When people think about Texas this week, it is mostly about the NCAA’s Men’s Final Four tournament. Taking place in San Antonio, underdog Loyola will face Michigan and college basketball blueblood Kansas will square off against Villanova. These teams will vie to be this year’s men’s college basketball champion. If you travel east from San Antonio, you’ll hit the city of Houston, which is not only the home of NASA’s manned spacecraft center, it’s also a winner in this year’s United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) 2018 Childhood Obesity Prevention Awards.

Houston won for its “Get Moving Houston Farmers Market” (GMHFM). This program works to bring locally-sources fresh fruits, vegetables, and nutrition education to communities in food deserts by operating farmers’ markets in Houston. The city will use its grant from the USCM to expand GMHFM and implement the Wholesome Wave Foundation’s Fruit and Vegetable Rx (FVRx) program, which is designed to reach pediatric patients age 0-18 and their families, who are food insecure or are at risk of diet-related disease.

The program might not sound as exciting as watching college basketball’s elite meet on the hardwood, but it has the potential to impact the lives of so many in the Houston area. As Tom Cochran, USCM CEO and executive director said, “From a public health perspective – from a moral perspective – we have got to do everything we can to make sure our kids have the skills and tools and resources to eat healthy and stay active…”

The American Beverage Association and the American Beverage Foundation for a Healthy America are proud to partner with the USCM to support such a worthy endeavor. To learn more about this year’s award winners, click here.