Places - 2021
Atlanta approved a tax district that will fund a trail system to provide a safe space for walking, biking, and other physical activity.
American Heart Association- Georgia
Georgia
Active Places - 2019
Atlanta, GA, enacted a new Complete Streets policy, which will help shift more people from driving to other modes of transportation, expanding transportation options for all people.
American Heart Association – Georgia
Georgia
Active Places - 2016
Atlanta, GA, voters approved a five-year increase in sales tax to generate $380 million to fund active transportation projects throughout the city.
American Heart Association – Georgia
Georgia
Active Places - 2021
Augusta passed a referendum that provides at least $25 million specifically toward bike and pedestrian funding projects.
American Heart Association - Georgia
Georgia
Defending and Repealing State Preemption - 2019
Georgia advocates defeated legislation that would have prevented local governments from enacting or enforcing comprehensive smoke-free ordinances.
American Heart Association – Georgia
Georgia
Access to Healthy Food and Physical Activity in Schools - 2015
Georgia Department of Education adopted a statewide nutrition policy to ensure healthier competitive foods are available in schools.
American Heart Association – Georgia
Georgia
Access to Healthy Food Options in Restaurants and Workplaces - 2017
The Savannah City Council passed a resolution implementing healthy vending and healthy food service policies, ensuring that the 2,600 city employees, as well as visitors to city property, have access to healthier foods and beverages.
American Heart Association – Georgia
Hawaii
COVID-19 Rapid Response / Access to Healthy Food in Communities - 2020
After advocates acted, Hawaii SNAP participants will now have a Double Up Food Bucks (Da Bux) fruits and vegetables incentives program funded at $500,000 via state funding, with additional private funding pending.
Hawaii Appleseed
Hawaii
Access to Healthy Food Options in Restaurants and Workplaces - 2019
The Hawaii Governor signed Senate Bill 549 into law, requiring restaurant kids’ meals to have healthy beverages as the default option starting January 2020.
American Heart Association – Hawaii
Hawaii
Access to Healthy Food in Communities - 2019
The state legislature in Hawaii passed a $100,000 allocation ($50,000 per year for two years) for Double Up Food Bucks, making fresh, nutritious foods more affordable for people who can’t afford to shop at high-end grocery stores.
Hawai‘i Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice
Idaho
Defending and Repealing State Preemption - 2021
Advocates defeated a bill that would have preempted local ordinances on tobacco.
American Heart Associatin - Idaho
Idaho
Defending and Repealing State Preemption - 2020
Advocates successfully defended against preemptive language in the Idaho tobacco retail licensure bill.
American Heart Association – Idaho
Illinois
Access to Healthy Food in Communities - 2020
Chicago allocated over $550,000 in CARES Act funding to support SNAP incentives, supporting both SNAP participants and local farmers markets.
American Heart Association - Illinois
Illinois
Access to Healthy Food in Communities - 2020
Illinois included $500,000 in funding for SNAP incentives infrastructure in the 2020-2021 state budget.
American Heart Association - Illinois
Illinois
Active Places - 2019
Legislators in Illinois passed a six-year transportation capital program that includes $50 million annually for bike and pedestrian projects.
American Heart Association - Illinois
Illinois
Access to Healthy Drinks in Communities - 2016
The Cook County, IL, County Board of Commissioners passed a one-cent per ounce tax on sweetened beverages.
American Heart Association – Ilinois
Indian Country
Access to Healthy Drinks in Communities - 2021
The Navajo Nation Council voted to extend the Healthy Diné Nation Act (HDNA) of 2014, a tax on unhealthy beverages – like sugary drinks – and foods like candy, chips, and frozen desserts. A portion of revenue is allocated toward community wellness projects, including community fitness classes, greenhouses, youth clubs, and clean water initiatives.
First Nations Development Institute
Iowa
Active Places - 2015
Iowa HB 570 unanimously passed the Senate and was signed by the governor to clarify liability allowing the use of municipal property for recreational activities.
American Heart Association – Iowa
Iowa
Active Places - 2019
The City Council of Des Moines, IA, voted unanimously to adopt a revised Complete Streets policy to improve the transportation network for all users within the city, with a focus on equity, prioritizing areas that have seen historical underinvestment.
American Heart Association – Iowa
Iowa
Active Places - 2020
The Des Moines City Council built upon the success of their complete streets policy by approving nearly $60 million in streets funding, including $13 million for bike and pedestrian projects.
American Heart Association – Iowa
Iowa
Access to Healthy Food in Communities - 2020
The Iowa Governor allocated $1 million in CARES Act funding to the Double Up Food Bucks program to increase SNAP participants’ purchasing power for fruits and vegetables.
American Heart Association – Iowa
Kansas
Active Places - 2020
Wyandotte County passed an equity-focused complete streets policy to make streets and sidewalks safer for walking, biking, and rolling.
American Heart Association - Kansas
Kentucky
Early Childhood - 2020
Kentucky established early care and education standards on nutrition, physical activity, screen time, and sugary beverages in licensed centers.
American Heart Association - Kentucky & Kentucky Youth Advocates
Kentucky
Access to Healthy Food Options in Restaurants and Workplaces - 2017
Louisville, KY, mayor signed an executive order to increase healthier food and beverage offerings in vending machines on city property.
American Heart Association – Kentucky
Kentucky
Active Places - 2019
The Louisville City Council updated the existing complete streets ordinance to focus more specifically on performance measures, transparency, accountability and equity to increase roadway safety and encourage active living.
Kentucky Youth Advocates
Kentucky
Access to Healthy Food and Physical Activity in Schools - 2019
Water bottle filling stations are now required to be installed in all newly constructed schools and school modernization projects in Kentucky.
American Heart Association – Kentucky
Louisiana
Access to Healthy Food Options in Restaurants and Workplaces - 2017
Jefferson Parish, LA, president signed an executive directive requiring both healthy vending and healthy food service on all Jefferson Parish public property.
American Heart Association – Louisiana
Louisiana
Access to Healthy Food Options in Restaurants and Workplaces - 2017
Louisiana Governor signed Executive Order 17-15, requiring healthy vending for all state owned and leased properties, making Louisiana the first state in the country to meet all of AHA’s policy priorities for healthy vending.
Tulane
Louisiana
Active Places - 2020
New Orleans passed a city ordinance requiring planning, designing, funding, operation, and maintenance of the city's transportation system to accommodate and encourage travel for all users in a balanced, responsible, and equitable manner consistent with and supportive of the surrounding community.
Bike Easy
Louisiana
Access to Healthy Food Options in Restaurants and Workplaces - 2016
New Orleans, LA, finalized a healthy food procurement vending and healthy food service procurement policy impacting over 5,500 city employees and 378,000 residents.
American Heart Association – Louisiana
Louisiana
Active Places - 2019
Voters in Baton Rouge, LA, approved a sales tax that will generate approximately $170 million over 30 years to improve sidewalks, connectivity, safe biking and walking routes.
American Heart Association – Louisiana
Maryland
Active Places - 2019
Baltimore, MD, passed the strongest Complete Streets policy in the country to date, with a major focus on equity.
Baltimore Complete Street Coalition
Maryland
Access to Healthy Food Options in Restaurants and Workplaces - 2015
Baltimore, MD, secured a long-term vending contract and procurement policy to ensure healthier choices on government properties.
American Heart Association – Maryland
Maryland
Active Places - 2018
Howard County included $1.45 million in its 2019 budget for biking projects.
American Heart Association – Maryland
Maryland
Access to Healthy Food Options in Restaurants and Workplaces - 2017
Montgomery County, MD, County Council unanimously approved Bill 1-17, requiring healthy options in vending machines on county property.
The Horizon Foundation
Maryland
Access to Healthy Food Options in Restaurants and Workplaces - 2020
Prince George's County Council passed the Healthy Kids’ Meals bill (CB-071-2020), legislation that would curb the number of sugary drinks and unhealthy foods sold with restaurant kids’ meals.
Horizon Founation
Maryland
Access to Healthy Food Options in Restaurants and Workplaces - 2017
Prince George’s County, MD, County Council unanimously adopted a healthy vending policy to help ensure Prince George’s County’s over 900,000 residents have access to healthier options while on public property.
The Horizon Foundation
Maryland
Access to Healthy Food Options in Restaurants and Workplaces - 2018
The Baltimore City Council passed an ordinance requiring the default beverage offered with kids’ meals to be water, milk, non-dairy milk-alternative or 100% juice.
Sugar-Free Kids MD/Horizon Foundation
Maryland
Access to Healthy Food Options in Restaurants and Workplaces - 2018
The County Executive of Baltimore County issued an executive order that improves the nutritional quality of foods and beverages in vending machines on county-owned properties.
Sugar-Free Kids MD/Horizon Foundation
Maryland
Active Places - 2020
The Howard County Council appropriated $5.3 million dollars for bike and pedestrian improvements, with a focus on ADA compliance.
American Heart Association – Maryland
Maryland
Active Places - 2019
The Howard County Council approved $3 million in appropriations for biking and walking infrastructure products.
The Horizon Foundation
Maryland
Active Places - 2017
The Howard County, MD, County Council approved the fiscal year 2018 budget, which included a more than $3.5 million investment in active transportation infrastructure and improvements.
The Horizon Foundation
Maryland
Active Places - 2020
The Montgomery County Council in Maryland approved nearly $30 million in funding for implementation of the 2018 Master Bike Plan, which will support active transportation and recreation.
American Heart Association – Maryland
Massachusetts
Active Places - 2021
Boston passed its fiscal year 2021 operating budget and its fiscal year 2021-2025 capital plan, allocating funding for safe, reliable, and accessible streets and spaces and $524,724 for the expansion of the Double Up Food Bucks program to help increase access to affordable, healthy foods.
American Heart Association - Massachusetts
Massachusetts
Access to Healthy Food in Communities - 2020
Massachusetts allocated $13 million for its Healthy Incentive Program, a SNAP incentive program that provides a one-to-one match for fresh and fruits and vegetables at farmers markets.
Massachusetts Food Systems Collaborative
Massachusetts
Active Places - 2015
Massachusetts secured the release of $12.5 million in state revenue for the newly created complete streets certification program.
American Heart Association – Massachusetts
Massachusetts
Access to Healthy Food in Communities - 2020
The Boston City Council approved over $500,000 in funding for SNAP incentives infrastructure as part of the fiscal year 2021 budget.
American Heart Association – Massachusetts
Massachusetts
Active Places - 2020
The Boston City Council included $14.3 million in the fiscal year 2021 budget to fund bike and pedestrian projects in low-to-moderate income neighborhoods.
American Heart Association – Massachusetts
Massachusetts
Active Places - 2019
The Boston City Council voted unanimously to approve the 2020 budget and 2020-2024 capital budget, including $16.15 million in funding for bike and pedestrian infrastructure.
American Heart Association – Massachusetts
Massachusetts
Active Places - 2020
The Massachusetts Capital Budget for fiscal year 2021 included more than $35 million for bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure.
American Heart Association – Massachusetts
Massachusetts
Active Places - 2016
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation approved more than $110 million as part of the five-year capital investment plan to fund walking and biking projects throughout the state.
American Heart Association – Massachusetts
Massachusetts
Access to Healthy Food in Communities - 2019
The Massachusetts fiscal year 2020 budget includes $6.5 million in funding for the SNAP Healthy Incentive Program, which provides SNAP recipients with $1 back on their EBT cards for each dollar spent on eligible produce.
