Cultivating Beter Health
Local Initiatives and Community Gardens Plant Wholesome Seeds by Linda Sechrist
T
he Eat Fresh, Eat Local move- ment, which began in 1971 at Chez Panisse Alice Waters’ restaurant, in Berkeley, California, has slowly grown from a band of loca- vores in search of fresh produce into a national trend. Even First Lady Michele Obama has enthusiastically embraced eating more homegrown fruits and veggies and participating in community gardens as components of her Let’s Move! initiative. Hoping to stem the nation’s rising rates of obesity and dia- betes in adults and children, many state and county government departments are taking steps to encourage physical activity and facilitate better access to fresh, wholesome foods.
Southwest Florida communities are also concerned about the long-term health effects of obesity and how it drives up the costs of health care. Mo- tivated by the results of a 2010 state- wide study that indicated high rates of overweight or obese adults—nearly 58 percent in Collier County and 61 percent in Lee—the two county health departments have begun to support and promote various community health- oriented initiatives.
Local Initiatives Foster Wellness Organized by the Lee County Health Department, the Fit-Friendly Coali- tion of leaders and local businesses is a comprehensive, community-based action plan to promote better health. “The coalition’s projects and initiatives are intended to establish and sustain a community culture of healthier life- styles and help Lee County residents achieve a health and wellness mindset, improve nutritional habits and increase physical activities,” says Amanda Rich- mond, an administrative staff assistant. Helping to tip the scales in a posi-
30 Collier/Lee Counties
tive direction is the Safe and Healthy Children’s Coalition of Collier County, led by NCH Healthcare System. The coalition’s 95210 Let’s Go! is a com- munity-wide initiative that promotes healthy lifestyles for children and seeks to defeat childhood obesity with a daily recipe of nine hours of sleep; five serv- ings of fruits and vegetables; two hours or less of screen time outside of school; at least one hour of daily physical activ- ity; and zero sugary beverages. Stacy Revay, healthy communi- ties coordinator for the Collier County Health Department and chairwoman of the Collier County Smart Growth Coali- tion (SGC), notes that businesses, gov- ernments and individuals are only now coming to grips with obesity’s previ- ously overlooked costs, such as higher insurance premiums. “The Mayo Clinic reports that among its employees and their adult dependents, annual medical costs are an additional $1,850 more per overweight person than for someone of healthy weight,” she advises. The Role of the Built Environment Community planners are also beginning to recognize how the built environment either inhibits or fosters the ability to be physically active and access healthy food, a topic that was the focus of 300 presentations at the 2011 meeting of the American Public Health Associa- tion. “The SGC began to recognize as early as 2009 that residents couldn’t move more or eat healthier foods without changes in their community environment,” says Revay, who notes that safe sidewalks, trails and bicycle lanes are necessary to make it easier for people to leave their cars at home and walk or bike.
According to A Citizen’s Guide to LEED for Neighborhood Develop-
swfl.naturalawakeningsmag.com
ment, physical and economic access to sources of healthy food such as com- munity gardens, farmers’ markets, full- service grocery stores or other sources of fruit and vegetables is associated with higher intakes of healthy foods and reduced risk of chronic disease. Revay says one of SGC’s objectives is to encourage future developers to consider such aspects when designing, building or redeveloping communities. To help support more physical activity, the SGC created a Healthy Development Checklist (HDC) to use as an evaluation tool for future redevelop- ment and new development projects in Collier County, and conducted a sample study of 20 local built devel- opments to determine an appropriate threshold for scoring. Three main areas of consideration were walkablity, street and block design and school access.
Accessibility and Affordability The HDC also factored in access to Col- lier Area Transit (CAT) sites. “Accessibili- ty isn’t always the only issue to consider; affordability can also be a key hurdle to a healthier diet,” advises Revay, who focused on both and organized a weekly farmers’ market at the Collier County Government Complex that now serves more than 2,000 county employees. To
Collier County Government complex farm market
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64