Student ambassadors at dozens of Blue Zones Project Approved™ schools across Fort Worth played an important role in helping the city become a certified Blue Zones Community®. Now, a new generation of student leaders are working to sustain those healthy practices and seek new ways to integrate well-being on their campuses. More than 350 student ambassadors from 29 area schools came together in late October for the Blue Zones Project^® Power 9^® Camp student summit. The half-day summit, underwritten this year by the R4 Foundation, focused on developing, maintaining, and sharing healthy habits at school and beyond.

Calling all food retailers, food hubs, farmers markets, and mobile markets. The Fort Worth Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI), a partnership between the City of Fort Worth and PeopleFund, provides low-cost loans to open, renovate, or expand mid-size and small food retail outlets in low- and moderate-income communities with few grocery options. The program allows small-business owners to grow their business with low interest rates and extended terms while improving the health of our community.

A WIN FOR EVERYONE:

Since Blue Zones Project was implemented more than five years ago, well-being has been transformed in Fort Worth. Our city’s ranking in the Gallup National Health and Well-Being Index has risen from 185^th to 31^st in the nation, placing us in the top 20 percent of the country’s healthiest cities. Almost 90,000 individuals have engaged with Blue Zones Project, and more than 330 worksites, schools, faith-based organizations, restaurants, grocery stores, and neighborhoods have joined the movement. As a result, Fort Worth is now a certified Blue Zones Community®, the largest in the county.

As summer winds down, Fort Worth families are gearing up for the new school year. While you're getting your child ready to go back to school, we are working with dozens of area schools to make sure students are also going back to better well-being. Helping children succeed in the classroom means more than overseeing homework. We like to say "Move More, Learn More!" By ensuring kids add more physical activity into their daily mix, parents can help make kids’ developing minds work harder – and smarter. 

Daggett Middle School students returning to campus this month will discover that their school is making the grade when it comes to healthy choices, thanks to Blue Zones Project and Fidelity Investments.

We all know that watching what we eat can help trim our waistlines, but the benefits of a plant-based diet extend far beyond belt size. Most people in the original Blue Zones® areas eat a rich array of fresh fruits and vegetables, which are packed with disease-fighting nutrients. We call that eating with a Plant Slant, one of the Power 9® principles for longevity. Discover the well-being superpowers of these colorful fruits and vegetables.

Gardens have always been part of Meagan Warminski’s life. Raised in a small farming town near Amarillo, Warminski has long savored fresh produce. “I have fond memories of shucking sweet corn on the tailgate in the middle of the field and shelling black-eyed peas on the front porch with my great-grandmother,” Warminski said. “And growing up on farm-fresh foods, I know nothing tastes better.”

June is National Great Outdoors Month – something right up our alley! It’s a great opportunity to encourage children and adults alike to get outside and support a healthy lifestyle. Remember, one of the Power 9® principles for longevity is Moving Naturally. In the original Blue Zones areas of the world, people don’t exercise by going to the gym or running marathons; movement is built into their daily lives through gardening, walking, and other chores.

Since the launch of Blue Zones Project five years ago, Fort Worth’s well-being has risen significantly, going from one of the country’s unhealthiest cities to now ranking in the top 20 percent of the country’s metropolitan areas.