Participation of community-based organizations in school health initiatives: Lessons learned from Chicago's federally-funded Healthy Places initiative

Community-based organizations that partner with schools to provide nutrition and physical activity programming are well-positioned to serve as champions for creating healthy school environments. With training and capacity-building support, organizations focused on program delivery can also support schools in implementing policy and practice changes to increase access to healthy food and expand opportunities for physical activity. This presentation will describe the school-based initiatives that are part of Healthy Places, a project funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Communities Putting Prevention to Work initiative. The overall goal of Healthy Places is to implement sustainable policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) changes that address obesity in Chicago by creating healthier environments where Chicagoans live, work, learn, and play. The Healthy Schools Initiative of Healthy Places trained four community-based organizations to improve health equity and support elementary schools in creating healthy school environments by: (1) assessing the current school environment and identifying assets and barriers for healthy eating and physical activity, (2) creating an action plan to improve practices and overcome obstacles, (3) implementing PSE changes in order to meet or exceed the criteria set forth in the USDA's HealthierUS School Challenge (HUSC) on healthy fundraising, physical activity, physical education, and classroom rewards, and (4) forming a Wellness Committee to sustain and support change. This presentation will outline lessons learned by engaging community-based organizations to support schools in implementing PSE changes that promote healthy eating and physical activity and applying for the USDA's HUSC award.