Massachusetts Food System Collaborative
Massachusetts
Active Places - 2019
The Massachusetts’ Governor issued the 2020-2024 Capital Investment Plan, which includes $11.5 million per year for the Complete Streets Funding Program.
American Heart Association – Massachusetts
Michigan
Defending and Repealing State Preemption - 2020
A coalition of advocates defeated a six-bill package that would have prohibited local bans on flavored e-cigarette products.
Keep Michigan Tobacco Free Alliance
Michigan
Access to Healthy Food in Communities - 2017
Michigan lawmakers allocated 5% of annually appropriated funds from the Community Revitalization Program to support healthy food access, totaling an estimated $12-$15 million over that five-year period.
American Heart Association – Michigan
Michigan
Access to Healthy Food in Communities - 2020
Michigan passed SB 690, a mid-year supplemental bill that allows the state to spend funding from the CARES Act, and allocated a one-time appropriation of $1 million to the Double Up Food Bucks program.
Fair Food Network
Minnesota
Active Places - 2013
A coalition of nearly 40 organizations secured funding for $1 million annually for Safe Routes to School infrastructure
American Heart Association - Minnesota
Mississippi
Access to Healthy Food Options in Restaurants and Workplaces - 2017
Jackson, MS, mayor signed an executive order implementing nutrition standards for all vending machines and food service operations on city property.
American Heart Association – Mississippi
Mississippi
Access to Healthy Food and Physical Activity in Schools - 2016
Mississippi adopted Smart Snacks Standards for all foods and beverages sold in Mississippi schools, going above and beyond by not allowing nutrition standard exemptions for fundraisers.
American Heart Association – Mississippi
Mississippi
Access to Healthy Food and Physical Activity in ECS/OST - 2017
Mississippi State Department of Healthy adopted updated licensing standards for both center-based and home-based child care, improving physical activity requirements to complement their strong nutrition and screen time rules.
American Heart Association – Mississippi
Mississippi
Access to Healthy Food and Physical Activity in Schools - 2020
The Brookhaven School District Board of Trustees unanimously approved a measure that will allow students and staff to carry refillable water bottles at schools.
American Heart Association - Mississippi
Mississippi
Active Places - 2017
The Jackson, MS, mayor signed an executive order that strengthened the city’s existing complete streets ordinance, adding equity components that were missing from the original ordinance.
American Heart Association – Mississippi
Missouri
Defending and Repealing State Preemption - 2021
Advocates defeated a bill that would have preempted local ordinances on tobacco.
American Heart Association - Missouri
Missouri
Access to Healthy Food Options in Restaurants and Workplaces - 2018
Kansas City, MO, improved their 2014 vending policy to bring it up to date with modern nutritional standards. Residents, city employees and visitors will have access to healthier options while on city property.
American Heart Association – Missouri
Missouri
COVID-19 Rapid Response - 2021
Missouri voted to expand Medicaid to cover an additional 230,000 adults.
Beyond Housing
Missouri
Access to Healthy Food Options in Restaurants and Workplaces - 2017
St. Louis mayor signed an executive order implementing nutrition standards for all vending machines and food service operations on city property.
American Heart Association – Missouri
Missouri
Active Places - 2018
The City Council in Kansas City, MO, passed an ordinance requiring new transportation infrastructure projects to include Complete Streets components, with a priority on ensuring successful implementation of Complete Streets in low and moderate-income neighborhoods.
American Heart Association – Missouri
Missouri
Access to Healthy Food and Physical Activity in Schools - 2019
The Kansas City, MO, Board of Education adopted an updated school wellness policy to promote student health and help facilitate student learning of lifelong healthy habits around nutrition and physical activity.
Communities Creating Opportunity
Missouri
Early Childhood - 2020
Voters in St. Louis approved Proposition R, which will raise $2.3 million annually for Early Childhood programs and services each year. Funding will be equitably allocated with community guidance by the St. Louis Mental Health Board to programs serving 0-to-5-year-olds in the city’s most divested communities.
WEPOWER
Montana
Defending and Repealing State Preemption - 2019
A Montana bill that would have stripped local authority to regulate tobacco and e-cigarettes was defeated
American Heart Association – Montana
Montana
Defending and Repealing State Preemption - 2021
Advocates defeated a bill that would have preempted local ordinances on tobacco.
American Heart Association - Montana
Nebraska
Defending and Repealing State Preemption - 2019
A Nebraska bill that would have impacted the ability of local communities to regulate tobacco licensing, taxes and fees was defeated.
American Heart Association – Nebraska
Nebraska
Defending and Repealing State Preemption - 2019
A Nebraska bill with potential to preempt the local regulation of “consumer merchandise,” including tobacco and soda taxes, was defeated.
American Heart Association – Nebraska
Nevada
Active Places - 2016
Clark County, NV, voters voted “yes” on Question 5, allotting approximately $43 million for Safe Routes to School projects and $119 million to biking and walking projects over the next 10 years.
American Heart Association – Nevada
Nevada
Active Places - 2018
The City of Las Vegas funded eight active transportation projects, providing nearly $10.5 million to make the city more bike and pedestrian friendly.
American Heart Association – Nevada
Nevada
Active Places - 2019
The Regional Transportation Commission in Nevada approved budget items allocating $10.33 million and $20.83 million in bike and pedestrian infrastructure and safety funding to the City of Henderson and Clark County respectively.
American Heart Association – Nevada
Nevada
Active Places - 2019
The Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada approved over $12 million in funding to support a connected and safe active transportation network in Las Vegas
American Heart Association – Nevada
Nevada
Active Places - 2019
The Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada approved over $35 million for walking and biking projects in Las Vegas.
American Heart Association – Nevada
New Mexico
Defending and Repealing State Preemption - 2020
Advocates in New Mexico ensured an amendment that would have preempted any and all local regulation of tobacco usage and sales was not included in SB 131.
American Heart Association – New Mexico
New Mexico
Access to Healthy Food Options in Restaurants and Workplaces - 2016
Albuquerque, NM, City Council passed a resolution to provide access to healthier food options in city owned and operated facilities.
American Heart Association – New Mexico
New Mexico
Defending and Repealing State Preemption - 2017
During New Mexico’s 53rd legislative session, advocates worked to defeat three bills that would have prevented local governments from taxing foods and beverages.
American Heart Association – New Mexico
New Mexico
Active Places - 2019
The Albuquerque City Council passed an ordinance to amend the existing complete streets policy to ensure equity, transparency, accountability and community involvement are integral parts of the City’s road and street construction process.
American Heart Association – New Mexico
New York
Active Places - 2017
New York AB 3009C, an appropriations bill, allocated $200 million to fund the Empire State Trail system throughout the state.
American Heart Association – New York
New York
Access to Healthy Food and Physical Activity in Schools - 2017
New York City allocated $21 million to support physical education programs for the city’s 1.16 million students.
American Heart Association – New York
New York
Access to Healthy Food and Physical Activity in Schools - 2017
New York City allocated additional funding to physical education, investing approximately $385 million over four years to support capital improvements for physical education programs.
American Heart Association – New York
New York
Active Places - 2018
New York City allocated an additional $101 million to expand the city’s greenway through East Harlem.
American Heart Association – New York
New York
Access to Healthy Food Options in Restaurants and Workplaces - 2019
New York City became the first city in the northeast to pass legislation requiring restaurants to automatically serve kids’ meals with healthy drink option.
American Heart Association – New York
New York
Active Places - 2017
New York City Capital Budget was approved, including $100 million of initial funding to create a seamless greenway along the waterfront of the East Side of Manhattan.
American Heart Association – New York
New York
Access to Healthy Food in Communities - 2021
New York City received a $5.5 million Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP) grant and commited to matching that amount for a total $11 million investment in SNAP incentive programs.
American Heart Association - New York
New York
Access to Healthy Food and Physical Activity in Schools - 2018
New York City secured an additional $39.8 million in physical education appropriations to help hire additional certified physical education teachers.
American Heart Association – New York
New York
Access to Healthy Food and Physical Activity in Schools Policy - 2016
New York City, NY, secured $9 million in physical education appropriations.
American Heart Association – New York
New York
Access to Healthy Food and Physical Activity in Schools - 2019
Physical education assessment and accountability measurements were approved by the New York City Council to determine where more resources are needed to ensure every child has access to effective physical education.
American Heart Association – New York
New York
Active Places - 2019
Street Design Checklist bill was passed by the New York City Council, making the city’s Complete Streets policy official.
American Heart Association – New York
New York
COVID-19 Rapid Response - 2021
The New York State Legislature included $2.1 billion for the Fund for Excluded Workers as part of the state's budget. The Excluded Workers Fund is a relief program for undocumented workers excluded from unemployment insurance and stimulus funds related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Make the Road NY
North Carolina
Active Places - 2019
Charlotte, NC, voters approved a general obligation bond that will provide $30 million for investments to improve sidewalk and active space infrastructure in the city.
American Heart Association – North Carolina
North Carolina
Active Places - 2016
Charlotte, NC, voters passed a transportation bond that dedicated $42 million to improving the walking and biking infrastructure throughout the city.
Sustain Charlotte & Transportation Choices Alliance.
North Carolina
Active Places - 2016
Greensboro, NC, voters approved a $28 million transportation bond that earmarked $5 million for sidewalks, bike lanes and intersection improvements.
American Heart Association – North Carolina
North Carolina
Access to Healthy Food Options in Restaurants and Workplaces - 2015
Mecklenburg County, NC, adopted a healthy food procurement vending policy to ensure healthier choices on county properties.
American Heart Association – North Carolina
North Carolina
Active Places - 2017
Raleigh, NC, voters passed a transportation bond that dedicated $35 million to improving the walking and biking infrastructure throughout the city.
American Heart Association – North Carolina
North Carolina
Active Places - 2017
The Durham, NC, city budget was approved, including $7.87 million dollars for sidewalk infrastructure.
American Heart Association – North Carolina
North Carolina
Active Places - 2017
The Mecklenburg County, NC, Board of Commissioners agreed to direct $49 million from a 2008 bond package funding source to support the greenway trail system throughout the county
American Heart Association – North Carolina
North Carolina
Active Places - 2017
The Mecklenburg County, NC, Board of Commissioners approved the fiscal year 2018 Parks and Recreation Project Ordinance, which allocated $4 million for the Little Sugar Creek greenway near downtown Charlotte.
American Heart Association – North Carolina
North Carolina
Access to Healthy Food and Physical Activity in ECS/OST - 2017
The North Carolina Child Care Commission voted to updated licensing standards for both center-based and home-based child care, strengthening physical activity, nutrition, screen time, tobacco and CPR requirements.
American Heart Association – North Carolina
North Carolina
Active Places - 2017
The Raleigh, NC, fiscal 2018 budget and fiscal 2018-2022 Capital Improvement Plan were approved, allocating approximately $9 million to fund bicycle and pedestrian improvements, invest in greenways and fund the City’s BikeShare program.
American Heart Association – North Carolina
North Carolina
Active Places - 2019
Voters in Wake County, NC, passed a bond measure that includes $120 million for walking and biking infrastructure.
