CDC awards grants for sodium reduction initiatives to NYC, Los Angeles

New York City and Los Angeles County are among five jurisdictions that have won a $1.9 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for sodium-reduction initiatives involving restaurants and schools.

The three-year grant, announced last week, will be split between New York City, Los Angeles County, Shasta County in California, Shawnee County in Kansas, and Broome and Schenectady counties in New York.

The goal is to implement at least one major sodium-reduction policy in each region and to evaluate the results, the Atlanta-based CDC said in a statement. Activities might include working with restaurants and food suppliers, grocery stores, schools, hospitals and government facilities to develop low-sodium food initiatives, or launching a media campaign to raise awareness about sodium in the diet.