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Participants of the Bronx Nutrition and Fitness Initiative program (B’ N’ Fit) at PS 8 were awarded a grant from the Coca-Cola Foundation that will help the program continue to support nutritional education and physical fitness in light of Mayor Bloomberg’s proposed budget cuts to afterschool programs.

The Mosholu Montefiore Community Center  (MMCC) received an Active Healthy Living grant for $25,000 from the Coca-Cola Foundation for their B’ N’ Fit Initiative, an afterschool program  for overweight youth that’s in danger of losing city funding in the next fiscal year.

MMCC received this grant as a part of the foundation’s $1 million pot of funds that they are awarding to nonprofit organizations across the country to support healthy living.

“The purpose of this program is to offer healthy lifestyle programs for overweight teens who want to become healthy,” said Jessica Rieder, founder and director of B’ N’ Fit. “It’s an after-school program so it’s convenient for kids and it’s a place where parents can have their kids in a place that’s safe.”

Last month, Bloomberg proposed a $22.1 million cut to childcare and afterschool programs which would slice into 172 programs citywide and reduce the number of subsidized slots available for afterschool and childcare centers. The proposed cuts would completely cut city funding to after-school programs in PS 8.

“These budget cuts would put a significant strain on the fitness program,” said Rieder. “The program will have to work harder to survive without the city funding.”

In 2010, B’ N’ Fit received a grant from the Coca-Cola Foundation for $20,000 that helped to expand their B’ N’ Fit program to include families of the participants in the program. It helped fund nutrition classes once a week for family members of the participants. B’ N’ Fit also hosts a family event every month for the program’s staff, participants and family members.

“An important aspect … [of this program] is the parental involvement,” Harriet Tolve, manager of public affairs and communications at Coca-Cola Foundation said. “It’s all encompassing because it doesn’t start with just the students, it starts at home.”

In the past, B’ N’ Fit programs have also received funding from Astrazeneca, Phillips Electronics and the Health Resources and Services Administration.

B’N’ Fit, established in 2005, is a comprehensive weight management program created in a collaborative effort with Montefiore Medical Center to combat adolescent obesity. The purpose of the program is to motivate overweight teens with a Body Mass Index higher than the 95th percentile to live a healthier lifestyle.

The program offers free nutrition classes at MMCC and physical activity and exercises at PS 8 to adolescents between the ages of 12 and 21 four times a week to teach them how to incorporate healthier foods and activities into their lifestyle. It provides a doctor at the Montefiore Children’s Hospital for participants to see on a “regular basis,” Program Coordinator Elicia Johnson-Knox said. B’ N’ Fit also offers a summer day camp for the participants.

“This program introduced me to being fit,” Elijah Linton, 13, participant of B’ N’ Fit said. “I experienced different ways to work out. It benefits me because it helps me to get healthy, look better and stay fit.”

Elijah said that before joining the B’ N’ Fit program last year, his doctor said he was at risk for diabetes. Participating in the program not only lowered his risk of diabetes but gave him a new outlook on life and equipped him with ways to incorporate healthier foods into his diet.

B’ N’ Fit offers incentives to active participants based on their leadership such as tickets to museum parks.

Editor’s note: A version of this story appears in the June 14-27 print edition of the Norwood News.

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