Mountain Goat Trail Alliance Receives Project Diabetes Grant

The Mountain Goat Trail Alliance (MGTA) has been awarded a $300,000 grant from the State of Tennessee’s Project Diabetes program to construct a 3-mile portion of the trail and to support health initiatives in Grundy County.
“Thanks to the Project Diabetes grant, our Go Grundy Campaign to connect Monteagle and Sewanee is one huge step closer to fruition. We are also excited to partner with the Grundy County Health Council on programs for people of all ages to promote healthy behavior, including using the Mountain Goat Trail for regular exercise,” said Patrick Dean, executive director of the MGTA.
The grant will facilitate construction of the Mountain Goat Trail between DuBose Conference Center and Ingman Farm Road. The MGTA has already received grant funding to build a 2-mile section of trail from Ingman Farm Rd. to Tracy City Elementary School.
In addition, the grant provides funding to be used to support programs sponsored by the Grundy County Health Council, including school 5K walking and running clubs, adult walking contests and creation of exercise/nutrition signage on the Trail.
Project Diabetes is a statewide initiative that funds, through the competitive bid process, innovative primary prevention projects to halt the increasing rate of obesity in Tennessee. The fundamental goals of Project Diabetes are to:
• Decrease the prevalence of overweight/obesity across the State and, in turn, prevent or delay the onset of Type 2 diabetes and/or the consequences of this devastating disease.
• Educate the public about current and emerging health issues linked to obesity.
• Promote community, public-private partnerships to identify and solve regional health problems related to obesity.
• Advise and recommend policies and programs that support individual and community health improvement efforts.
• Evaluate effectiveness of improvement efforts that address overweight and obesity.
• Disseminate best practices for obesity prevention and health improvement.
Learn more about the Mountain Goat Trail at <mountaingoattrail.org>.