Healthy Active Arkansas, in partnership with the Delta Dental of Arkansas Foundation, will award a water bottle filling station to Farmington Middle School, also known as Randall G. Lynch Middle School, as part of the "Rethink Your Drink: Choose Water" grant program.
This program, supported by a grant from the Delta Dental of Arkansas Foundation, is designed to encourage students, teachers and staff to drink water instead of sugary drinks during the school day, which helps support oral health and a healthy weight.
The Farmington school was selected out of more than 120 schools through a competitive application process.
The new water bottle filling station will replace an existing water fountain and be installed before the start of the 2020-21 school year.
As part of the program, the school has committed to encouraging students and staff to choose water over sugar beverages by promoting the new filling station throughout the school year. The location of the water fountain will be in the cafeteria where all grades can use it during lunch or refill water bottles on the way to and from PE classes and recess.
Drinking plenty of water, if fluoridated, plays an important role in preventing cavities and maintaining oral health. Further, drinking water can help combat obesity, increase energy levels and may increase students' cognitive functions.
"We are grateful to the Delta Dental of Arkansas Foundation for allowing us to offer this opportunity to Randall G. Lynch Middle School, and we look forward to seeing Randall G. Lynch Middle School succeed in their efforts," Troy Wells, Healthy Active Arkansas Board President and CEO of Baptist Health, said.
"Drinking water instead of sugary beverages is an important step everyone, especially our youth, can take to improve their oral health and maintain a healthy weight, and we hope to offer this program again next year," Wells added.
Healthy Active Arkansas is a 10-year framework to increase the number of Arkansans at a healthy weight. There are nine priority areas, including sugar-sweetened beverage reduction, that include evidence-based strategies that impact the health of the state. To learn more about Healthy Active Arkansas, visit www.healthyactive.org .
The Delta Dental of Arkansas Foundation is committed to fulfilling Delta Dental's mission to improve the oral health of Arkansans. The Foundation awarded 21 organizations in 2020 with a total of $500K dollars through its Community Grant Program. By investing in education, prevention and treatment, the Foundation works to make Arkansas healthier, one smile at a time. For more oral health news and information, visit www.deltadentalar.com .
General News on 06/03/2020