The Pioneering Healthier Communities Ohio (PHC Ohio) initiative is a collaborative of diverse statewide partners promoting policy, systems, and environmental change across the state to create fair opportunities for children to access healthy food and physical activity.
The primary goal of this initiative is to address the childhood obesity epidemic in Ohio through sustainable and systemic change.
Our areas of focus are:
- Improving built environments so that children and families can utilize their communities and neighborhoods for safe physical activity.
- Improving access to healthy food and physical activity in early childhood and afterschool settings.
- Helping children make the right decisions about health and nutrition as part of their education.
- Allowing families to be healthier by encouraging parents to be healthier at work.
- Giving children and families healthier vending options in public areas.
- Creating greater public awareness of childhood obesity in Ohio.
Check out our one pager outlining the initiative and our detailed work plan.
- 30-34% of Ohio’s children age 10-17 are overweight or obese.
- Children in Appalachian counties and low-income families are more likely to be obese.
- Obesity is more common among children who consume unhealthy food and drink, and who watch three or more hours of television per day.
- Unhealthy food choices, poor eating behaviors, and lack of physical activity are major factors contributing to overweight and obese Ohioans.
From the Ohio Department of Health
2004-2010 BMI Report
Voices for Ohio's Children is the non-partisan voice of Ohio's nearly three million children. With more than 200 collaborative partners, we impact the changes in public policy that improve the health, safety, education, family stability, and childcare of Ohio's children and their families.
Buckeye Healthy Schools Alliance
Buckeye Healthy Schools Alliance (BHSA) is Ohio's only statewide school health coalition. BHSA is a volunteer partnership of those concerned for the health and wellness of students and educators in Ohio. BHSA hosts an annual school health conference, offers regional workshops, provides technical assistance to educators and coalitions, disseminates information and otherwise works to educate Ohio about the impact health has on learning.
OSU Family and Consumer Sciences Extension
Family and Consumer Sciences Extension professionals focus on building Healthy People, Healthy Finances, and Healthy Relationships. We help people keep healthy through good nutrition and food safety, use their money wisely, and balance the demands of life and work.
Children's Hunger Alliance
Children’s Hunger Alliance is a statewide non-profit agency working toward long-term solutions to fighting childhood hunger. To achieve our goal, we work with schools, youth-serving non-profits, faith-based groups and child care providers to increase participation in USDA Child Nutrition Programs. In addition, we fight hunger and poor nutrition with education, physical activity information and supplemental resources for caregivers, parents and children.
The Ohio Dietetic Association
The Ohio Dietetic Association (ODA) is an affiliate of the American Dietetic Association (ADA), the nation's largest organization of food and nutrition professionals. ODA was established in 1921. ODA's 3200+ members are highly qualified nutrition professionals including Registered Dietitians (RD), Registered Dietetic Technicians (RDT) and dietetic student members of ADA. ODA members represent a wide range of practice areas.
YMCA of Central Ohio
We believe the values and skills learned early on are vital building blocks for life. Because of the Y, more young people in neighborhoods around the nation are taking a greater interest in learning and making smarter life choices.
Ohio Alliance of YMCAs
At the YMCA, we’re for healthy living, youth development, and social responsibility. Ohio YMCAs are in 155 diverse communities around the state, and serve almost 1.5 million Ohioans, both children and adults. The Ohio Alliance of YMCAs advocates on behalf of these Ys.
By focusing on the building block for a good life, we can create positive change, now and for the future. We bring together the resources of our community, investing our collective time, money, and efforts in effective, results-oriented programs—programs that further what we call the building blocks for a good life: a quality education, a stable income, good health, and secure housing.
Ohio Afterschool Network
The Ohio Afterschool Network serves as a vehicle to positively impact the afterschool environment in Ohio. We bring together a number of systems and stakeholders, including policymakers, educators, parents, and service providers. Through the abilities of this network, our work will result in all Ohio families having access to high quality afterschool experiences.
Ohio Action for Healthy Kids
Ohio Action for Healthy Kids is part of a nationwide initiative dedicated to improving the health and educational performance of children through better nutrition and physical activity in schools. This effort represents a response to our nation’s epidemic of overweight, sedentary, and undernourished children and adolescents. Healthy schools produce healthy students — and healthy students are better able to learn and achieve their true potential.
American Dairy Association
Our goal is to provide you with useful information about our organization that we hope makes it easier for you to do business with us. American Dairy Association & Dairy Council, Inc has been serving dairy farmers in the New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania states since 1962. We specialize in the promotion of generic dairy products for the purpose of increasing the sales of milk and dairy products.
The Leave No Child Inside
Central Ohio Collaborative
News, research and other resources for parents, teachers, medical professionals and community leaders. Our focus is returned unstructured outdoor play to childhood. Youth today spend too much time indoors, hampering their physical and social development and resulting in an increase in behavior disorders and childhood depression.
Ohio PTA
Our mission is to initiate action and speak on behalf of children and youth in schools, in the community and before governmental agencies and other organizations that make decisions affecting children and youth.
