Investing in the health of NE Iowa children and their families

Ann MansfieldCo-Convener & Project Coordinator

Haleisa JohnsonCommunity Health Work Group, Central Community Hospital

Flannery CerbinCommunications Liaison

“Game Plan” for Community-wide Change

• Collaborative approach based in relationship building and system change

• Focus on policy, systems, and environmental changes in rural areas – creating a model

• Identify successful strategies for rural areas to improve the environments to support health and prevent obesity.

“Prep for a Successful Season”• Planning, Recruitment, Building Commitment-

Shared Vision– Overview – Rural Model

• Creating the Plays/Teaching the Skills– Community Action Plan

• Game Time – School Wellness Outreach

Introduction to the Food & Fitness Initiative

Assumptions• Articulate a compelling purpose and shared vision

• Engagement is center to our work – especially Youth

• Build on community assets

• People will support what they help create

• “Policy” includes practices & institutional policies, as well as legislation at all levels.

• Using a systems approach we focus on: – the system most likely to result in the future we

want– all components of that system– relationships among the components– investments that will have the most impact on

creating that system and our desired results

• We work in service of the whole, while maintaining our organizational and individual identities.

• Partnerships are critical to the work, but challenging at the same time.

• Embed the work in existing organizations and infrastructures to assure sustainability

Building Skills for the “Season”

Engaged community members & organizations

Assessing Current RealityThe Built Environment

Community Mapping Inventory of NE Iowa Built Environment School Use Surveys NE IA Regional Safe Routes to School

Project www.iowafoodandfitness.org

The Food System• Annual Reports of NE Iowa Food & Farm Coalition• Consumer household survey • Institutional survey results • Food shed mapping

School Food• School site visits – School Wellness and Food service• Concession stand surveys• School food service survey• Annual Farm to School Chapter Report

“Developing the Plays, Teaching the Skills “

Community Action Plan – Year 3

•School Environments•Local Food System•Active Living Opportunities

Strategy A: School EnvironmentsPolicy and System Change Targets: • Procurement policy allows for geographical preference of

local foods in schools

• Identify and interpret existing policies that align and support geographic preference of local foods in schools

• Evidence of school wellness policy incorporated in School Improvement Plan

Strategy A: School Environments

Tactics:• Support a regional learning community • Encourage and support school districts to develop

an active school wellness committee• Incorporate healthy local foods into school food

programs• Regionally, communicate and support

comprehensive state and federal school food and beverage policy implementation

• Build demand and support a variety of physical activity options before, during and after school time.

Strategy A: School Environments

Activities to support system, policy and environmental changes:• School Wellness Action Plans• Farm to School program in regional schools• Safe Routes to School program in regional schools• Home Grown Lunch Week• Food Service workshops • Producers contracts• K-3 Curriculum taught by high school students• School gardens• Regional Messaging campaign – focused on parents

Strategy A Early Successes

Strategy B: Food System

Policy and System Change Targets : • Invest in new and existing producers who produce food for

local food systems

• Development/maintenance of storage/processing capabilities for local food

Strategy B: Food System

Tactics:• Regional food system learning community (internal and

external)• Create opportunities for value chain partners to engage in

food system planning• Create opportunities for new & existing producers to engage

in local food system• Support and facilitate local food value chain development • Increase sale and consumption of local food

Strategy B: Food System

Activities to support system and policy changes (Target 1 of 2):

• Educational Speakers, Workshops & Field Days • Focus on Beginning Farmers• Focus on Institutional Markets• Micro Loan Program• Entrepreneurial Networking• Mini-grants • Regional Food Directory• Development of Food Safety Certification process

Strategy B: Food System

Activities to support system and policy changes - Target (2 of 2):– Support and facilitate development of aggregation hubs– Support and facilitate development of small scale processing facilities– Identify and network with assets and partners in the Driftless Region – Activities in Schools:

• School Food Service Networking meeting• ServSafe Training• Knife Skills and SafeFood Training for Food service • Knife Skills and SafeFood Training for Family/Consumer Science• 5th Season Workshops• Home Grown School Lunch Week• Producer Visits to schools • Face of the Farmer and Food of Month materials• School Food Webinars

Strategy B Early Successes

• NE Iowa Food and Farm Coalition Annual Report – 2010; Local food sales have doubled in last year

• Luther College—Sodexo—GROWN Locally Food Safety Certification Process

• School Food Service Workshops – Building capacity for local food and school garden produce in our schools

Strategy C: Active Living – Safe Routes to School

Policy and System Change Target: • Develop readiness for policy, system and infrastructure

changes to support walking and bicycling to and from schools in rural communities.

