The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has awarded more than $372 million to 44 communities to support public health efforts.
The awards are part of the HHS' Communities Putting Prevention to Work (CPPW) initiative, a prevention and wellness initiative funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
“Investing in local communities will build a healthier America, and we aim to reach more than 50 million people who are living in the communities receiving these awards,” said First Lady Michelle Obama.
“And, by preventing and controlling chronic disease, we can start to turn around rising healthcare costs as well,” said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.
CPPW awards to cities, towns and tribes will provide communities with resources to create healthy choices for residents, such as increasing the availability of healthy foods and beverages, improving access to safe places for physical activity, discouraging tobacco use and encouraging smoke-free environments.
The competitive grants will also support job creation, an essential component of winning plans. Communities will have two years to complete their programs.
The awards are being are distributed among communities of various sizes, with average grants of $17.3 million to large cities, $7.7 million to urban areas, $4.7 million to small cities or rural areas and $1.3 million to tribes.
Small city and rural awards will be administered through state departments of health in nine states, providing funds to 16 small and rural communities.
For a full list of grantees, click here.