Food, Activity & Nutrition Initiatives
We’ve created a series of easy-to-read, printable information sheets to help patients, families, and community members access nutrition resources and build skills for healthier cooking and eating.
Why food, nutrition and physical activity matter
Limited access to nutritious food and safe opportunities for physical activity places children and families at increased risk for chronic health conditions. Youth who experience higher-than-recommended weight gain are more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes, heart disease and certain cancers later in life. Poor nutrition and physical inactivity can also take a significant emotional and social toll, contributing to sleep disorders, anxiety, depression and low self-esteem.
These health risks are closely tied to food insecurity and economic barriers. According to State of Illinois, approximately 1.8 million Illinois residents receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits each year. In Illinois, 22% of all household receiving SNAP had children. An estimated one in five Illinois children currently experiences food insecurity, limiting their ability to grow, learn and thrive.
What Lurie Children's is doing to address food insecurity and improve physical activity
At Lurie Children’s, we recognize that helping children thrive means attending to the social, environmental and economic conditions that influence families’ abilities to consume a nutritious diet and be physically active. Through our Food, Activity and Nutrition (FAN) initiatives (formerly the Consortium to Lower Childhood Obesity in Chicago [CLOCC]), we collaborate with key partners on local, state-wide and national levels to help ensure that supports for healthy eating and being physically active are always within reach for youth and their families where they live, learn, and play.
Supported by decades of research, FAN takes a social ecological approach to improving access to nutritious foods and physical activity opportunities. We work to address some of the key barriers to health and wellness by collaborating with local, state-wide, and national partners to:
- Support the emergency food and food retail environments
- Make walking and biking easier and safer in our neighborhoods
- Provide clear and accurate nutrition and lifestyle recommendations to caregivers
- Ensure healthy eating and physical activity are incorporated into school and community settings
- Advocate for health-supporting institutional and public policies
West Side WIC Alliance
Lurie Children’s is pleased to co-anchor the West Side WIC Alliance with the Chicago Department of Public Health, Rush University System for Health, Access Community Health Network, and the Greater Chicago Food Depository. The Alliance aims to strengthen WIC (Supplemental Special Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children) on Chicago’s West Side by leveraging existing infrastructure and WIC community-based organization partnerships to reach eligible families.
Learn MoreOur Policy Agenda
We work with city and state government agencies to ensure that efforts to prevent obesity are evidence-based and effective.
Health Promotion & Public Education
Educating our communities to make informed and healthy lifestyle choices is a key part of our strategy to prevent obesity.
Food Access & Nutrition Security
Access to nutritious foods is an essential component to good health. Lurie Children’s provides leadership for West Side United’s (WSU) Healthy Food Strategy Working Group and Food Pantry Support Initiative.
Physical Activity & Neighborhood Walkability
Physical activity is essential to staying healthy, but barriers to exercise are more present in Chicago communities with higher rates of childhood obesity.