Louisiana

In Louisiana, you can find plenty of jazz music and Cajun and Creole cooking, but beneath its Southern charm, Louisiana also bears the nation’s highest childhood obesity rate. Additionally, nearly 1 in 5 of Louisiana’s 4.6 million residents lives below the poverty level,* posing additional challenges to accessing the resources kids need to grow up healthy.

The Alliance for a Healthier Generation, thanks to support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Louisiana Department of Education, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is working with communities throughout the state to make it easier for all kids to lead healthier lives.

*Source: The U.S. Census Bureau

Our Work in Louisiana

In Louisiana, we’re making it easier for kids to develop healthy habits.

More than 640 schools serving over 354,000 students across the state have joined Healthier Generation's Healthy Schools Program, creating healthier school environments for children to thrive. Since 2007, 14 Louisiana schools have been recognized with National Healthy Schools Awards for their outstanding efforts.

We’ve also made it easier for over 12,000 youth in 128 out-of-school time programs to eat right and move more, through our Healthy Out-of-School Time Initiative.

Success Stories

Hear from just two champions from the schools and districts we work with in Louisiana: Jefferson Parish School District, enrolled in the Healthy Schools Program since 2009, and Esperanza Charter School, enrolled since 2011.

See how Southern states, including Louisiana, are helping students to develop healthier habits at school