For Immediate Release 
February 15, 2022

KDHE Awarded State Partnerships Improving Nutrition and Equity Program Grant

TOPEKA – The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) is pleased to announce that the Community Health Promotion (CHP) team has received the State Partnerships Improving Nutrition & Equity (SPINE) Program Grant from the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors (NACDD).

CHP was awarded $144,274 to support the one-year grant project. This grant project aims to implement sustainable and equitable policy, systems, and environmental actions to address food and nutrition security across the life span. 

“Even though Kansas is known for its food production, access to nutritious food is still a challenge for many Kansans,” said Courtney Koenig, Physical Activity and Nutrition Program Manager at KDHE. “We are excited for this grant opportunity and look forward to getting started on the work to improve nutritious food access in Kansas.”

For this year-long program, the CHP team will partner with the Kansas Food Action Network and focus their efforts on community engagement, assessment and creating a food policy council in the Southwest Kansas region.

Health equity is foundational to the SPINE program and will be integrated throughout the planning, action, and evaluation stages, in addition to considering the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Health equity can be defined as “when everyone, regardless of who they are or where they come from, has a fair and just opportunity to experience their highest level of health and wellness. This requires eliminating barriers like poverty and repairing injustices in all systems that can impact the ability to experience health and wellness. Such systems include education, criminal justice, health and transportation.” (Modified from Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, “What is Health Equity?” and Colorado Department of Health and Environment)

Nine states were selected to receive the grant, including Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Oregon and Oklahoma.

For more information about the SPINE Grant, please visit the NACDD website at chronicdisease.org/spine-program/. 

Great news! We are excited to announce that we were one of nine states to receive the State Partnerships Improving Nutrition & Equity (SPINE) Program Grant from @NACDD, NewsReleaseLinkHere. Learn more: chronicdisease.org/spine-program/ #SPINEGrant

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