General Mills Champions Grants Program Teaches Minnesota Children How to Lead a Balanced and Active Lifestyle

The General Mills Foundation, Minneapolis, and the American Dietetic Association Foundation (ADAF), in partnership with the President’s Challenge, have awarded 19 community groups across the state $10,000 grants that support innovative programs that help children develop lifelong nutrition and physical fitness habits.

In addition, nationally, 50 nonprofit groups or schools received grants totaling $500,000. All of the programs operate/collaborate with a dietetic professional. Since 2002, the General Mills Champions® Program has invested more than $6 million in youth nutrition and fitness programs that have served more than 100,000 children across the country.

Additional components of the initiative include sponsorship of the Presidential Active Lifestyle Awards (PALA), as well as the development of nutrition and fitness mentoring models. For example, the foundation supports the PALA program in Minneapolis Public Schools, where this year, some 11,000 2^nd through 8^th graders earned the PALA Award for completing the six-week fitness program.

This year’s Minnesota grant recipients include the Academia Cesar Chavez Charter School’s Healthy Living for Life bilingual program, which will teach 5^th through 8^th grade Latino students culturally relevant nutrition and physical fitness activities, and help students develop their own personal goals; a Shakopee program that provides families of 3- to 5-year-olds with low-cost ways to incorporate a healthy and active lifestyle in their daily family life; Mora’s No Body Left Behind program, a collaborative effort to improve the health and fitness needs of the school district’s 1,900 students; and Bryn Mawr Skis, which combines cross-country skiing with health and nutrition education for students at a Minneapolis elementary school.

"The program takes a grassroots approach that calls on community groups and schools to champion the future health of our young people by focusing on nutrition and fitness programs that can have a life-long impact," said Chris Shea, president of the General Mills Foundation.

Any community-based, nonprofit organization or agency is eligible to apply for this annual program for one of 50 grants of $10,000 each. Preschools, as well as elementary, middle and high schools are eligible. Among the requirements for receiving a General Mills Champions grant is that the program must include both a strong nutrition education and a physical activity component.

Information on the General Mills Champions program, grant applications, best practices and model programs that can be adopted by any organization are available at www.generalmills.com/foundation. Additional information on the Presidential Active Lifestyle Awards can be found at www.presidentschallenge.org.

The complete list of 2005 Minnesota General Mills Champions grant recipients follows:

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