USDA announced $9 million in grants, funded through the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative, to help develop childhood obesity intervention programs through colleges and universities in 12 states and Puerto Rico.

"One-third of the children in the U.S. are overweight or obese, making this issue one of the greatest health challenges facing our nation," said Tom Vilsack, USDA secretary. "It is critical that we make the effort to help our children be healthy kids, and develop into healthy adults," said Vilsack.

The awards include:

California State University, Chico, Calif., $149,890

University of California-Berkeley, Berkeley, Calif. $777,508

University of California-Davis, Davis, Calif. $690,537

Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colo., $990,984

University of Connecticut, Mansfield, Conn., $149,603

Florida International University, Miami, Fla., $150,000

University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami, Fla., $584,661

University of Illinois, Champaign, Ill., $448,385

Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, $693,768

Michigan State University, East Lansing, Mich., $833,509

Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., $969,157

Duke University, Durham, N.C., $50,000

Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pa., $870,473

Ponce School of Medicine, Ponce, Puerto Rico, $149,889

Tennessee State University, Nashville, Tenn., $149,668

Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, $840,957

Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, $906,530

 A complete list of each school’s project descriptions can be found here.