Kansas Health Institute | Information For Policy Makers. Health for Kansans.

TOPEKA — Kansas will receive nearly $350,000 in federal grants to combat childhood obesity through nutrition and exercise programs, officials at the Kansas State Department of Education announced today.

The department received $300,062 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to fund school-based initiatives in nutrition and physical education. The money will also be used to implement the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, a successor to the food pyramid, department officials said.

Another $49,909 was awarded to the department to help elementary and secondary schools apply for the USDA's HealthierUS School Challenge, part of Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! fitness initiative. At least 50 Kansas schools are expected to apply, according to department officials.