COLUMBIA (WACH) - A Midlands school helped kick off a nationwide initiative to raise awareness for obesity in America Tuesday.
HBO, in collaboration with Whole Kids Foundation and GLOBALTAP, has selected Satchel Ford Elementary School and Columbia to be a part of 12 cities to kick off a new campaign that is tied to HBO's The Weight of the Nation documentary series.
The campaign will implement 100 salad bars and water filtration systems in schools across the country.
"We're seeing children as young as first second and third grade with type II diabetes, and when I was growing up in school thats one thing that we did not see," said Imogene Clarke, the Director of Student Nutrition Services for Richland One.
Mayor Benjamin, along with other officials, attended the unveilling of the salad bar at Satchel Ford Elementary School Tuesday morning.
According to officials with Dish Communications Inc., The Weight of the Nation premieres Monday, May 14 at 8 p.m. on HBO. All films will be made available in English and Spanish, and will also stream free of charge on HBO.com, as well as on multiple platforms by participating television service providers.
(Kara Durrette and Katie McKee contributed to this report.)
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