The Center for Health and Human Services
Blue Raiders Drink Up 2.0: Healthy Choices for Healthy Students
Background
As of July 1, 2019, and through June 2022, MTSU implemented exciting and engaging activities as part of a three-year grant award in a proactive effort to help students learn how to make wiser beverage decisions and to live healthy lifestyles. As part of the Tennessee Department of Health’s ongoing Project Diabetes initiative, the agency awarded more than $444,000 to MTSU’s Center for Health and Human Services to implement “Blue Raiders Drink Up: Healthy Choices for Healthy Students.” The purpose was to reduce overweight and obesity as risk factors for the development of diabetes through prevention activities as well as to implement policy changes on campus that support healthy living. As of summer 2022, the BRDU pilot project ended and was an incredible success. Under the first three-year grant pilot project, the center’s BRDU program reached more than 3,700 students with more than 300 taking part in cooking classes, more than 650 engaging in one-on-one counseling and another 2,722 participating in tabling events, social media outreach and online programming.
Updates – June 2025
As of June 2025, we wrapped up BRDU 2.0 funded through a second three-year grant award from the Tennessee Department of Health’s Project Diabetes Initiative In addition to 24 campus-based activities per year, cooking classes, and access to counseling sessions with a health coach, dietitian, and personal trainer, the BRDU 2.0 grant provided partnership activities to support the work of the Raider Food Pantry and also supported development of a Healthy Vending Taskforce which worked towards policy change for healthier vending machine options on campus. In addition, eleven water refill stations were installed as part of BRDU 2.0 and combined with the nine refill stations installed through the pilot project, we now have an additional 20 refill stations on campus with over 280,000 water bottles refilled throughout a six-year period. That is a lot of water bottles saved from the landfill and a lot of water consumption by our campus community! Students received maps of where these stations are located and received water bottles to fill, encouraging water consumption essential to a healthy and balanced diet. All students seeking health services had their body mass index checked and when appropriate, were referred to a registered dietitian, health coach, or personal trainer funded through this grant.
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This project is funded under an agreement with the State of Tennessee Project Diabetes Initiative.
Want a map of where to find refill stations? Click here for a downloadable MTSU Water Refill Station Map.
