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RESOLUTION ESTABLISHING THE HEALTHY EATING AND ACTIVE LIVING ADVISORY COMMITTEE
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Summary and Background Information: LiveWell Colorado is a nonprofit organization committed to reducing obesity in Colorado by promoting healthy eating and active living. Making the healthy choice the easy choice is essential to addressing Colorado’s adult and childhood obesity epidemic, a clear toll on both our health and economy. The state spent $1.637 billion treating diseases and conditions related to obesity in 2009, with further costs to businesses for lost productivity and absenteeism. LiveWell’s HEAL (Healthy Eating and Active Living) Cities and Towns Campaign provides training and technical assistance to help municipal officials adopt policies that improve their communities’ access to physical activity and healthy food. A partnership between LiveWell Colorado and the Colorado Municipal League, the HEAL Campaign is funded through a grant from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s Cancer, Cardiovascular Disease and Pulmonary Disease Grant Program and supported by Kaiser Permanente.
Commerce City was identified as a LiveWell community in 2004. Over the nine years of funding, LiveWell Commerce City leveraged over $12 million in funding for programs and built environment projects in core Commerce City. Visible, collaborative changes to Commerce City include community gardens, parks and park improvements, continued implementation of Walk, Bike, Fit Plan and the Comprehensive Plan, as well as improvements to Derby Square. After LiveWell Colorado funding ended in 2012, the nine-year effort resulted in a high-functioning collaboration between the City, nonprofits, and other partners to address HEAL, which has continued to leverage funding and build momentum. City Council adopted Resolution 2013-36 to become a HEAL city and recently attained "Elite" status in the campaign's participation matrix - the first of 43 communities to achieve such designation...
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