American Heart Association – North Carolina
Ohio
Access to Healthy Food Options in Restaurants and Workplaces - 2020
Cleveland passed a healthy default drinks policy for restaurant kids’ meals in the city, making water, nonfat or 1% milk, or 100% fruit juice in a serving size of no more than 6 ounces the default beverage in meals for children.
American Heart Association - Cleveland & Neighborhood Leadership Institute
Ohio
Access to Healthy Food Options in Restaurants and Workplaces - 2020
Columbus adopted a default beverage policy to make healthy drink options the default for kids and families when they dine out.
American Heart Association - Ohio
Ohio
Access to Healthy Food in Communities - 2021
Ohio increased funding to the Produce Perks (Double Up Food Bucks program) from $250,000 per year to $500,000 per year.
American Heart Association - Ohio
Ohio
Access to Healthy Food and Physical Activity in Schools - 2021
The Ohio General Assembly passed legislation to modernize water access requirements for school buildings by ensuring that newly built schools include water bottle filling stations.
American Heart Association - Ohio
Ohio
Access to Healthy Food Options in Restaurants and Workplaces - 2021
Toledo passed an ordinance to make healthy drinks, such as water, low-fat milk, or 100% juice, the first option to kids and families when they dine out.
American Heart Association - Ohio
Oklahoma
Active Places - 2019
A temporary penny sales tax was approved by 71.7% of Oklahoma City voters to raise a projected $978 million over eight years, with $87 million allocated for sidewalks, bike lanes, trails and streetlights to support safe active transportation.
American Heart Association – Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Defending and Repealing State Preemption - 2021
Advocates defeated a bill that would have preempted local ordinances on tobacco.
American Heart Association - Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Active Places - 2017
Oklahoma City voters approved a $967 million bond package and a temporary continuation of a penny sales tax, to provide funding for infrastructure and public safety investments, including active transportation projects and improvements.
American Heart Association – Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Access to Healthy Food Options in Restaurants and Workplaces - 2017
Oklahoma City, OK, City Council unanimously passed a resolution implementing a healthy vending policy, followed by a policy memorandum from the City Manager detailing the policy requirements.
American Heart Association – Oklahoma
Oklahoma
COVID-19 Rapid Response - 2021
Oklahoma voted to expand Medicaid in the state and prevent state lawmakers from limiting or reversing expansion.
The Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy
Oklahoma
COVID Rapid Response - 2020
Oklahoma voters approved a measure that expands Medicaid to cover more working adults with low incomes.
Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy
Oklahoma
Active Places - 2018
The City Council in Oklahoma City, OK, unanimously approved an updated comprehensive plan that implements Complete Street standards, ensuring transportation infrastructure is designed to enable safe access and use for all people.
American Heart Association – Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Access to Healthy Food Options in Restaurants and Workplaces - 2015
Tulsa, OK, adopted a healthy food procurement vending policy to ensure there are healthy food and beverage options served on city owned and leased properties.
American Heart Association – Oklahoma
Oregon
Active Places - 2016
Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington counties, OR, secured $3.5 million for Safe Routes to School, including $1.5 million for a regional Safe Routes to School program and $2 million for street improvements near low-income schools and trails.
Bicycle Transportation Alliance
Oregon
Early Childhood - 2020
Multnomah County established a "Preschool for All" program (universal preschool). The program prioritizes the community’s children who currently have the least access, children who speak languages other than English, and children experiencing poverty. It also provides special support for children with developmental delays and disabilities, while building toward a fully universal system.
American Heart Association - Oregon
Oregon
Active Places - 2017
Oregon HB 2017 was passed, allocating $125 million in funding over ten years to the Safe Routes to School fund.
American Heart Association – Oregon
Oregon
Access to Healthy Food and Physical Activity in Schools - 2015
Oregon passed a competitive foods policy to ensure the nutritional quality of foods available in schools.
Upstream Public Health
Oregon
Defending and Repealing State Preemption - 2018
Oregon voters protected the right of local governments to pass local sugary drink taxes by voting against a beverage industry led constitutional ballot initiative.
American Heart Association – Oregon
Oregon
Active Places - 2016
Portland, OR, voters passed a motor fuels tax, Portland’s first local funding source dedicated to active transportation infrastructure, estimated to generate $64 million over four years.
Fix Our Streets Portland Campaign
Oregon
Access to Healthy Food in Communities - 2019
The Oregon legislature appropriated $1.5 million to support infrastructure development and expand access to the Oregon SNAP incentives program.
American Heart Association – Oregon
Pennsylvania
Defending and Repealing State Preemption - 2018
A bill preempting sugary drink taxes was successfully defeated in the Pennsylvania legislature.
American Heart Association – Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
Defending and Repealing State Preemption - 2020
Advocates defeated a preemption bill that would have jeopardized sugary drink taxes in the state.
American Heart Association - Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
Access to Healthy Drinks in Communities - 2019
Advocates in Philadelphia successfully opposed legislation to repeal the existing sugary drink tax.
American Heart Association – Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
Access to Healthy Food Options in Restaurants and Workplaces - 2016
Philadelphia adopted nutrition standards for vending machines on city owned and leased property.
American Heart Association – Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
Access to Healthy Drinks in Communities - 2016
Philadelphia, PA, City Council passed a 1.5 cent per ounce sweetened beverage tax with a 13-4 vote.
American Heart Association – Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
Early Childhood - 2021
The Philadelphia City Council approved an increase in subsidy reimbursement rates for child care programs, which will increase the number of early child care spots for eligible children.
American Heart Association - Philadelphia
Pennsylvania
Access to Healthy Food Options in Restaurants and Workplaces - 2019
The Philadelphia City Council approved an ordinance to make the default drink in kids’ restaurant meals a healthy option, like water, milk or 100% juice.
American Heart Association – Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
Active Places - 2019
The Philadelphia City Council approved the city’s budget, which included $15 million in bike and pedestrian funding.
American Heart Association – Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
Active Places - 2020
The Philadelphia fiscal year 2021 budget includes $20 million in funding for safe and equitable bike and pedestrian projects.
American Heart Association – Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
Active Places - 2019
More than 78% of Rhode Island voters approved a bond referendum to allocate $10 million to bike and recreation projects.
American Heart Association – Rhode Island
Rhode Island
Early Childhood - 2021
Rhode Island allocated $15 million for physical improvements to and development of licensed Early Childhood care and education facilities.
American Heart Association - Rhode Island
Rhode Island
Access to Healthy Food and Physical Activity in ECS/OST - 2017
Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth and Families updated licensing rules for child care centers, improving nutrition, physical activity and screen time standard.
American Heart Association – Rhode Island
Rhode Island
Access to Healthy Food and Physical Activity in Schools - 2016
Rhode Island now has a smart snacks competitive foods policy in all schools to ensure the nutritional quality of foods in schools.
American Heart Association – Rhode Island
Rhode Island
Active Places - 2016
Rhode Island voters approved the $35 million Green Economy Bonds, which included $10 million for the State Bikeway Development Program to design and construct bikeways throughout the state.
Yes on 6 Coalition
Rhode Island
Access to Healthy Food and Physical Activity in Schools - 2018
The Rhode Island Governor signed Senate Bill 2350A/House Bill 7419A into law, prohibiting advertising and marketing of unhealthy foods and beverages on school property.
American Heart Association – Rhode Island
South Carolina
Defending and Repealing State Preemption - 2020
Advocates defeated preemption proposals that would have effectively prevented any local flavored tobacco ordinances and any local tobacco retail licensure ordinances.
American Heart Association - South Carolina
South Carolina
Access to Healthy Food Options in Restaurants and Workplaces - 2017
Columbia, SC, City Council passed a healthy vending and food service resolution to ensure that healthier food and beverage options are available on local public property.
Eat Smart Move More South Carolina
South Carolina
Access to Healthy Food and Physical Activity in Schools - 2016
South Carolina adopted a competitive foods statewide policy to ensure the nutritional quality of foods in schools.
American Heart Association – South Carolina
South Carolina
Access to Healthy Food Options in Restaurants and Workplaces - 2019
Spartanburg County, SC, enacted a binding administrative policy that requires healthy vending options on all county owned property.
Eat Smart Move More South Carolina
South Carolina
Access to Healthy Food Options in Restaurants and Workplaces - 2018
The mayor of Charleston, SC, signed a healthy vending policy covering all city owned and leased properties.
Eat Smart Move More South Carolina
Tennessee
Access to Healthy Food and Physical Activity in Schools - 2021
The Board of Education in Hamilton County approved the installation of water bottle filling stations in all newly constructed or majorly renovated schools.
American Heart Association - Tennessee
Tennessee
Access to Healthy Food and Physical Activity in ECS/OST - 2018
The child care licensing regulations were streamlined to cover both centers and home-based care, establishing strong statewide nutrition, physical activity and screen time standards.
American Heart Association – Tennessee
Tennessee
Active Places - 2016
The Nashville, TN, mayor amended an executive order (passed by her predecessor) to strengthen the city’s Complete Streets policy, expanding access to all modes of transportation for all users and promoting equity and transparency.
American Heart Association – Tennessee
Texas
Defending and Repealing State Preemption - 2021
Advocates defeated a bill that would have preempted local ordinances on tobacco.
American Heart Association - Texas
Texas
Access to Healthy Food in Communities - 2016
Austin, TX, approved a budget that had $800,000 earmarked to expand access to nutritious food, including $500,000 for healthy food retail and $300,000 to expand SNAP outreach efforts.
American Heart Association – Texas
Texas
Access to Healthy Food in Communities - 2015
Austin, TX, secured funding to establish a healthy corner stores program to increase the availability of healthy food options in Austin.
American Heart Association – Texas
Texas
Active Places - 2016
Austin, TX, voters approved a transportation bond that included more than $110 million to support a Safe Routes to School program, as well as sidewalk, bikeway and urban trail construction and maintenance.
Bike Austin
Texas
Active Places - 2020
Dallas allocated over $8 million to bike and pedestrian projects in city to make streets, sidewalks, and pathways safer for all.
American Heart Association - Dallas
Texas
Active Places - 2020
Dallas County approved $7 million for bike and pedestrian projects, with much of the funding targeting two of the most underserved zip codes in the county.
American Heart Association – Texas
Texas
Access to Healthy Food Options in Restaurants and Workplaces - 2019
Dallas County, TX incorporated healthy vending standards into their contracting process for food vending service providers, ensuring access to healthy food and beverage options on all county property.
American Heart Association – Texas
Texas
Defending and Repealing State Preemption - 2019
Texas advocates worked diligently to stop a broad preemption bill that would have limited local lawmaking power and nullified many existing laws, including 104 comprehensive smoke-free ordinances.
American Heart Association – Texas
Texas
Access to Healthy Food in Communities - 2021
Texas passed a bill to simplify the certification and recertification requirements for Texas seniors and people with disabilities accessing SNAP benefits. The bill also extends benefits from 12 to 36 months with a streamlined enrollment process.
American Heart Association - Texas
Texas
Access to Healthy Food and Physical Activity in Schools - 2017
Texas SB 1873 requires physical education quality reporting as part of the existing School Health Survey.
American Heart Association – Texas
Texas
Access to Healthy Food and Physical Activity in Schools - 2021
The Austin Independent School District updated its Project Development Manual to include at least one bottle filling station on each floor, wing, or other building section of a school building; one bottle filling station in all school food service areas; and one bottle filling station near gymnasiums and outdoor learning and activity areas, including playgrounds and athletic facilities.
