Fresno State will join the Partnership for a Healthier America and make a three-year commitment to implement guidelines around food and nutrition, physical activity and wellness programming for students, faculty and staff. The announcement was made at the Building a Healthier Future Summit in Washington, D.C.

The Partnership for a Healthier America, supported by honorary chair and former First Lady Michelle Obama, includes over 50 colleges and universities and touches more than 1.2 million students, faculty and staff across the United States.

Fresno State is the first campus in the California State University system to make this commitment and one of four universities to do so in California.

“Increasing access to healthy foods and opportunities to exercise can only help to make Fresno State a healthier environment for our students, staff and faculty,” said Kathy Yarmo, coordinator of health promotion and wellness services at the Student Health and Counseling Center on campus.

Fresno State agreed to 23 guidelines, including:

  • Convening a three-year planning coalition to advise the healthy campus initiative
  • Including a healthy icon to identify healthier food options on campus
  • Marking walking routes on campus to identify the Bulldogs Trails
  • Installing outdoor fitness systems
  • Providing additional support to lactating students, staff and faculty

“Colleges and universities are in a unique position to help shape tomorrow’s leaders, no matter where their education takes them,” said Partnership for a Healthier America CEO Lawrence A. Soler. “We know that going to college is a time of change for many students — we also know that means it’s a time when new habits are formed. By creating healthier food and physical activity environments today, campuses and universities are encouraging healthier habits that will carry over into tomorrow.”

For more information, visit www.ahealthieramerica.org/campuses.

Related links:

Partnership for a Healthier America: https://www.ahealthieramerica.org

Student Health and Counseling Center: http://www.fresnostate.edu/studentaffairs/health/index.html

Healthier Campus Initiative: https://www.ahealthieramerica.org/articles/healthier-campus-initiative-146

Bulldog Trails: http://fresnostate.edu/adminserv/learning/healthyu/bulldog-trails