Blue Cross Teams up With Eight Groups to Address Obesity, Lower Minnesotans' Health Risks by Promoting Heal...(- partnering with localorganizations inc...),Health

-- Farmers' Legal Action Group, Inc. -- undertaking projects to promote local food production and preservation of farmland, including Scott County and immigrant farm communities

-- Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy -- undertaking multiple urban and statewide projects such as working with school districts, urban corner stores, and creating small-scale urban farming

-- Land Stewardship Project -- working in West Central Minnesota to ensure that residents can access healthy, locally grown food instead of driving great distances to the nearest grocer

-- Hennepin County -- partnering with seven local organizations to identify strategies to improve healthy food offerings throughout Hennepin County, with a focus on low socioeconomic populations

-- NorthPoint Health & Wellness Center, Inc. -- working in North Minneapolis neighborhoods to address the lack of access to fresh, healthy foods available to residents

-- University of Minnesota, Morris -- working to expand access to, and availability of fruits and vegetables and other healthy foods on campus, within greater Morris, and in Stevens County

-- West Metro Medical Society -- working in Minneapolis and Hennepin County to ensure residents receive information to make healthy eating decisions, and to improve access to fruit and vegetables in hospital cafeterias and the community at large

Contingent upon successful negotiation, Healthy Eating Minnesota recipients will begin their work in early 2009. Learnings from each of the projects will be shared with other communities across the state.

"Unhealthy eating and physical inactivity combined are the second leading cause of preventable death and disease in our state, and t
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