American Heart Association - Texas
Texas
Active Places - 2019
The San Antonio, TX, 2019 budget included $9 million for sidewalks and $1 million for bike lanes and other pedestrian safety measures.
American Heart Association – Texas
Texas
Access to Healthy Food and Physical Activity in ECS/OST - 2019
The Texas legislature passed Senate Bill 952 into law, requiring child care licensing regulations be updated to improve nutrition, physical activity and screen time standards for both center-based and home-based childcare programs.
American Heart Association – Texas
Texas
Active Places - 2018
Travis County, TX, voters approved a transportation bond that allocate approximately $65 million to walking and biking projects over the life of the bond.
American Heart Association – Texas
Texas
Active Places - 2019
Voters in Austin, TX, approved two ballot measures that will provide $38 million for sidewalk rehabilitation, Vision Zero/pedestrian safety and urban trails, and $5 million for parks and recreation projects in the city.
American Heart Association – Texas
Texas
Active Places - 2018
Voters in Dallas, TX, supported the 2017 Dallas Capital Bond program, securing tens of millions of dollars for walking and biking infrastructure throughout the city.
American Heart Association – Texas
Utah
Defending and Repealing State Preemption - 2021
Advocates mobilized to prevent a bill that would have preempted the state health department from protecting public health with regard to tobacco.
American Heart Association - Utah
Utah
Access to Healthy Food in Communities - 2021
Advocates prevented $400,000 in SNAP funding from being cut from the state budget, protecting the state's SNAP Double Up Food Bucks program.
American Heart Association - Utah
Utah
Defending and Repealing State Preemption - 2019
Advocates successfully worked with legislators to remove tobacco preemption language out of House Bill 324.
American Heart Association – Utah
Utah
Active Places - 2016
Salt Lake County, UT, voters passed a parks and recreation bond measure that included several million dollars in funding for sidewalks, bikeways and walking paths throughout the community.
American Heart Association – Utah
Utah
Access to Healthy Food and Physical Activity in ECS/OST - 2018
The child care licensing standards for both centers and home-based care were updated to require more nutritious food service, increased physical activity opportunities and limited screen time to promote a healthier child care environment.
American Heart Association – Utah
Utah
Active Places - 2019
The Salt Lake City Council approved a $25 million sales tax initiative to fund improvements to the city’s active transportation system.
American Heart Association – Utah
Utah
Active Places - 2020
The Salt Lake City Council approved their Capital Improvement Program Projects, which included over $13 million for bike and pedestrian infrastructure, with 82% of the funding dedicated to projects in low income communities.
American Heart Association – Utah
Utah
Active Places - 2019
Utah Governor signed House Bill 208 into law, codifying the state’s Safe Routes to School program with a priority to fund projects in low-income communities.
American Heart Association – Utah
Vermont
Access to Healthy Food and Physical Activity in ECS/OST - 2016
Vermont Department for Children and Families adopted updated licensing standards for center-based and family-based care centers, improving nutrition and physical activity requirements and limiting screen time.
American Heart Association – Vermont
Virginia
Access to Healthy Food in Communities - 2021
Advocates worked to pass SNAP "Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility," which will result in over $8 million in new SNAP benefits coming into the state.
American Heart Association - Virginia
Virginia
Access to Healthy Food and Physical Activity in Schools - 2021
Richmond Public Schools updated its school wellness policy to make water access in schools a priority for the district.
American Heart Association - Virginia
Virginia
Access to Healthy Food and Physical Activity in Schools - 2017
The Chesterfield County, VA, School Board adopted an update to the school wellness policy, bringing the school’s competitive food policy into full alignment with USDA standards for school foods.
American Heart Association – Virginia
Virginia
Active Places - 2019
The Northern Virginia Transportation Authority is creating a six-year transportation plan that will support bicycle and pedestrian projects that will create or increase multimodal regional access for residents in low to moderate income communities.
American Heart Association – Virginia
Virginia
Access to Healthy Food in Communities - 2020
The Virginia legislature included a $1.25 million appropriation for SNAP incentives in the 2020-2022 biennium budget.
American Heart Association – Virginia
Washington
Access to Healthy Food in Communities - 2021
Advocates helped secure additional state investment in the statewide Fruit and Vegetable Incentive Program (FVIP), which provides a match to SNAP shoppers to purchase additional fruits and vegetables. The program provides families with low-income vouchers to purchase fresh produce, while supporting local food producers.
American Heart Association - Washington
Washington
Early Childhood - 2021
Advocates worked for multiple years to develop an Early Head Start pilot program that grew into $18.7-million-funded Early Head Start program, as well as to codify the program into state law.
Washington State Association of Head Start and ECEAP
Washington
Access to Healthy Food in Communities - 2019
The Seattle 2020 budget included a $2.7 million investment in the City’s Fresh Bucks program, which offers a match to SNAP participants purchasing fruits and vegetables at authorized retailers.
Childhood Obesity Prevention Coalition
Washington
Access to Healthy Food in Communities - 2018
The Seattle City Council approved the mayor’s 2018 budget, which includes $2.4 million for the city’s Fresh Bucks SNAP incentive program. The money is available thanks to the newly enacted sugary drink tax, which generated an estimate $14 million in 2018.
American Heart Association – Washington
Washington
Access to Healthy Drinks in Communities - 2017
The Seattle, WA, City Council approved a 1.75 cent per ounce excise tax on sugary drinks, with generated funds used to support public health initiatives.
Childhood Obesity Prevention Coalition
Washington
Access to Healthy Food and Physical Activity in ECS/OST - 2018
The Washington child care licensing rules were updated for family-home and center-based childcare settings throughout the state, improving nutrition, physical activity and screen time standards.
Childhood Obesity Prevention Coalition
Washington
Access to Healthy Food and Physical Activity in Schools - 2017
Washington HB 1235 requires physical education quality reporting at the school, district and state levels, assessing key factors of quality PE to help strengthen physical education programs throughout the state.
Washington
Active Places - 2015
Washington HB 1299 secured $15.3 million for walking and biking infrastructure to support active transportation across the state.
Childhood Obesity Prevention Coalition
Washington
Active Places - 2015
Washington SB 5988 secured $75 million for the Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Grant Program, $89 million for the Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Project List and $56 million for Safe Routes to School as part of a 16-year transportation package.
Childhood Obesity Prevention Coalition
Washington
Access to Healthy Drinks in Communities - 2015
Washington secured $5 million in funding for a “Healthy Kids Healthy Schools” grant program that can fund projects such as water bottle filling stations.
American Heart Association – Washington
West Virginia
Defending and Repealing State Preemption - 2020
Advocates in West Virginia defended against several preemptive bills to protect the rights of local governments.
The American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation
West Virginia
Defending and Repealing State Preemption - 2019
Preemptive language was successfully removed from a West Virginia bill, preserving the rights of local governments to regulate the sale, marketing and use of tobacco products.
American Heart Association – West Virginia
West Virginia
Active Places - 2015
West Virginia passed SB 238, allowing members of the community to use school property for recreational use outside of school hours.
American Heart Association – West Virginia
Wisconsin
Access to Healthy Food in Communities - 2021
Advocates worked to ensure the state did not lose its eligibility for enhanced SNAP funding of $50 million.
American Heart Association - Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Access to Healthy Food Options in Restaurants and Workplaces - 2019
The mayor of Madison, WI, signed an executive order implementing nutrition standards for vending machines on all city-owned or managed properties, helping ensure nutritious foods are available to employees and the public.
American Heart Association – Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Active Places - 2019
The Milwaukee, WI, City Council adopted a new Complete Streets policy, which will expand transportation options for all users regardless of age, race, ethnicity, income or ability
Wisconsin Bike Fed
Wyoming
Defending and Repealing State Preemption - 2020
There was a successful campaign in Wyoming to defend against preemptive language in the tobacco tax bill, stopping the legislature from removing local authority on tobacco control.
American Heart Association – Wyoming
Introduction
Voices for Healthy Kids believes change starts within the community. Passionate parents, teachers, neighbors, and advocates know best the healthy changes that will improve their communities’ health and lives.
But for far too long, there has been a disconnect between powerful institutions in the public and non-profit sectors and the lived experiences of the communities they represent. Discriminatory policies, practices, and beliefs perpetuate this power imbalance, undermining community ownership and self-determination.
This must change.
Voices for Healthy Kids exists to amplify the needs and solutions of community leaders who are advocating for changes in policy, systems, and environments. Our investments are pointed at and directed to the people who know how to create change and improve health outcomes where they live. We’re coalition-builders, advocates, and connectors who use the American Heart Association's resources and political capital to recognize the tremendous power already within Black, African American, Latino, Native American, Alaskan Native, Hawaiian Native, Pacific Islander, and Asian American communities and families with low incomes.
By trusting, supporting, and investing in the people and places experiencing the greatest health inequities, we can remove barriers that stand in the way of healthy, thriving children and families everywhere.
Commitment to Racial Equity
From its inception, Voices for Healthy Kids has had an unwavering commitment to the inclusion of health equity across our organization, and we continuously seek improvement. To fully realize our mission, we must address the inequities, biases, and racism that purposefully exist in current systems and policies, and have intentionally marginalized or excluded some communities. We need to work to understand how they have impacted the lives of children, and then do everything we can to change our racist and oppressive systems.
“We are committed to centering health equity and racial justice in our work. It is our responsibility to elevate communities that have been systemically marginalized and oppressed, in order to create sustainable policy solutions.”
— April Wallace, Health Equity Partnership Manager, Voices for Healthy Kids
In collaboration with community groups, we are advancing policies that prioritize to people experiencing the greatest health disparities — those who are Black, African American, Latino, Native American, Alaskan Native, Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, and Asian American and families who have low incomes. Together, we are helping to build a more equitable nation.
In FY 2020 - 2021, we:
Diversified our Strategic Advisory Committee, which had historically only included national organizations, to include community-based organizations that represent Black and Indigenous communities and other people of color.
Expanded our Policy Research Network to include equity-focused research experts who challenge us to see shortcomings in our research efforts, such as design and methodology; help get us closer to root causes of inequities; and become more anti-racist in our policy agenda. These experts’ knowledge is having ripple effects beyond Voices for Healthy Kids — reaching others with whom we work to dismantle inequities every day.
Expanded our research vendors and advisors to include a community of diverse evaluators who drive and support the practice of culturally responsive and equitable evaluation.
Identified geographies experiencing the greatest health disparities and focused our grantmaking on these places. We also piloted strategies to ensure funding is directed to organizations with diverse leadership and that grantees are engaging communities of color, high-poverty areas, and areas with high food insecurity.
Created a new Racial Equity in Public Policy Guide to advance both equitable policies and conversations about structural racism. We disseminated the guide widely and provided trainings to organizations, public health leaders, and funders nationwide on its use.
Continued to deepen our staff’s personal and professional understanding of racial equity through ongoing training, strategy sessions, and leadership commitments.
"Voices has always focused on equity. It drives me so much every day. They really got me engaged and feeling passionate about addressing health disparities.”
— Voices for Healthy Kids Grantee (submitted anonymously)
Particularly in this past year, Voices for Healthy Kids has fostered a learning community—one where we weren’t just imparting campaign guidance, skills, and technical assistance but also learning from campaigns and communities. One way in which we did this was by intentionally building diverse relationships, including adding additional leadership to ask us hard questions and hold us accountable for centering racial equity in absolutely everything we do.
