Welcome Aboard for SHIP 2.0!

It's been a busy fall for us SHIP staff! We are excited to annouce that Faribault, Martin and Watonwan Counties have collaborated with Cottonwood and Jackson Counties to write the grant application for SHIP 2.0. We are even more excited to announce that our application was successful and all five counties will receive SHIP funding through the Minnesota Department of Health over the next 18 months! Here is some of the press we recently had:

http://www.keyc.tv/story/16318180/good-news-for-five-counties-in-southern-minnesota

http://fairmontsentinel.com/page/content.detail/id/519767/Counties-team-up-to-win-grant.html?nav=5003


This is very exciting because it allows us the opportunity to continue doing what we love to do - helping to create healthier communities in all of our counties!

Along with a new round of SHIP funds, comes a new round of potential mini-grantees and partners. We are currently accepting mini-grant site applications for the following areas:

Community Physical Activity- Active Transportation
School Physical Activity - Safe Routes to School or Active School Day
School Nutrition - Farm to School or School Nutrition Policies
Healthy Childcare - Physical Activity and Nutrition
Tobacco-Free College Campuses
Healthy Worksites
Health Care Referral

If you are interested in working with SHIP, please contact Chera Sevcik by e-mail to receive an application (chera.sevcik@fmchs.com)

Free Admission Open Swim Dates for Faribault County!

Looking for a place to cool off and get some exercise this summer? Faribault County pools are offering free admission open-swim times thanks to funding from FMW SHIP mini-grantees (Voices of Wellness, Wells, MN).

The dates are staggered so residents are able to participate each week of the swim season!

Blue Earth: July 3, July 31 and August 28 - 12p-8p each day

Briceyln: June 12, July 10, and August 7 - 1:30p-4:30p and 6p-8:30p each day

Wells: June 26, July 24, and August 21 - 1:3op-5p and 6:30p-8:30p each day

Winnebago: June 19, July 17 and August 14 - 12p-8:20p each day

Enjoy!

Community gardens taking shape!

Numerous communities throughout Faribault, Martin and Watonwan Counties are initiating community gardens to help provide opportunities for fresh produce in our communities. Additionally, a number of resources are being developed to help lower income residents access locally grown produce.

Faribault County
The Wells Community Garden, located at The Haven, is beginning its second year and has added an additional 10 plots and 11 new families will be gardening. A garden blog has been set up for gardeners to be able to ask questions and keep updated on events and classes scheduled. Minnesota Green, a part of the Minnesota Horticulture Society provided hundreds of seed packets for use in public/community spaces and all community gardeners in Faribault, Martin and Watonwan Counties benefitted. The Wells Community Garden will be working with the City of Wells HRA to provide Earth boxes for gardening in public housing settings. Additionally, the farmers’ market is being promoted and expanded in Wells with advertising for new vendors. New signage is being provided to advertise hours and direct shoppers to the market. Fresh produce vouchers are being offered to the Wells Area Food Shelf and WIC participants.

Martin County
A new community garden is being established on land near Heritage Meadows in Fairmont. 200 20x20 plots are available to the community. Additionally, a new campaign, ‘I’ve gone Local!’, is being launched to encourage people to support local foods by utilizing farmers’ markets in the county. Vouchers will be available for low income families to help provide locally grown foods through famers’ market programs. For more information about the Fairmont Community Garden, contact Linda Meschke at linda@ruraladvantage.org or by phone at 507-238-5449. Additionally, Martin County 4-H is establishing garden clubs to oversee box gardens at various sites throughout the Fairmont Community. For more information on the 4-H project, contact Rachael Janssen at 507-235-3341.

Watonwan County
The University of Minnesota Extension in Watonwan County continues to expand community gardens throughout the county. Gardens are available in St. James, Butterfield and Madelia. If you don't have the green space for a garden, check out the gardens in a box in the mobile home park in St. James. These gardens are a great opportunity to bring the community together, increase access to nutritious foods, and to increase physical activity. If you're having a hard time growing those tomato plants, don't hesitate to ask for help from the team of Master Gardeners. To learn more about these gardens, contact Kathy Lillevold, U of M Extension Coordinator at 507-375-1275 or lille015@umn.edu. St. James Farmers Market is starting out with a new breath of fresh air this summer! Looking for fresh fruit and veggies? Stop on down to the St. James Farmers Market--downtown parking lot, located in between the VFW and the Legion. Want to sell your own home produce? Contact Molly Westman or Jake Sturm- Farmers Market Coordinators at sjeda@stjames.govoffice.com, or jakeasturm@gmail.com

Area schools gearing up to pass wellness policies

Four school districts in FMW Counties have spent the past year working to revise their school wellness policies and implement practices to ensure students have access to nutritious foods and physical activity during the school day. This will provide them with a head start to implementing the new USDA changes for school foods coming in the next year.

