Healthy Eating, Active Living
The growing obesity epidemic among adults and children is a multi-faceted challenge. Over the past three years SLHI has become increasingly involved with partners in addressing it. Healthy Eating, Active Living reflects a coalescing of this work in the following set of strategies:
- Promoting healthy community design.
- Supporting community-based efforts that promote healthy eating and active living.
- Improving availability of health foods and consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables.
- Improving the built environment of neighborhoods.
In FY2011 SLHI has:
- Worked with communities and the City of Phoenix in approaching its General Plan with regards to health and the built environment.
- Continued support for “Making Sustainable Communities Happen,” in partnership with LISC/Phoenix and the Stardust Center for Affordable Homes and the Family.
- Continued work on Maryvale on the Move, with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
- Analyzed data from the Arizona Health Survey to inform strategies and approaches.
- Maintained and active connection and partnership with the Healthy Weight Maricopa community of practice.
- Partnered in the establishment of a half-dozen community gardens.
- Sponsored and participated in a regional community garden conference, and advised the City of Phoenix to develop a comprehensive policy for urban agriculture.
- Developed the infrastructure to conduct a community food assessment using the Nutrition Environment Measures Survey (NEMS) – including the first-ever implementation of NEMS in Spanish.
Decades of change in built environment, personal behaviors, food production and food consumption are considerable potential barriers to a healthier future. Perhaps just as considerable is our collective ability to see where we want to go while staring into the reality of where we are. Work at the neighborhood, community, municipal and state level will help create opportunities for those who do.