Strategic Advisory Committee
We added six additional members, four of whom work for community-based organizations and represent the communities we serve to our Strategic Advisory Committee, which provides strategic guidance and direction. They explore and advance key movement-wide topics that broadly impact member organizations and deepen our understanding and commitments around equity. One of these members is Hispanic Unity of Florida, a former Voices for Healthy Kids grantee for whom we provided technical assistance as they advocated for rights for immigrant families to be included in the COVID-19 federal relief package and for Medicaid and SNAP expansion. Building off our work in Indian Country and the relationships we’ve developed, there is now a representative, Tasha Fridia, from the Oglala-Sioux Tribe on the Strategic Advisory Committee. Another one of our new members is our chair, Donna Arnett, Ph.D., M.S.P.H., B.S.N., dean of the University of Kentucky College of Public Health.
Their perspectives, as recipients of our grants and services, as well as their on-the-ground knowledge about the communities we serve, are invaluable.
We also formed new collaborations to help us build leadership, on-the-ground connections, and better understanding of the lived experiences of communities, and make plans to turn our ideas into action.
Health Leaders for Healthy Kids
This is a collaborative of more than a dozen organizations representing health care providers across disciplines that have committed to lending their voices to local policy campaigns through community conversations, speaking to the media, testifying at public hearings, meeting with lawmakers, and more.
Sugary Drink/Healthy Hydration National Collaborative
This collaborative provides an inclusive convening space for local, state, tribal, and national stakeholders involved in efforts to reduce the consumption of sugary drinks and increase healthy hydration – especially among children in communities with the highest prevalence of diseases related to sugary drink consumption, most targeted by beverage companies, and most likely to lack access to appealing, no-cost drinking water.
Collaborations with Native American and Alaskan Native Communities
Voices for Healthy Kids’ work with Indian Country began as a singular Fertile Ground grant program and has grown to include voices and perspectives that impact our policymaking and grantmaking practices. Some of the new voices representing Native American perspectives and strengthening cultural understanding around policymaking are:
Ahniwake Rose, Executive Director of the Oklahoma Policy Institute, who serves as a technical assistance provider for our Indian Country funded campaigns
Tasha Fridia, who represents the Ogalala-Sioux on the Strategic Advisory Committee
Renee Goldtooth of Notah Begay 3 Foundation, who collaborates with our Policy Research Network workgroup
Rose James, PhD of the Urban Indian Health Institute, who serves as a Health Leaders for Healthy Kids member and Policy Research Network member
Innovation, Equity, and Exploration Workgroups
Our Innovation, Equity, and Exploration Workgroups (IEE) explore policy questions to advance advocacy innovation and health equity, look at how policy issues overlap, and support dialogue on social, demographic, policy, and other trends related to our priorities. This past year, the workgroups focused on:
Exploring equity in access to early care and education programs, Head Start, and Early Head Start Policies, including state discriminatory practices, led by the National Head Start Association.
Exploring how to implement and expand healthy school meals for all and the Community Eligibility Provisions (CEP) to offer free breakfast and lunch to all students. This included looking at districts that adopted the policies and identifying barriers and benefits of states and districts in pursuing either approach, led by the Tisch Center for Food, Education and Policy.
Developing a new policy lever on WIC access and needs, based on research and a landscape analysis conducted by the IEE workgroup focusing on state-by-state enrollment methods, led by Voices for Georgia’s Children.
Creating tribal policy lever recommendations to improve food quality and systems and meet early childhood education needs in Indigenous populations, and create a culturally appropriate advocacy resource, led by American Indian Cancer Foundation.
Our Approach to Research
As always, the American Heart Association’s trusted science continues to play a foundational role in supporting Voices for Healthy Kids’ policy change efforts. It grows the evidence base for new and existing policies and provides trusted, evidence-based resources and materials to campaigns.
Recognizing gaps in our lived experiences of racial and socio-economic inequities, Voices for Healthy Kids better aligned our research network to reflect the needs of the communities we serve. This required recruiting new research experts from the University of Miami School of Medicine, Urban Indian Health Institute, Urban Institute, County Health Rankings, and the Council on Black Health, and then launching the equity-focused Policy Research Advisory Group. These experts are part of our larger Policy Research Network, formed in 2014, and include Robert Wood Johnson Foundation-funded research partners, American Heart Association professional volunteers (clinicians and scientists), academic institutions, and individual researchers.
We also expanded our pool of our research vendors to include a community of diverse evaluators who expertly drive and support the practice of culturally responsive and equitable evaluation.
Finally, this year, we also conducted research and authored studies about urgent public health issues, such as sugary drink consumption, that disproportionately impact communities of color and families with low incomes. Voices for Healthy Kids Senior Manager for Policy Research, Dr. Stephanie Scarmo co-authored with Drs. Jim Krieger, Sara Bleich, and Shu Wen Ng Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Reduction Policies: Progress and Promise, which reviewed policies that have been used to reduce sugary drink exposure and consumption.
How We Work
Service to Campaigns
Voices for Healthy Kids has always hoped to help our collaborators and grantees build advocacy skills as they work to improve the health of children in communities across the country. In years past, our team has traveled around the country convening advocates and allies for trainings and conferences.
We had to learn how to work with grantees and organizations differently in 2020 and 2021. Pivoting quickly in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, we converted what were typically in-person gatherings into virtual trainings. This shift allowed us to be more inclusive and reach more people. We trained not just campaign leaders but also their coalition partners, members, and supporters. And we helped them learn how to train others in the community.
We were grateful we could apply our expertise in a way that reached far more people than ever before. Along the way, we worked with communities to help build strong, inclusive campaign infrastructure that extends far beyond a single policy win or issue. Campaigns are now equipped and emboldened to initiate and sustain conversations among supporters and policymakers about how we make communities healthier for children.
“It’s definitely increased our capacity. All of these topics are things that I can carry on to future campaigns. And for the rest of my career.”
— Voices for Healthy Kids Grantee(submitted anonymously)
"I think [training and technical assistance] allowed us to think in a more structured way about campaigns. It gave us the support to be able to learn the policy process and build the capacity of our organization.”
— Voices for Healthy Kids Grantee(submitted anonymously)
Highlights from the year include:
Developing a five-part training for Kids Forward Wisconsin and its early childhood education coalition partners. In Effectively Communicating with Lawmakers and Beyond, participants learned about the legislative process, tips for communicating their story as it relates to legislative requests, and tips for effectively communicating with lawmakers and beyond to advance campaign priorities. They also had the opportunity to hear directly from Wisconsin legislative staff and to apply their learnings by participating in mock interviews and meetings.
Working with the Women’s Fund of Greater Birmingham, we conducted a training series for the Women’s Policy Institute inaugural class of Fellows. The Fellows are community-based leaders who play a role in shaping and implementing policies that address the needs of women across the state. Fellows were trained in campaign planning, media advocacy, messaging, grassroots organizing, and social media.
Creating a Racial Equity in Public Policy Message Guide to share with collaborators and allies, and then launching a training series to support its use. This resource is designed to advance both equitable policies and conversations about structural racism with policymakers.
“That health equity messaging guide has been super helpful, and I’ve shared that around to some partners as well. And I think it’s really well done and it gives really clear and straightforward information about how to make sure that equity is front and center in your campaign.”
— Voices for Healthy Kids Grantee(submitted anonymously)
In FY 2020 - 2021, Voices for Healthy Kids awarded 57 grants to organizations advancing racial and health equity to improve the health of children, families, and communities.
December 2020: $2.5 million to 16 community health organizations in 14 states, Puerto Rico, and Washington, DC, to increase access to and incentives for healthy food and drinks and early education. The funding addresses economic security, such as ensuring children and families have access to quality, affordable early care and education, as well as food security and healthy eating by expanding state funding for SNAP, increasing access to no-cost water in schools, and building community support for healthy kids’ meals and taxes on sugary drinks.
June 2021: $1 million to five community organizations to promote nutrition and economic security in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania. The funding will help advance policies for improving health equity, with a focus on early care and education, food security and access to water in schools.
“These grants are one piece of our commitment to solving deeply sown societal issues that keep entire populations from reaping the health benefits of economic security, food security, and access to safe places to be active.”
— Donna Arnett, Ph.D., M.S.P.H., B.S.N., chair of Voices for Healthy Kids’ Strategic Advisory Committee, Dean of the University of Kentucky College of Public Health, and past president of the American Heart Association
Voices for Healthy Kids also launched a preemption policy fund to protect local democracies and advance equity. The fund, backed by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and The Rockefeller Foundation, awards grants to organizations that protect the local right to advocate for and implement equitable policies and fight special industry groups that threaten the health and economic security of their communities.
We made significant changes to the way we approach our grantmaking, too—using data tools to inform where we fund, whom we fund, and how we evaluate grant applications and success.
Where We Fund
Using a detailed rubric based on data, we are able to prioritize areas in the country to fund: awarding grants to the geographies experiencing the greatest health disparities as measured by childhood obesity rate, percentage of the people of color, percentage of children under the federal poverty level and the percentage of children who are food insecure.
Who We Fund
Voices for Healthy Kids believes in lived experiences as important qualifications in community led policy change work. We also acknowledge, currently and historically, that organizations led by people of color face more barriers and receive less funding than white led organizations. As breaking down racial and health disparities is key to the Voices for Healthy Kids mission, we are committed to increasing funding to organizations and campaigns that have leadership that is Black, African American, Latino, Native American, Alaskan Native, Hawaiian Native, Pacific Islander, and Asian American.
How We Evaluate
In addition to prioritizing location and evaluating leadership diversity, grant applicants are evaluated based on their potential to reduce health disparities, engagement and power building in communities most impacted, experience in changing policy, understanding of the historical context of the issues and inequities.
Policy Priorities
Policy Priorities
Voices for Healthy Kids focuses our efforts on the places that have been disinvested in for far too long: Black, African American, Latino, Native American, Alaskan Native, Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, and Asian American communities and families with low income. We advance equitable policies that make the places where kids and their families live, learn, and play healthier. These policies make healthier options more accessible and affordable for all families. We work to:
Making healthy, affordable food easily available and decreasing the consumption of sugary beverages
Without access to affordable healthy food and drinks, a nutritious diet and good health are out of reach. We support state, local, and tribal policies that increase access to healthy food and beverages, make it easier to eat healthy, and drive industry innovation to improve the food and drinks we all need.
Sugary Drinks
In 2020, we conducted message research, to help inform our advocacy efforts to decrease sugary drink consumption. We turned our findings into several messaging resources and a complementary creative suite that help advocates talk about the long-term health outcomes of sugary drinks, how sugary drink tax revenue can support community programs, and the unjust marketing to communities of color and families with low income. We took the resources on a virtual roadshow, training advocates and organizations across the country in how to use them. For example, we presented at the Center for Science and Public Interest’s 2021 Sugary Drink Summit, which brought together public health experts and advocates working to reduce the consumption of sugary drinks.
In spring 2021, we built off that research to learn more about Latino adults’ attitudes about sugary drinks and campaigns to reduce consumption of those drinks. The findings from the national survey can be used by campaigns to help engage the Latino community in these efforts.
