LiveWell Chaffee County (LWCC) is a one of 24 urban and rural communities receiving funding from LiveWell Colorado. LiveWell Colorado is committed to reducing obesity in Colorado and aims to provide every Coloradoan with access to healthy foods and opportunities for physical activity in the places they live, work, learn and play. They accomplish this through advancing policy, promoting environmental and lifestyle changes that remove barriers, and creating increased access to healthy behaviors. For more information about LiveWell Colorado Community Initiatives, visit www.livewellcolorado.com.
The vision of LiveWell Chaffee County is is that all community members are active participants in healthy eating and active living.
The mission of LiveWell Chaffee County is to improve health outcomes and reduce and prevent obesity in the community by increasing physical activity and healthy eating.
The purpose of LiveWell Chaffee County is to encourage, support and promote changes in policy, environment, lifestyle, planning and education in order to achieve our mission and vision.
Over the past six years, LWCC has worked to build partner capacity, garner community support, and advance projects, programming and infrastructure for key HEAL strategies. The following highlights just a few of the successes realized from the dedicated work of LWCC coalition members and community partners to develop and implement interventions specific to healthy eating and active living:
- A 6-week Cooking MattersTM course was held at the Early Childhood Center for targeted families with children 5-12yo. Parents and children participated in weekly preparations of a low-cost, healthy meal and nutrition education lessons, and went home with a bag of groceries and recipes for the meal prepared and eaten in class.
- Safe Routes to School programs “allow communities to increase the safety and frequency of children walking and bicycling to and from school, and help address traffic congestion, air quality issues, and childhood physical inactivity and obesity” (SRTS National Partnership). Local governments, businesses, and LWCC have worked across the county to install bike lane and pedestrian signage, paint sharrows across 50+ blocks in both Buena Vista and Salida, and distribute SRTS maps identifying routes to all district students.
- The Salida Farm to School Program, initially a collaborative project between Guidestone Colorado, the Salida School District and LiveWell Chaffee County, will move into its 5th year of agricultural education curriculum and fresh veggie production for the district lunch program.
- Updated or new playgrounds provide students with a safe and productive break from classroom activities, a time to socialize, and an opportunity for creative, active play. State-of-the-art playgrounds have been established at a variety of schools across the district: Little APES and Avery Parsons Elementary in Buena Vista, and at Longfellow Elementary in Salida.
Building collaborative relationships and partner capacity is critical for leveraging resources, inspiring action, and mobilizing change for these kinds of successes. LiveWell Chaffee County has strived to be a champion, for example, for creating a local food system that improves access, increases opportunities for nutrition education, and improves the healthfulness of the school food environment. The following infographic illustrates the rich connection of local governments, school districts, businesses, and organizations that LWCC has worked with over the years to create programming and projects that support a thriving local food system.
Rebecca Rice
Community Health Program Manager
HEAL, Diabetes Prevention Program, Tobacco Prevention, Worksite Wellness
Chaffee County Public Health
448 East First Street, Ste. 137
Salida, CO 81201
Phone: (719) 395-0344, x102
rrice@chaffeecounty.org
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