DURANT – Bryan County Turning Point Coalition has received 105,000.00 as a part of the Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust’s (TSET) Communities of Excellence in Nutrition and Fitness grant program.

Bryan County Turning Point Coalition works with Bryan County Health Department to implement effective policies to improve the health of residents in Bryan County. The Shape Your Future health communication campaign supports the Bryan County Turning Point Coalition goals by promoting the message to “eat better, move more and be tobacco free.”

At its Sept. 17, meeting, the TSET board of directors approved funding for Communities of Excellence Nutrition and Fitness grants for the second year of a five-year cycle. The board awarded grants totaling more than $2.1 million in grants to 15 community coalitions and consortiums that serve 21 counties across the state.

“The Bryan County Turning Point Coalition is excited to be funded for this important program,”April Lehrling said, in a news release. “We are ready to work with local individuals and community partners to make nutrition and fitness a priority, and to make the healthy choice the easy choice where we live, work and play.”

The Communities of Excellence in Nutrition and Fitness program funds community-based coalitions that work with communities, workplaces, schools, and afterschool and daycare programs to implement effective policies that promote healthy eating and physical activity.

Strategies are based on recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Institute of Medicine and other scientific sources that have promise or have proven to increase healthy eating and physical activity. The goal is to reduce Oklahoma’s increasing obesity rates and the resulting physical and financial toll on individuals, communities and the state.

“We know that if we want to drive down our state’s high rates of cardiovascular disease and cancer, Oklahomans must eat better, move more, and be tobacco-free,” said TSET Executive Director Tracey Strader. “These Communities of Excellence in Nutrition and Fitness grantees are working to make the healthy choice the easy choice where we live, work and learn.

In addition to financial support from TSET, grantees also receive training and technical assistance in partnership with the Oklahoma State Department of Health’s Turning Point Initiative and the Center for Advancement of Wellness, along with external evaluation assistance from the Oklahoma State University Department of Nutritional Sciences.

About the Bryan County Turning Point Coalition

Bryan County Turning Point Coalition is a Communities of Excellence in Nutrition and Fitness grantee of the Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust serving Bryan County and promoting effective policies and programs that promote healthy food and physical activity opportunities. For more information about Bryan County Turning Point Coalition contact Renee Wyrick at (580)924-4285

About the Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust

The Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET) serves as a partner and bridge builder for organizations working towards shaping a healthier future for all Oklahomans. TSET provides leadership at the intersections of health by working with local coalitions and initiatives across the state, by cultivating innovative and life-changing research, and by working across public and private sectors to develop, support, implement and evaluate creative strategies to take advantage of emerging opportunities to improve the public’s health. TSET – Better Lives Through Better Health. For more information, visit www.ok.gov/tset.