“We've been using these [sugary drink] resources and find them extremely helpful! “
— Jane Kramer, Co-founder of Sugar Smart Coalition, Founder of Michigan Advocates for Healthy Checkouts
These tools were also informed by our work with grantees who have fought hard to change policy in their communities. Advocates in Cleveland, Columbus, and Toledo were successful in getting policies or ordinances passed to make healthy drink options the default option on kids’ meals in restaurants.
A tax on sugary drinks and junk food, originally established in 2014 and set to expire in 2020, was extended in the Navajo Nation, particularly important to address health concerns impacting the Diné community. It is the first such policy in the world, serving as an example of tribal sovereignty to support community wellness, and revenue taxes have funded more than 1,300 community-selected wellness projects across the Navajo Nation, including community fitness classes, greenhouses, youth clubs, clean water initiatives, Navajo language and culture classes, and more.
Other cities, like Philadelphia, celebrated sugary drink tax anniversaries. Since Philadelphia implemented the beverage tax, there have been notable health impacts, such as a 38% reduction in sugary drink purchases according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Funding from the sugary drink tax has been used to support thousands of pre-K slots, more than a dozen community schools, and improvements to parks and recreation centers. The city focuses funding in areas lacking child care options and communities with greater numbers of families with low incomes.
Cities like Seattle have been able to address hunger with funding from sugary drink tax revenue. Last year, a community-driven campaign directed tax revenues to help feed families who were food insecure during COVID-19. Voices for Healthy Kids also awarded grants to help partners in over a dozen states push for extending food assistance benefits. See the Special Report: COVID-19 Rapid Response Grantees for more.
Ensuring early childhood programs and services are accessible and of high quality for families with low incomes
The more frequently infants and toddlers can be in healthy and supportive learning environments, the more likely they will be emotionally, mentally, and physically healthy and thrive, and of course, their parents will be supported. We fund and support early childhood development opportunities at the state and local levels, with a focus on children growing up in communities historically underserved or even excluded from economic opportunity.
For example, in FY 2020 - 2021, we supported advocates in Multnomah County, Oregon, to establish a “preschool for all” program, which prioritizes the community’s toddlers and children who currently have the least access, children who speak languages other than English, and children experiencing poverty. The program also provides special support for children with developmental delays and disabilities while building toward a fully universal system, and provides up to six hours per day of tuition-free, developmentally appropriate early learning, reflecting best practices.
And, next door in Washington state, Voices for Healthy Kids continued to support advocates who worked for multiple years to develop an Early Head Start pilot program that grew into $18.7-million-funded Early Head Start program, as well as to codify the program into state law.
In St. Louis, voters approved Proposition R, which will raise $2.3 million annually for early childhood programs and services each year, equitably allocated to programs serving infants and toddlers in the city’s most divested communities - a policy change made possible by Voices for Healthy Kids grantee WEPOWER.
And, most recently, our grantmaking and support extended to increase accessibility for child care workers in Colorado. This is particularly important, as early care and education centers have been closed or are severely understaffed as result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and many people — particularly the women and people of color who typically work in child care jobs — in the U.S. are unemployed. Now, barriers to obtaining professional and commercial child care licenses have been removed for undocumented immigrants, a huge victory for efforts to dismantle employment discrimination, and in turn, support working parents and the Colorado workforce and economy.
Preventing states, industry, and special interests from blocking local actions that promote health, well-being, and equity
Local governments are uniquely positioned to meet the needs of the people in their communities by reflecting local context and values. Depending on the community, that could mean passing local laws to improve quality of life through sugary drink taxes, paid sick leave, smoke-free worksites, limited use of plastic bags, or equal rights for the LGBTQ+ community.
Voices for Healthy Kids supports coalitions that defend local governments’ ability to promote health, well-being, and equity against efforts that would allow the state to prevent local action. This kind of state and corporate interference is often referred to as preemption.
It’s not an easy task to define preemption -- and it’s even more difficult to shape a new narrative about it and motivate audiences to allow for local communities to make their own decisions about the issues that affect them. With insights from messaging research, Voices for Healthy Kids developed a message manual to help campaigns talk about preemption effectively, as well as a complementary creative toolkit. As we do with all of our messaging and toolkit projects, the materials were supported by several trainings on how to use them.
Improving schools’ health and wellness policies and practices
Children — no matter where they live or what grade they are in — benefit from healthy food and clean water. That’s why we are committed to building healthy school environments. We do this by promoting good nutrition and access to safe and appealing water at no cost in all schools, especially those that have been historically under-resourced or excluded from economic opportunity.
In FY 2020 - 2021, Voices for Healthy Kids funded the California Association of Food Banks and the Center for Ecoliteracy, which led California to become the first state in the nation to permanently adopt free school meals for all K–12 students.
Voices for Healthy Kids also funded and supported four campaigns that advocated for improved access to water at schools in Tennessee,Arkansas, Texas, and Mississippi. Now, all new schools undergoing major renovations or newly built in Arkansas and Hamilton County, Tennessee will require water bottle filling stations. In Austin, Texas, public schools will include more water bottle filling stations in indoor and outdoor common spaces. And in Brookhaven, Mississippi, both staff and students are now allowed to carry water bottles.
Special Report: COVID-19 Rapid Response Grant Outcomes
Special Report: COVID-19 Rapid Response Grant Outcomes
Last spring, Voices for Healthy Kids quickly developed a new grant opportunity to provide rapid response dollars to help address the health and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic; $1 million was awarded to organizations across 19 states, Puerto Rico, and the Lummi Nation in Washington state. Many of the organizations support communities hardest hit by the pandemic so they, too, needed to adapt quickly. With the COVID-19 Rapid Response Grants, these organizations were able to direct resources to the compounding hardships facing children and families around the country.
Acting with Urgency
Recognizing the devastating impact of COVID-19, the community organizations mobilized with purpose and urgency — focusing their advocacy on the health, food, housing, and economic insecurities intensified by the pandemic. Not only did the COVID-19 Rapid Response Grants provide direct dollars to support the work; they also created connections across communities and among advocates working on similar issues across the country. This enabled grantees to collaborate in new ways and expanded the Voices for Healthy Kids network to include new organizations that remain active in our network.
Addressing Health Inequities
Grantees pushed to address health inequities, such as making COVID-19 testing and other critical health services more accessible in communities of color. Some organizations were able to have an impact just a few short months after grants were awarded, including grantees who advocated for the expansion of Medicaid in Missouri and Oklahoma. Following on the work of grantees in these two states, advocates in North Carolina and Texas have also been raising public awareness and civic engagement around healthcare needs, laying the groundwork for Medicaid expansion.
Improving Access to Healthy Food
As COVID-19 exposed critical weaknesses in our food systems, grantees in several states also advanced policies to help children and families access healthy food. For example:
Along with others across the country, Alabama Arise successfully engaged federal policymakers to push for an increase in monthly SNAP benefits and an extension of pandemic EBT benefits. At the state level, Nebraska Appleseed led a diverse coalition to push state policymakers to adopt the federal pandemic EBT option to provide food assistance resources to tens of thousands of households across Nebraska.
Cultiva La Salud forged enduring community partnerships that allowed them to continue offering school meals to children in four school districts in California during the summer of 2020. By identifying and removing barriers to participation in school meal programs, their approach ensured that the greatest number of children over the greatest number of days received summer meals. Their efforts over the summer had a positive impact on fall meal operations in the targeted school districts, too.
The Hawaii Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice launched a campaign to apply the state’s funding from the federal CARES Act purchase of local produce by food banks. This campaign not only responded to an immediate need due to the pandemic; it also initiated a longer-term conversation about the role food nonprofits play in building resilient community-based food systems.
“This award afforded us the opportunity to bring together a very valuable partnership. Because of it, we could gather initial data from school districts and parents, which was foundational to our continued advocacy related to promoting school meals.”
- Cultiva La Salud
Grantees
ACCESS Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services
Alabama Arise
American Diabetes Association
American Heart Association
Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights
Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families
Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance
Beyond Housing
California Association of Food Banks
California Walks
Center for Health Progress
Center for Rural Affairs
Childhood Obesity Prevention Coalition (COPC)
Coalition for Social Justice Ed Fund
Community Farm Alliance
Community Health Council of Wyandotte County
Cultiva La Salud
DC Greens
Dine' Food Sovereignty Alliance
Equality Ohio Education Fund
Every Texan (formerly Center for Public Policy Priorities)
First Nations Development Institute
Fusion Partnership fiscal sponsor for SPACEs In Action
Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities
Hawai‘i Public Health Institute
Hawaii Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice
HealthMPowers
Hispanic Unity of Florida, Inc.
Hunger Action Los Angeles
Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR)
Kids Forward (formerly Wisconsin Council on Children and Families)
Lhaqtemish Foundation
MA Food System Collaborative
Maine Consumers for Affordable Health Care
Make the Road New York
Maryland Medical Society - MedChi
Michigan Chapter American Academy of Pediatric
Mississippi Low Income Child Care Initiative
NAACP Maryland State Conference
Nebraska Appleseed
New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty
Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy
Oral Health Kansas
Pinnacle Prevention
Policy Institute for the Children of Louisiana
Rhode Island Public Health Institute
Rural Economic Development Center, Inc.
Small Business Majority Foundation Inc.
SPUR
Stand Up Nashville
Statewide Alignment Group (SWAG)
Tenants and Workers United
Texas Organizing Project Education Fund
The Food Trust
The Women's Fund of Greater Birmingham
Tobacco Free Kansas Coalition
Together Louisiana
Voices for Georgia's Children
Washington State Association of Head Start and ECEAP
WEPOWER
Wholespire
Youth Development Institute
IntroductionCommitment to Racial EquityLeadership & CollaborationOur Approach to ResearchHow We WorkPolicy PrioritiesSpecial Report: COVID-19 Rapid Response Grant OutcomesGrantees
Voices for Healthy Kids believes change starts within the community. Passionate parents, teachers, neighbors, and advocates know best the healthy changes that will improve their communities’ health and lives.
But for far too long, there has been a disconnect between powerful institutions in the public and non-profit sectors and the lived experiences of the communities they represent. Discriminatory policies, practices, and beliefs perpetuate this power imbalance, undermining community ownership and self-determination.
This must change.
Voices for Healthy Kids exists to amplify the needs and solutions of community leaders who are advocating for changes in policy, systems, and environments. Our investments are pointed at and directed to the people who know how to create change and improve health outcomes where they live. We’re coalition-builders, advocates, and connectors who use the American Heart Association's resources and political capital to recognize the tremendous power already within Black, African American, Latino, Native American, Alaskan Native, Hawaiian Native, Pacific Islander, and Asian American communities and families with low incomes.
By trusting, supporting, and investing in the people and places experiencing the greatest health inequities, we can remove barriers that stand in the way of healthy, thriving children and families everywhere.
From its inception, Voices for Healthy Kids has had an unwavering commitment to the inclusion of health equity across our organization, and we continuously seek improvement. To fully realize our mission, we must address the inequities, biases, and racism that purposefully exist in current systems and policies, and have intentionally marginalized or excluded some communities. We need to work to understand how they have impacted the lives of children, and then do everything we can to change our racist and oppressive systems.
“We are committed to centering health equity and racial justice in our work. It is our responsibility to elevate communities that have been systemically marginalized and oppressed, in order to create sustainable policy solutions.”
