Community Update

ASTRAZENECA
HEALTHCARE FOUNDATION AWARDS $209,800 GRANT TO THE FOOD TRUST

PHILADELPHIA,
Pa. (Feb. 6, 2014) – The
AstraZeneca HealthCare Foundation’s Connections
for Cardiovascular HealthSM
program today announced a grant of $209,800 to The Food Trust to support its
Healthy Corner Store Network Heart Smarts program.

This community-based
project in low-income Philadelphia neighborhoods will develop new
prevention-based services as part of The Food Trust’s Healthy Corner Store
Initiative, with the goal of reducing modifiable risk factors for
cardiovascular disease. The program seeks to accomplish this through corner
store-based education focused on good nutrition and healthy behaviors,
increased access to affordable, nutritious food, new policy measures to curb
tobacco use, and the piloting of an innovative model to integrate free health
screenings in healthy corner stores with a health referral process for at-risk
adults.

“We're thrilled to be
working with the AstraZeneca HealthCare Foundation and its Connections for Cardiovascular HealthSM program to
improve the health of Philadelphians,” said Yael Lehmann, executive director,
The Food Trust. “Through our Healthy Corner Store Initiative, The Food Trust
works to improve access to healthy food in corner stores. With this grant and
in partnership with Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Center for Urban
Health, we will be able to offer free screenings for blood pressure and stroke
risk, along with other education and activities to help people make healthy
choices and reduce their risk of heart disease.”

Philadelphia is the
poorest of the nation’s 10 largest cities based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau.[1]
And heart disease and stroke are the first and third leading causes of death,
respectively, according to the Philadelphia Department of Public Health.[2]
About 23,000 Philadelphians have died of these diseases in the past five years.[3]
In 2010, 66 percent of adults and 41 percent of children were overweight or
obese.[4]
Other major risk factors for cardiovascular disease include smoking (one in
four adults) and hypertension (one in three adults).[5]
The grant from the AstraZeneca HealthCare Foundation will support The Food
Trust’s efforts to reverse these sobering health statistics.

“Cardiovascular disease remains
the leading cause of death in the United States, and organizations like The
Food Trust are creating innovative programs to help prevent and decrease the
associated risks with this devastating disease,” said James W. Blasetto, M.D.,
MPH, FACC, chairman of the AstraZeneca HealthCare Foundation. “We are grateful to
The Food Trust for its commitment to improving heart health in their
community.”

The Connections for Cardiovascular HealthSM
program annually awards grants of $150,000 or more to U.S.-based nonprofit
organizations dedicated to working to improve cardiovascular health in local
communities. This year, the program awarded nearly $3.7 million in grants to 19
organizations. More than $14 million in grants have been awarded through the
program since its inception in 2010.

Organizations can learn
more and apply online for a Connections
for Cardiovascular HealthSM
grant at www.astrazeneca-us.com/foundation. Applications must be submitted
online no later than 5 p.m. EST on Feb. 27, 2014.

-ENDS-

Media Inquiries

Public
Communications Inc.: Colleen O’Donnell or Sky Opila, 312-558-1770

The Food Trust: Ryanne
Jennings, 215-575-0444 ext. 188