WK Kellogg Food & Fitness: Creating vibrant communities that provide equitable access to affordable, healthy, locally grown food and safe and inviting places for physical activity and play

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation Food & Fitness initiative (F&F) is working to create vibrant communities by transforming the systems that impact two of our most basic human needs—food and physical activity. The Foundation is investing in nine communities across the country as they plan their visions for the future. The communities represent diverse geographies and cultures, including urban Boston, Philadelphia, Oakland, Holyoke, Detroit, New York City, Seattle/King County and rural Northeast Iowa and the Tohono O'odham Nation. Through collaboration and innovation, these communities will become models of change for others around the country. F&F was launched in 2006 as an extension of W.K. Kellogg Foundation's legacy in food systems and community-based public health. To support and sustain local efforts, F&F is leveraging investments and coordinating networks that link community, state and national work. These investments will lay the groundwork for implementation on a broader scale by safeguarding communities' progress and supporting the sustainability of their local agendas. In this way, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation is poised to transform food and fitness environments locally while contributing to a broader strategy of change. Collaboration and equity are at the core of this initiative. Engagement of youth and community leaders is central to achieving the vision of the initiative. This session will describe how F&F will improve the health and wellbeing of children, families, and communities by transforming the systems that impact how food arrives on the table and how places are designed and built through policy change and locally driven strategies.