— April Wallace, Health Equity Partnership Manager, Voices for Healthy Kids
In collaboration with community groups, we are advancing policies that prioritize to people experiencing the greatest health disparities — those who are Black, African American, Latino, Native American, Alaskan Native, Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, and Asian American and families who have low incomes. Together, we are helping to build a more equitable nation.
In FY 2020 - 2021, we:
Diversified our Strategic Advisory Committee, which had historically only included national organizations, to include community-based organizations that represent Black and Indigenous communities and other people of color.
Expanded our Policy Research Network to include equity-focused research experts who challenge us to see shortcomings in our research efforts, such as design and methodology; help get us closer to root causes of inequities; and become more anti-racist in our policy agenda. These experts’ knowledge is having ripple effects beyond Voices for Healthy Kids — reaching others with whom we work to dismantle inequities every day.
Expanded our research vendors and advisors to include a community of diverse evaluators who drive and support the practice of culturally responsive and equitable evaluation.
Identified geographies experiencing the greatest health disparities and focused our grantmaking on these places. We also piloted strategies to ensure funding is directed to organizations with diverse leadership and that grantees are engaging communities of color, high-poverty areas, and areas with high food insecurity.
Created a new Racial Equity in Public Policy Guide to advance both equitable policies and conversations about structural racism. We disseminated the guide widely and provided trainings to organizations, public health leaders, and funders nationwide on its use.
Continued to deepen our staff’s personal and professional understanding of racial equity through ongoing training, strategy sessions, and leadership commitments.
"Voices has always focused on equity. It drives me so much every day. They really got me engaged and feeling passionate about addressing health disparities.”
— Voices for Healthy Kids Grantee (submitted anonymously)
Particularly in this past year, Voices for Healthy Kids has fostered a learning community—one where we weren’t just imparting campaign guidance, skills, and technical assistance but also learning from campaigns and communities. One way in which we did this was by intentionally building diverse relationships, including adding additional leadership to ask us hard questions and hold us accountable for centering racial equity in absolutely everything we do.
Strategic Advisory Committee
We added six additional members, four of whom work for community-based organizations and represent the communities we serve to our Strategic Advisory Committee, which provides strategic guidance and direction. They explore and advance key movement-wide topics that broadly impact member organizations and deepen our understanding and commitments around equity. One of these members is Hispanic Unity of Florida, a former Voices for Healthy Kids grantee for whom we provided technical assistance as they advocated for rights for immigrant families to be included in the COVID-19 federal relief package and for Medicaid and SNAP expansion. Building off our work in Indian Country and the relationships we’ve developed, there is now a representative, Tasha Fridia, from the Oglala-Sioux Tribe on the Strategic Advisory Committee. Another one of our new members is our chair, Donna Arnett, Ph.D., M.S.P.H., B.S.N., dean of the University of Kentucky College of Public Health.
Their perspectives, as recipients of our grants and services, as well as their on-the-ground knowledge about the communities we serve, are invaluable.
We also formed new collaborations to help us build leadership, on-the-ground connections, and better understanding of the lived experiences of communities, and make plans to turn our ideas into action.
Health Leaders for Healthy Kids
This is a collaborative of more than a dozen organizations representing health care providers across disciplines that have committed to lending their voices to local policy campaigns through community conversations, speaking to the media, testifying at public hearings, meeting with lawmakers, and more.
Sugary Drink/Healthy Hydration National Collaborative
This collaborative provides an inclusive convening space for local, state, tribal, and national stakeholders involved in efforts to reduce the consumption of sugary drinks and increase healthy hydration – especially among children in communities with the highest prevalence of diseases related to sugary drink consumption, most targeted by beverage companies, and most likely to lack access to appealing, no-cost drinking water.
Collaborations with Native American and Alaskan Native Communities
Voices for Healthy Kids’ work with Indian Country began as a singular Fertile Ground grant program and has grown to include voices and perspectives that impact our policymaking and grantmaking practices. Some of the new voices representing Native American perspectives and strengthening cultural understanding around policymaking are:
Ahniwake Rose, Executive Director of the Oklahoma Policy Institute, who serves as a technical assistance provider for our Indian Country funded campaigns
Tasha Fridia, who represents the Ogalala-Sioux on the Strategic Advisory Committee
Renee Goldtooth of Notah Begay 3 Foundation, who collaborates with our Policy Research Network workgroup
Rose James, PhD of the Urban Indian Health Institute, who serves as a Health Leaders for Healthy Kids member and Policy Research Network member
Innovation, Equity, and Exploration Workgroups
Our Innovation, Equity, and Exploration Workgroups (IEE) explore policy questions to advance advocacy innovation and health equity, look at how policy issues overlap, and support dialogue on social, demographic, policy, and other trends related to our priorities. This past year, the workgroups focused on:
Exploring equity in access to early care and education programs, Head Start, and Early Head Start Policies, including state discriminatory practices, led by the National Head Start Association.
Exploring how to implement and expand healthy school meals for all and the Community Eligibility Provisions (CEP) to offer free breakfast and lunch to all students. This included looking at districts that adopted the policies and identifying barriers and benefits of states and districts in pursuing either approach, led by the Tisch Center for Food, Education and Policy.
Developing a new policy lever on WIC access and needs, based on research and a landscape analysis conducted by the IEE workgroup focusing on state-by-state enrollment methods, led by Voices for Georgia’s Children.
Creating tribal policy lever recommendations to improve food quality and systems and meet early childhood education needs in Indigenous populations, and create a culturally appropriate advocacy resource, led by American Indian Cancer Foundation.
As always, the American Heart Association’s trusted science continues to play a foundational role in supporting Voices for Healthy Kids’ policy change efforts. It grows the evidence base for new and existing policies and provides trusted, evidence-based resources and materials to campaigns.
Recognizing gaps in our lived experiences of racial and socio-economic inequities, Voices for Healthy Kids better aligned our research network to reflect the needs of the communities we serve. This required recruiting new research experts from the University of Miami School of Medicine, Urban Indian Health Institute, Urban Institute, County Health Rankings, and the Council on Black Health, and then launching the equity-focused Policy Research Advisory Group. These experts are part of our larger Policy Research Network, formed in 2014, and include Robert Wood Johnson Foundation-funded research partners, American Heart Association professional volunteers (clinicians and scientists), academic institutions, and individual researchers.
We also expanded our pool of our research vendors to include a community of diverse evaluators who expertly drive and support the practice of culturally responsive and equitable evaluation.
Finally, this year, we also conducted research and authored studies about urgent public health issues, such as sugary drink consumption, that disproportionately impact communities of color and families with low incomes. Voices for Healthy Kids Senior Manager for Policy Research, Dr. Stephanie Scarmo co-authored with Drs. Jim Krieger, Sara Bleich, and Shu Wen Ng Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Reduction Policies: Progress and Promise, which reviewed policies that have been used to reduce sugary drink exposure and consumption.
Service to Campaigns
Voices for Healthy Kids has always hoped to help our collaborators and grantees build advocacy skills as they work to improve the health of children in communities across the country. In years past, our team has traveled around the country convening advocates and allies for trainings and conferences.
We had to learn how to work with grantees and organizations differently in 2020 and 2021. Pivoting quickly in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, we converted what were typically in-person gatherings into virtual trainings. This shift allowed us to be more inclusive and reach more people. We trained not just campaign leaders but also their coalition partners, members, and supporters. And we helped them learn how to train others in the community.
We were grateful we could apply our expertise in a way that reached far more people than ever before. Along the way, we worked with communities to help build strong, inclusive campaign infrastructure that extends far beyond a single policy win or issue. Campaigns are now equipped and emboldened to initiate and sustain conversations among supporters and policymakers about how we make communities healthier for children.
“It’s definitely increased our capacity. All of these topics are things that I can carry on to future campaigns. And for the rest of my career.”
— Voices for Healthy Kids Grantee(submitted anonymously)
"I think [training and technical assistance] allowed us to think in a more structured way about campaigns. It gave us the support to be able to learn the policy process and build the capacity of our organization.”
— Voices for Healthy Kids Grantee(submitted anonymously)
Highlights from the year include:
Developing a five-part training for Kids Forward Wisconsin and its early childhood education coalition partners. In Effectively Communicating with Lawmakers and Beyond, participants learned about the legislative process, tips for communicating their story as it relates to legislative requests, and tips for effectively communicating with lawmakers and beyond to advance campaign priorities. They also had the opportunity to hear directly from Wisconsin legislative staff and to apply their learnings by participating in mock interviews and meetings.
Working with the Women’s Fund of Greater Birmingham, we conducted a training series for the Women’s Policy Institute inaugural class of Fellows. The Fellows are community-based leaders who play a role in shaping and implementing policies that address the needs of women across the state. Fellows were trained in campaign planning, media advocacy, messaging, grassroots organizing, and social media.
Creating a Racial Equity in Public Policy Message Guide to share with collaborators and allies, and then launching a training series to support its use. This resource is designed to advance both equitable policies and conversations about structural racism with policymakers.
“That health equity messaging guide has been super helpful, and I’ve shared that around to some partners as well. And I think it’s really well done and it gives really clear and straightforward information about how to make sure that equity is front and center in your campaign.”
— Voices for Healthy Kids Grantee(submitted anonymously)
In FY 2020 - 2021, Voices for Healthy Kids awarded 57 grants to organizations advancing racial and health equity to improve the health of children, families, and communities.
December 2020: $2.5 million to 16 community health organizations in 14 states, Puerto Rico, and Washington, DC, to increase access to and incentives for healthy food and drinks and early education. The funding addresses economic security, such as ensuring children and families have access to quality, affordable early care and education, as well as food security and healthy eating by expanding state funding for SNAP, increasing access to no-cost water in schools, and building community support for healthy kids’ meals and taxes on sugary drinks.
June 2021: $1 million to five community organizations to promote nutrition and economic security in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania. The funding will help advance policies for improving health equity, with a focus on early care and education, food security and access to water in schools.
“These grants are one piece of our commitment to solving deeply sown societal issues that keep entire populations from reaping the health benefits of economic security, food security, and access to safe places to be active.”
— Donna Arnett, Ph.D., M.S.P.H., B.S.N., chair of Voices for Healthy Kids’ Strategic Advisory Committee, Dean of the University of Kentucky College of Public Health, and past president of the American Heart Association
Voices for Healthy Kids also launched a preemption policy fund to protect local democracies and advance equity. The fund, backed by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and The Rockefeller Foundation, awards grants to organizations that protect the local right to advocate for and implement equitable policies and fight special industry groups that threaten the health and economic security of their communities.
We made significant changes to the way we approach our grantmaking, too—using data tools to inform where we fund, whom we fund, and how we evaluate grant applications and success.
Where We Fund
Using a detailed rubric based on data, we are able to prioritize areas in the country to fund: awarding grants to the geographies experiencing the greatest health disparities as measured by childhood obesity rate, percentage of the people of color, percentage of children under the federal poverty level and the percentage of children who are food insecure.
Who We Fund
Voices for Healthy Kids believes in lived experiences as important qualifications in community led policy change work. We also acknowledge, currently and historically, that organizations led by people of color face more barriers and receive less funding than white led organizations. As breaking down racial and health disparities is key to the Voices for Healthy Kids mission, we are committed to increasing funding to organizations and campaigns that have leadership that is Black, African American, Latino, Native American, Alaskan Native, Hawaiian Native, Pacific Islander, and Asian American.
