Each Child. Every Community.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE = February 24, 2017 Press Contact: Heather Strickland - 919-821-9564, hstrickland@smartstart.org Two Smart Start Local Partnerships Take the Lead on Fighting Early Childhood Obesity – Wake County SmartStart (WCSS) and the Down East Partnership for Children (DEPC)...

Shape NC, a partnership between the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation and The North Carolina Partnership for Children, Inc. to combat childhood obesity now has its own logo. This three-year, $3 million effort partnership is...

Let's Move! Child Care Webinar We've been promoting Let's Move! Child Care, a website of resources and inspiration to improve the nutrition and healthy weight of America's children. States are competing to get the most child care providers signed...

Senator Mark Udall (D-CO) is expected to  introduce the Healthy Kids from Day One Act, a bill that promotes obesity prevention in the child care setting.   North Carolina has been a the forefront of this issue. In 2010, the...

Eight communities across North Carolina will receive funding to improve their early childhood nutrition education. The new program, "Shape NC: Healthy Starts for Young Children," is expected to reach thousands of preschoolers in a state where more than 31...

Down East Partnership for Children (DEPC) will present the Healthy Kids Collaborative (HKC) at the 26th Annual Emerging Issues Forum in Raleigh on February 7, 2011. Selected for its leadership, innovative strategies and role in empowering communities to combat the...

"People don't realize how early this starts," said Dr. Sarah Armstrong, a pediatrician and the director of Duke Children's Healthy Lifestyle Program, a clinical treatment program for obese kids. Dr. Armstrong is quoted in an article titled, "Children's weight woes...

The NAP SACC program partners with state-trained child care health consultants who work with early childhood programs to improve nutrition and physical activity practices and policies. Smart Start introduced NAP SACC in November 2007 with the intention that participating...

BCBSNC Foundation and The North Carolina Partnership for Children, Inc. Launch $3 Million Initiative to Tackle State’s Childhood Obesity Epidemic With North Carolina facing the fifth highest rate of childhood obesity in the country, the Blue Cross and Blue Shield...

Research shows that child care centers significantly affect children’s physical activity levels. Children in centers with supportive environments may spend 80 hours more per week in mild-to-vigorous physical activity compared to children in less supportive environments. In addition, studies...