NYC Strategic Alliance for Health (SAH) has awarded P.S. 8 Isaac Varian School, P.S. 51 Bronx New School and P.S. 246 Poe Center for their efforts “to improve the environments, systems, and policies that influence physical activity, nutrition, and tobacco use within schools and the broader community”.

The initiative to improve the well-being of students health is in response to reports of a high percentage of the Bronx population who receive limited physical activity, limited access to fresh fruits and vegetables and higher rates of smoking than NYC as a whole.

According to the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene 34% of South Bronx residents are obese, compared to a Citywide figure of 22%, 36% of South Bronx residents report having high blood pressure, compared to a Citywide figure of 27% and 20% of South Bronx residents have reported having performed no physical activity in the last week, compared to 16% Citywide.

The SAH hopes to continue their initiative throughout the Bronx and Public Schools to keep the Bronx as healthy as possible