Local WIC awarded CDC grant; coalition meeting Friday

HART — The Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program of District Health Department #10 (DHD#10) is one of 17 local WIC agencies in the country that has been selected to participate in a Chronic Disease Center (CDC) grant.

The first community coalition meeting will be Friday, April 24, at noon at the DHD#10’s Hart office. A light lunch will be served. The Health department is inviting community stakeholders, such as businesses, schools, churches, health care providers and consumers. If you are interested in being part of this exciting project, contact Stephanie at 873-5813 by April 23.

The purpose of the project is to create and carry out a community-driven plan to lower chronic disease through policy, systems and environmental changes. The project will focus on two major risk factors — poor nutrition and lack of access to chronic disease prevention resources.  The CDC awarded the National WIC Association (NWA) a cooperative agreement to work with local WIC agencies to support healthy mothers, children and communities. The NWA is partnering with the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists (ACOG). The local ACOG partner will be Mercy Health Physician Partners-Lakeshore Medical, Shelby office. Project activities will include building a community coalition; conducting a community needs assessment; and launching a community action plan. Strategies may include expansion of healthy food options in stores and expansion of farmers markets and/or working with vendors to include nutrition information on products and displays.

Other CDC national partners include The American Heart Association and The American Planning Association.