NE Iowa Food & Fitness gets $900,000 grant

The W. K. Kellogg Foundation has awarded $900,000 to the Northeast Iowa Food and Fitness Initiative.

The award money will be used over the next four years to continue current programs related to school wellness, food systems and active living with an additional focus on the caregivers of children from birth to age five in Northeast Iowa.

Kellogg's investment in Northeast Iowa started in 20008 when the area was selected as one of nine sites to be a Food & Fitness community.  The foundation gave a two-year planning grant of $650,000, then followed with a three-year implementation grant of $1.2 million. 

"A nine-year investment by a private foundation into a region is unprecedented," said FFI Project Coordinator Ann Mansfield.  "It also speaks volumes about the quality of the work and the strong community relationships needed to sustain it." 

The initiative now moves from the implementation phase to an extended funding phase with a focus on long-term sustainability for the citizens in Allamakee, Chickasaw, Clayton, Fayette, Howard and Winneshiek counties.

The Northeast Iowa Food and Fitness Initiative has four core partner organizations: ISU Extension and Outreach, Luther College, Northeast Iowa Community College and Upper Explorerland Regional Planning Commission.