PATTERSON, La. — The City of Patterson has been recognized for completion of key health and wellness goals for Let’s Move! Cities, Towns and Counties, a major component of first lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! initiative dedicated to solving the childhood obesity epidemic within a generation.

Patterson received eight medals from the National League of Cities for action taken to improve access to healthy, affordable food and for increasing opportunities for physical activity.

The medals awarded were:

—Bronze and silver in Goal I: Start Early, Start Smart. The awards are for promoting participation in Let’s Move! Child Care among early care and education providers using at least three approaches and for having an active interagency collaboration on early care and education programs.

—Bronze medal in Goal III: Smart Servings for Students for having at least 60 percent of public schools participating in the school breakfast program.

—Bronze medal in Goal IV: Model Food Service for identifying all food vendors and contractors for municipally- or county-owned or operated venues that serve food, along with the dates when their contracts can be amended or renegotiated.

—Bronze, silver and gold medals in Goal V: Active Kids at Play for mapping all play spaces, completing a needs assessment of play spaces, developing an action plan and launching at least three proven policies, programs or initiatives from the action plan to continue to increase access to physical activity.

“The City of Patterson will continue to do what it can do to fight childhood obesity simply because I have been fighting obesity all my life, and I have endured the physical, emotional, social and economic impacts related to the disease,” Mayor Rodney Grogan said.

The National League of Cities is the lead collaborating partner on this initiative — working with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the National Association of Counties and other nonprofit organizations — in assisting local elected officials to implement policy and environmental changes to prevent childhood obesity. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has awarded the league a grant to provide technical assistance to local elected officials working to create healthier communities and prevent childhood obesity.