RHTP Health and Lifestyle (Initiative 9)

The Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) is issuing this Request for Applications (RFA) to establish grant agreements with eligible subrecipients under Florida's Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP). The Health and Lifestyle Initiative is a core component of RHTP, designed to reduce food insecurity, improve nutrition outcomes, and decrease the burden of preventable chronic disease among residents of rural Florida. The initiative operates through three interconnected pathways: Clinical Nutrition and Food Security, Community Nutrition Education and Outreach, and Youth Nutrition and Fitness Education. Applicants may propose one or more pathways within a single application. • The Clinical Nutrition and Food Security pathway integrates standardized food insecurity screening into rural clinical encounters, delivers brief evidence-based nutrition counseling, and closes referrals to community food resources. • The Community Nutrition Education and Outreach pathway provides Community Health Worker (CHW)-led nutrition education programming in community settings, aligning with evidence-based frameworks such as USDA MyPlate or CDC Diabetes Prevention Program. • The Youth Nutrition and Fitness Education pathway promotes physical activity through the Presidential Fitness Test in partnership with rural school districts and supports nutrition classes in middle and high schools aligned with USDA Team Nutrition and Florida Department of Education health education standards. Eligible applicants include Federally Qualified Health Centers, Rural Health Clinics, Critical Access Hospitals, County Health Departments, licensed primary care physician and Advanced Practice Provider-led practices, Community-Based Organizations, and rural school districts. Applications will be evaluated based on organizational capacity, program design and pathway model, regional coverage and rural access impact, partnerships and food access network, workforce capacity and technology, data collection and reporting, and sustainability plan.