Healthy Active Arkansas, in partnership with the Delta Dental of Arkansas Foundation, will
award a water bottle filling station to both Davis Elementary and Hill Farm Elementary as part of the Rethink
Your Drink: Choose Water grant program. This program, supported by a grant from the Delta Dental of
Arkansas Foundation, is designed to encourage students, teachers and staff to drink water instead of sugary
drinks during the school day, which helps support oral health and a healthy weight.
The two Bryant schools were selected out of more than 120 schools through a competitive application process.
Davis Elementary and Hill Farm Elementary will receive the water bottle filling stations, which will replace an
existing water fountain in each school, this spring where it will be installed before the start of the 2020-21
school year. As part of the program, both schools have committed to encouraging students and staff to choose
water over sugar beverages by promoting the new filling station throughout the school year. The district,
supported by school nurses and the Hornet Health Center, launched the Hornet Hydration campaign last fall to
encourage water drinking as part of a healthy lifestyle. With the installation of these two new stations, all Bryant
Schools will have water bottle filling stations.
Drinking plenty of water, if fluoridated, plays an important role in preventing cavities and maintaining oral
health. Further, drinking water can help combat obesity, increase energy levels and may increase students’
cognitive functions.
Healthy Active Arkansas is a 10-year framework to increase the number of Arkansans at a healthy weight. There
are nine priority areas, including sugar-sweetened beverage reduction, that include evidence-based strategies
that impact the health of the state. To learn more about Healthy Active Arkansas, visit www.healthyactive.org.