Tactics:• Support a regional active living learning community• Encourage and support school districts to develop an active

school wellness committee to align with the Food & Fitness Initiative

• Foster relationships between schools and communities around opportunities to support school wellness committees and active transportation to and from school

• Regionally, promote youth and family participation in physical activity and play every day

Strategy C: Active Living – Safe Routes to School

Strategy C: Active Living – Safe Routes to School

Activities to support systems and policy change:• Integrating work on comprehensive planning with community

engagement, education and encouragement for SRTS• Build on the mapping work done so far; expand this work to

more communities. • Engage city and county engineers, city managers, and others

sharing best practices on complete streets, trails, sidewalks, etc.

• Connect infrastructure decision-makers to parents and others who have the users perspective on what would help with active transportation.

Strategy C: Active Living – Safe Routes to School

Activities to support systems and policy change (cont):Active living in schools:

• Continue to build more active living activities into school wellness plans.

• SRTS activities for Engagement, Education and Encouragement

• Leverage SRTS Liaison’s technical knowledge with school wellness resource contacts spending more time in schools

Strategy C: Active Living

Activities to support systems and policy change (cont):Families, pre-schools and young children:

• Building on momentum to do more to get young kids outside.

• Engage several organizations that work with families and vulnerable kids including: HAWC, NE IA Community Action, Helping Services, DNR, and county conservation boards.

• Focus this work on vulnerable children and their families; what can be done to get more of these children playing outside?

What is the Change? LocalQuestions

Potential Key Players Local

StateQuestions

Potential Key PlayersState

FederalQuestions

Potential Key Players

Walking and bicycling infrastructure exits in communities for children and adults to use for local transportation

How many children walk or bike to and from school?How many adults use walking or biking for local transportation?What is the infrastructure that currently exists for walking and biking?What is needed to improve the infrastructure for walking and biking?

School board members• PTA• Wellness Policy Team• School Administration• County/City Dept. of

Health, Planning, Public Safety, Transportation

• Health Providers• Biking and Trail groups

Are there state policies regarding children getting to and from school as it relates to walking and biking? If yes, what are they?What are the state opportunities for funding for development and maintenance of walking and bicycling infrastructure?

Iowa Dept. of Education, Iowa Dept. Public Health, Public Safety, Transportation

State Legislators Iowa State Board of

Education Iowa Healthy Kids

Task Force Iowa Partners for

Healthy Kids State Associations for

Physical Education/Activity, Sports, Health, PTA, Biking, Public Safety

What policies in the Transportation Bill relate to infrastructure for walking and bicycling?What are the federal opportunities for funding for development and maintenance of walking and bicycling infrastructure?

US Departments of Education, Transportation, Public SafetyNat’l Conference State LegislaturesHouse and Senate Committees on Education and TransportationStaff of Senators Harkin and Grassley; Representative Braley and Rep. LathamNat’l health, Public Safety and Physical Activity Groups

What might success look like?Increased number of youth walking or biking to school.

How might we measure the impact? Increased number of youth reporting walking & # bikes ridden to school on Fall and Spring dates.

What Activities will help us activate our Tactic, leading to policy and system change?AssessmentsEducational SpeakersSafety Routes to School mini-grants in 6 target schools.

Strategy C: Ensure that communities have a built environment that supports abundant opportunities for physical activity and play.Physical Activity and Built Environment Tactic: Regionally increase youth and family participation opportunities, programming,

and system/plans for physical activity and active play every day.Policy Target #4: Development/maintenance of infrastructure for walking and bicycling to and from schools in rural communities.

Strategy C Early Successes

• School Wellness Action Plan – incorporated activities to increase physical activity before, during and after school

• Increased number of schools – participating in , reviewing mapping, etc.

• IDOT-SRTS Non-infrastructure grant for regional rural model• Active Living - SRTS workshops in 2010-2011• Regional awareness and promotion – Bicycle Rodeos, Physical

activity promotional events• Walking School Bus interest• Increased average number of kids walking to and from school

Strategy C Early Engagement

“Game Time”Team:

FFI School OutreachGame Plan:

Invest in School Wellness Goal:

Integrate Farm to School,Safe Routes to School,Youth Engagement

FFI School Outreach Team

FFI School Wellness Action Plan

• Activities to support system and policy change in schools• Develop school wellness teams with diverse

representation• Assist with alignment of mandates (Iowa Core Curriculum,

Healthy Kids Act)• Develop and build on readiness for change; every school is

different

FFI School Outreach2010-2011

“Game Film”

FFI Regional Messaging CampaignCommunications PlanFall 2010 • School Decision Makers• Producers• City/County Decision MakersSummer /Fall 2011•Parents – K-3 children

Investing in the future of Allamakee, Chickasaw, Clayton, Fayette, Howard & Winneshiek

Counties

www.iowafoodandfitness.org