During the first year of the CDC High Obesity Program grant, extensive exploration and planning has taken place in Martin County. Currently, the adult obesity rate of Martin County is 40.2%, which is greater than state and national averages respectively. Further, this rural county experiences chronic economic disparity and depreciating environmental resources. In particular, the poor water quality drastically impacts the county, as many residents are left without an accessible and clean water source for usage or consumption. Therefore, a community-focused PSE approach has been enacted in order to address some of the public health and environmental structures local citizens experience.

While working closely with several coalition community members, such as the local extension office, school district foodservice director, grocery store owners, department of transportation and local health agency, long term planning has begun to take shape to improve and expand the local food system and connectivity of the county. By addressing these components, we hope to mitigate some of the barriers the community faces that hinder making healthy lifestyle choices. Our goal is to create a more conducive environment to positively increase the number of healthy food choices made and the amount of physical activity engaged in by the community. Implementing infrastructural and behavioral programs and policies can have lasting impacts and improvement on the overall public health of the 11,452 county residents.  

Several forms of outreach and promotion have been outlined that utilize existing resources and programs in the county, as well as development and planned implementation of new programs, all supporting positive food and physical activity choices. A Farmer’s Market Coalition program, known as POP Club (Power of Produce Club), is a kid-focused initiative that has been planned and will be executed throughout July and August at the Martin County Farmer’s Markets. Further, given the strong presence of faith-based organizations, an existing health-centered program known as Faithful Families has been implemented in two local churches. This program takes church members through an eight-week health and nutrition education program that supports fruit and vegetable intake and increasing physical activity among families by intertwining faith principles. Although conclusion of these programs has not occurred, we are optimistic of the impact they will have on participants.

A number of planned structural and collaborative partnerships are currently underway for the coming years in Martin County. This grant and the involved investigators and members are working to solve the various health-related disparities the community faces by marrying existing resources, while actively introducing new and effective programs that improve the local food system, accessibility and overall connectivity.