Southern California McDonald's announces $25,000 in grants to help fund school health programs

LOS ANGELES, April 29, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Southern California McDonald's restaurants announced their inaugural School Health Grants program, an initiative aimed at making a difference in the health of children throughout Southern California communities. McDonald's is offering five $5,000 school health grants to schools within the Southern California counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura.

"Southern California McDonald's hopes to promote lasting lifestyle changes through our School Health Grants program," said Michael Mangione, Jr., McDonald's owner/operator and president of the McDonald's Operators' Association of Southern California (MOASC). "This is just one example of our continuing commitment of encouraging healthy behavior and practices in our local community."

According to research from the USDA's Food and Nutrition Service, long-term health and nutrition practices are molded during a child's formative years. The MOASC School Health Grant program aims to fund activities that lead to long-term, health-focused behavior in the school environment. Funds provided by the grant must be used as seed money for start-up programs, funding for existing programs, or funding for tangible goods such as supplies, equipment and education materials. Applications will be evaluated based on the school's plan for both healthy eating and physical activity, as well as a plan to address nutritious options for eating "away from home."

Recipients will be selected by a committee consisting of registered dietitians, health professionals, and local McDonald's owner/operators.

The application deadline has been extended to Wednesday, May 15, 2013.  Grant funds will be available for use during the 2013-2014 school year. For complete guidelines and an application, contact grant coordinator Ashley Loar at [email protected].

MOASC is composed of more than 600 franchised and company-owned McDonald's restaurants in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties. Follow us on Twitter: @McDonalds_SoCal.

SOURCE McDonald's of Southern California