It's Time Texas, a statewide grass-roots cause promoting healthy lifestyles, is encouraging communities throughout the state of Texas to join in a friendly competition to see who is the most dedicated to healthy living.

The Healthy at H-E-B Community Challenge, which began Sept. 1 and runs until Oct. 31, seeks to unite and motivate both individuals and organizations to make healthy living the norm in Texas. While the competition has already started, an individual or community can enter the fray at any point.

Cities compete against each other by earning points for a variety of activities. In order for a community to be eligible to win, the mayor must first sign a pledge to support healthy living. As of Sept. 13, a total of 20 mayors have signed up, including San Marcos Mayor Daniel Guerrero.

"Our responsibility as a municipality is to help enhance quality of life," Guerrero said. "As mayors, our biggest asset is our ability to encourage healthy habits."

Kyle Mayor Lucy Johnson also said she plans to participate.

"It's really encouraging and heartwarming to see H-E-B, our local grocery store, take such a proactive approach to children's health and wellness," Johnson said. "I've participated in the program before alongside San Marcos Mayor Daniel Guerrero, and I look forward to participating in the future."

The competition is designed to spotlight communities that are already dedicated to healthy living and to incentivize others to make healthy living a priority, said John Waterman, communications director with Active Life, the Austin-based nonprofit behind It's Time Texas.

Mayors earn points by making a video to challenge another mayor or implementing health initiatives for their community. Guerrero and Johnson are among the city leaders who made videos.

"The video had us competing against one another, doing push-ups and running, doing all sorts of fun things," Guerrero said. "It's a means to encourage our communities to get out into green spaces and be active and make sure our folks are learning new habits to improve their all-around health."

Schools earn points when teachers upload photos and videos of students participating in healthy activities or organize community projects such as playground cleanups or group walks. Businesses and organization leaders sign pledges to support the health of their employees and can also take on community projects.

"We intentionally leave that pretty broad," Waterman said. "We try to make it so people don't necessarily need to do things they're not already doing. The idea is to spotlight health and reward [healthy behavior]."

Individuals earn points by uploading photos and videos of themselves exercising or eating healthy, by hosting a healthy house party or neighborhood events focused on health. While individuals are capable of earning points for their communities on their own, a community cannot win unless its mayor signs on. About 25,000 individuals have already made submissions this year.

Winners receive statewide recognition, a trophy, street banners and a $1,000 grant to support a health project at a local school.

View more details about the competition—including a full list of eligible communities for each size category, as well as how individuals can get involved—by visiting www.hebcommunitychallenge.com.