BCBSRI awards BlueAngel grants to Boys & Girls Club, Farm Fresh Rhode Island

PROVIDENCE – Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island has awarded two more of the six BlueAngel grants to the Boys & Girls Club of Pawtucket and Farm Fresh Rhode Island.
These two $30,000 grants are part of a BlueAngel Community Health Grant program focusing on childhood obesity and health. In total, $286,000 will be awarded in 2016.
The Boys & Girls Club grant will support the “Out-of-School Time Healthy Lifestyles Program” which teaches healthy habits to approximately 600 youth each year through after-school and summer activities.
The grant to Farm Fresh Rhode Island will support Farm Fresh’s Healthy Foods, Healthy Families program, which provides free nutrition education to low-income families and incentives for families receiving nutrition assistance vouchers that can be redeemed for fresh, local produce.
“Blue Cross is committed to supporting programs that promote health and wellness for Rhode Islanders in every aspect of their lives,” said Carolyn Belisle, managing director of community relations at BCBSRI.
The occurrence of childhood obesity in America has tripled, and today nearly one in three children between the ages of 2 and 19 years old are obese or overweight. Children and adolescents who are overweight or obese are at an increased risk for Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and other health concerns, some of which can be chronic.
Obese children and youth also are susceptible to social and psychological problems like stigmatization, bullying and low self-esteem. Childhood obesity also costs up to $14 billion per year in direct health care costs.

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