How We Evaluate
In addition to prioritizing location and evaluating leadership diversity, grant applicants are evaluated based on their potential to reduce health disparities, engagement and power building in communities most impacted, experience in changing policy, understanding of the historical context of the issues and inequities.
Policy Priorities
Voices for Healthy Kids focuses our efforts on the places that have been disinvested in for far too long: Black, African American, Latino, Native American, Alaskan Native, Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, and Asian American communities and families with low income. We advance equitable policies that make the places where kids and their families live, learn, and play healthier. These policies make healthier options more accessible and affordable for all families. We work to:
Making healthy, affordable food easily available and decreasing the consumption of sugary beverages
Without access to affordable healthy food and drinks, a nutritious diet and good health are out of reach. We support state, local, and tribal policies that increase access to healthy food and beverages, make it easier to eat healthy, and drive industry innovation to improve the food and drinks we all need.
Sugary Drinks
In 2020, we conducted message research, to help inform our advocacy efforts to decrease sugary drink consumption. We turned our findings into several messaging resources and a complementary creative suite that help advocates talk about the long-term health outcomes of sugary drinks, how sugary drink tax revenue can support community programs, and the unjust marketing to communities of color and families with low income. We took the resources on a virtual roadshow, training advocates and organizations across the country in how to use them. For example, we presented at the Center for Science and Public Interest’s 2021 Sugary Drink Summit, which brought together public health experts and advocates working to reduce the consumption of sugary drinks.
In spring 2021, we built off that research to learn more about Latino adults’ attitudes about sugary drinks and campaigns to reduce consumption of those drinks. The findings from the national survey can be used by campaigns to help engage the Latino community in these efforts.
“We've been using these [sugary drink] resources and find them extremely helpful! “
— Jane Kramer, Co-founder of Sugar Smart Coalition, Founder of Michigan Advocates for Healthy Checkouts
These tools were also informed by our work with grantees who have fought hard to change policy in their communities. Advocates in Cleveland, Columbus, and Toledo were successful in getting policies or ordinances passed to make healthy drink options the default option on kids’ meals in restaurants.
A tax on sugary drinks and junk food, originally established in 2014 and set to expire in 2020, was extended in the Navajo Nation, particularly important to address health concerns impacting the Diné community. It is the first such policy in the world, serving as an example of tribal sovereignty to support community wellness, and revenue taxes have funded more than 1,300 community-selected wellness projects across the Navajo Nation, including community fitness classes, greenhouses, youth clubs, clean water initiatives, Navajo language and culture classes, and more.
Other cities, like Philadelphia, celebrated sugary drink tax anniversaries. Since Philadelphia implemented the beverage tax, there have been notable health impacts, such as a 38% reduction in sugary drink purchases according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Funding from the sugary drink tax has been used to support thousands of pre-K slots, more than a dozen community schools, and improvements to parks and recreation centers. The city focuses funding in areas lacking child care options and communities with greater numbers of families with low incomes.
Cities like Seattle have been able to address hunger with funding from sugary drink tax revenue. Last year, a community-driven campaign directed tax revenues to help feed families who were food insecure during COVID-19. Voices for Healthy Kids also awarded grants to help partners in over a dozen states push for extending food assistance benefits. See the Special Report: COVID-19 Rapid Response Grantees for more.
Ensuring early childhood programs and services are accessible and of high quality for families with low incomes
The more frequently infants and toddlers can be in healthy and supportive learning environments, the more likely they will be emotionally, mentally, and physically healthy and thrive, and of course, their parents will be supported. We fund and support early childhood development opportunities at the state and local levels, with a focus on children growing up in communities historically underserved or even excluded from economic opportunity.
For example, in FY 2020 - 2021, we supported advocates in Multnomah County, Oregon, to establish a “preschool for all” program, which prioritizes the community’s toddlers and children who currently have the least access, children who speak languages other than English, and children experiencing poverty. The program also provides special support for children with developmental delays and disabilities while building toward a fully universal system, and provides up to six hours per day of tuition-free, developmentally appropriate early learning, reflecting best practices.
And, next door in Washington state, Voices for Healthy Kids continued to support advocates who worked for multiple years to develop an Early Head Start pilot program that grew into $18.7-million-funded Early Head Start program, as well as to codify the program into state law.
In St. Louis, voters approved Proposition R, which will raise $2.3 million annually for early childhood programs and services each year, equitably allocated to programs serving infants and toddlers in the city’s most divested communities - a policy change made possible by Voices for Healthy Kids grantee WEPOWER.
And, most recently, our grantmaking and support extended to increase accessibility for child care workers in Colorado. This is particularly important, as early care and education centers have been closed or are severely understaffed as result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and many people — particularly the women and people of color who typically work in child care jobs — in the U.S. are unemployed. Now, barriers to obtaining professional and commercial child care licenses have been removed for undocumented immigrants, a huge victory for efforts to dismantle employment discrimination, and in turn, support working parents and the Colorado workforce and economy.
Preventing states, industry, and special interests from blocking local actions that promote health, well-being, and equity
Local governments are uniquely positioned to meet the needs of the people in their communities by reflecting local context and values. Depending on the community, that could mean passing local laws to improve quality of life through sugary drink taxes, paid sick leave, smoke-free worksites, limited use of plastic bags, or equal rights for the LGBTQ+ community.
Voices for Healthy Kids supports coalitions that defend local governments’ ability to promote health, well-being, and equity against efforts that would allow the state to prevent local action. This kind of state and corporate interference is often referred to as preemption.
It’s not an easy task to define preemption -- and it’s even more difficult to shape a new narrative about it and motivate audiences to allow for local communities to make their own decisions about the issues that affect them. With insights from messaging research, Voices for Healthy Kids developed a message manual to help campaigns talk about preemption effectively, as well as a complementary creative toolkit. As we do with all of our messaging and toolkit projects, the materials were supported by several trainings on how to use them.
Improving schools’ health and wellness policies and practices
Children — no matter where they live or what grade they are in — benefit from healthy food and clean water. That’s why we are committed to building healthy school environments. We do this by promoting good nutrition and access to safe and appealing water at no cost in all schools, especially those that have been historically under-resourced or excluded from economic opportunity.
In FY 2020 - 2021, Voices for Healthy Kids funded the California Association of Food Banks and the Center for Ecoliteracy, which led California to become the first state in the nation to permanently adopt free school meals for all K–12 students.
Voices for Healthy Kids also funded and supported four campaigns that advocated for improved access to water at schools in Tennessee,Arkansas, Texas, and Mississippi. Now, all new schools undergoing major renovations or newly built in Arkansas and Hamilton County, Tennessee will require water bottle filling stations. In Austin, Texas, public schools will include more water bottle filling stations in indoor and outdoor common spaces. And in Brookhaven, Mississippi, both staff and students are now allowed to carry water bottles.
Special Report: COVID-19 Rapid Response Grant Outcomes
Last spring, Voices for Healthy Kids quickly developed a new grant opportunity to provide rapid response dollars to help address the health and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic; $1 million was awarded to organizations across 19 states, Puerto Rico, and the Lummi Nation in Washington state. Many of the organizations support communities hardest hit by the pandemic so they, too, needed to adapt quickly. With the COVID-19 Rapid Response Grants, these organizations were able to direct resources to the compounding hardships facing children and families around the country.
Acting with Urgency
Recognizing the devastating impact of COVID-19, the community organizations mobilized with purpose and urgency — focusing their advocacy on the health, food, housing, and economic insecurities intensified by the pandemic. Not only did the COVID-19 Rapid Response Grants provide direct dollars to support the work; they also created connections across communities and among advocates working on similar issues across the country. This enabled grantees to collaborate in new ways and expanded the Voices for Healthy Kids network to include new organizations that remain active in our network.
Addressing Health Inequities
Grantees pushed to address health inequities, such as making COVID-19 testing and other critical health services more accessible in communities of color. Some organizations were able to have an impact just a few short months after grants were awarded, including grantees who advocated for the expansion of Medicaid in Missouri and Oklahoma. Following on the work of grantees in these two states, advocates in North Carolina and Texas have also been raising public awareness and civic engagement around healthcare needs, laying the groundwork for Medicaid expansion.
Improving Access to Healthy Food
As COVID-19 exposed critical weaknesses in our food systems, grantees in several states also advanced policies to help children and families access healthy food. For example:
Along with others across the country, Alabama Arise successfully engaged federal policymakers to push for an increase in monthly SNAP benefits and an extension of pandemic EBT benefits. At the state level, Nebraska Appleseed led a diverse coalition to push state policymakers to adopt the federal pandemic EBT option to provide food assistance resources to tens of thousands of households across Nebraska.
Cultiva La Salud forged enduring community partnerships that allowed them to continue offering school meals to children in four school districts in California during the summer of 2020. By identifying and removing barriers to participation in school meal programs, their approach ensured that the greatest number of children over the greatest number of days received summer meals. Their efforts over the summer had a positive impact on fall meal operations in the targeted school districts, too.
The Hawaii Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice launched a campaign to apply the state’s funding from the federal CARES Act purchase of local produce by food banks. This campaign not only responded to an immediate need due to the pandemic; it also initiated a longer-term conversation about the role food nonprofits play in building resilient community-based food systems.
“This award afforded us the opportunity to bring together a very valuable partnership. Because of it, we could gather initial data from school districts and parents, which was foundational to our continued advocacy related to promoting school meals.”
- Cultiva La Salud
ACCESS Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services
Alabama Arise
American Diabetes Association
American Heart Association
Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights
Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families
Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance
Beyond Housing
California Association of Food Banks
California Walks
Center for Health Progress
Center for Rural Affairs
Childhood Obesity Prevention Coalition (COPC)
Coalition for Social Justice Ed Fund
Community Farm Alliance
Community Health Council of Wyandotte County
Cultiva La Salud
DC Greens
Dine' Food Sovereignty Alliance
Equality Ohio Education Fund
Every Texan (formerly Center for Public Policy Priorities)
First Nations Development Institute
Fusion Partnership fiscal sponsor for SPACEs In Action
Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities
Hawai‘i Public Health Institute
Hawaii Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice
HealthMPowers
Hispanic Unity of Florida, Inc.
Hunger Action Los Angeles
Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR)
Kids Forward (formerly Wisconsin Council on Children and Families)
Lhaqtemish Foundation
MA Food System Collaborative
Maine Consumers for Affordable Health Care
Make the Road New York
Maryland Medical Society - MedChi
Michigan Chapter American Academy of Pediatric
Mississippi Low Income Child Care Initiative
NAACP Maryland State Conference
Nebraska Appleseed
New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty
Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy
Oral Health Kansas
Pinnacle Prevention
Policy Institute for the Children of Louisiana
Rhode Island Public Health Institute
Rural Economic Development Center, Inc.
Small Business Majority Foundation Inc.
SPUR
Stand Up Nashville
Statewide Alignment Group (SWAG)
Tenants and Workers United
Texas Organizing Project Education Fund
The Food Trust
The Women's Fund of Greater Birmingham
Tobacco Free Kansas Coalition
Together Louisiana
Voices for Georgia's Children
Washington State Association of Head Start and ECEAP
WEPOWER
Wholespire
Youth Development Institute
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