The John Rex Endowment announces six three-year grants totaling more than $1.25 million to help municipalities in Wake County create healthier environments for children by increasing access to healthy foods and active living opportunities. Municipalities that will receive grant support include Fuquay-Varina, Garner, Knightdale, Morrisville, Raleigh and Zebulon.

The grant initiatives will vary in each municipality based on local needs to address food and play deserts, bridge barriers and improve connectivity with safe paths for biking and walking, support grower’s markets and grocery co-ops, improve signage and wayfinding, or implement other built environment changes that provide support to improve the health of children, families and communities in Wake County.

Active Living By Design (ALBD) will provide in-depth technical assistance throughout the grant period to all funded municipalities, and Advocates for Health in Action (AHA) will provide local expertise to support and connect the municipalities to existing community resources.

“Wake County’s municipalities are central to building healthier environments," said Kevin Cain, president and CEO of the John Rex Endowment. “These grant awards will support their work in community planning, improving and implementing policies, and making changes that fit their community needs and have a wide-scale impact on healthy eating and active living for children and families.”

The John Rex Endowment's investments in healthy weight, injury prevention, positive mental health and nonprofit capacity building are focused on bringing lasting change to help shape a healthy environment for children and families in Wake County.