Sharon Hoyt, School Nurse, is heading up the project for Blue Earth Area Schools. Their policy details standards for all foods served through school meals, snacks, vending and concessions. Alternatives for birthday celebrations such as choosing the game for recess and healthy snacks at milk breaks, was presented to the school board in May. The board is expected to decide on the policy at their June meeting. They have made a number of healthy changes, changing from white bread to whole grain, and from 2% milk to skim or 1%. They have also incorporated a grab-n-go breakfast option which allow students to choose healthy breakfast items and charge to their school food account.

Laura Kramer, School Nurse, is heading up the project for Martin County West Schools. Their policy is nearly completed and includes standards for all foods served through school meals, snacks, vending and concessions with specific language regarding allowable foods in the classroom. They have convened a student group to help educate students about the changes and to promote healthier eating in school. Additionally, the school will be purchasing salad bars to ensure all students have access to fresh fruit and vegetables every day.

Suzanne Martin, School Nurse, is heading up the project for United South Central Schools. They are still in the process of drafting their policy and implementation process. They have made a number of healthy changes to their lunch menu and continue to make great progress towards their goals. Their school will be purchasing a snack cart to provide healthy snacks to students.

All three schools are working with consultant Leslie Lytle, PhD, RD, to draft the wellness policies, create educational materials, provide training to food service staff and educate parents and teachers about the new changes.

Additionally, Jane Wolle, School Nurse with St. James Public Schools, has also been working with their wellness committee to revise the current wellness policy. Changes will include providing standards for foods served in schools, through vending, school snacks and celebrations. The new policy will be presented to the board in June.

Soccer: No longer just a vision in Madelia!

The Watonwan County Latino Wellness Council, started with SHIP funds, has identified and begun working on a number of SHIP initiatives. The first project they tackled was working with the City of Madelia to establish a place to play soccer games and to practice. A youth league was started last year and had over 95 children signed up to participate. This league is for youth ages 4-14. A new youth league, for youth ages 15-19, was started this year. Because of the lack of field space, this league was forced to have home games played in neighboring communities. In addition to the youth leagues, there is also a very active adult league who is in need of a home field. The Latino Council worked with the City Administrator to identify land space and draft a proposal to take to the City Council. 12 Latinos along with FMW SHIP Coordinator, Chera Sevcik and Latino Wellness Council mini-grant manager, Ellen De la torre, presented their proposal to the Madelia City Council on March 28. The Madelia City Council approved use of the land for soccer, and even provided additional field space to practice and play until the land has been graded, seeded and is playable.

To help get the field off and running, the Latino Wellness Council is able to use their SHIP mini-grant funds to purchase grass seed, field chalk, soccer goals and a portable storage shed to store community soccer equipment.

FMW SHIP awards 3 new mini-grants!

We are thrilled to announce two new mini-grantees joining our SHIP work! In Faribault County, 4-H and the Blue Earth Area Mentors Program (BEAM) wrote a mini-grant to establish a community garden -in-a-box program. Land has been acquired at the Faribault County Fairgrounds for the box garden projects to go. This program aims to provide education to youth about gardening and understand how and where our food comes from. Two new grants were awarded in Martin County. Martin County 4-H wrote a mini-grant to establish a box garden project. Within the 4-H program, Fairmont Garden Clubs will be established and promoted to youth as a summer activity. Their goal is to incorporate some inter-generational interest by designating 4 sites as home to the garden boxes. Sites will include places like the Martin County Library, daycare centers, Senior and Assisted Living facilities. Youth will be involved in planting, gardening and harvesting their produce. This project will also include an educational curriculum and support from the University of Minnesota - Extension Master Gardeners. Rural Advantage, a local non-profit organization dedicated to connecting local growers with cafeterias, and providing education about local foods, wrote a mini-grant to re-establish the Fairmont Community Gardens in a new site, next the the aquatic center in Fairmont. The land previously used for community gardens will become a new softball complex with construction starting soon. Rural Advantage will be working to re-establish, oversee and market the community garden. Another part of their mini-grant is to incorporate EBT (SNAP Food Support Program) access at the Farmers' Markets in Fairmont. This will allow individuals and families using food support to access fresh, local produce. They will also continue to promote their Farm to Cafeteria Program and provide support to local growers in Martin County.

March Newsletter

We just released our latest newsletter! Click the link below t see whats going on in our three counties!
http://library.constantcontact.com/download/get/file/1104667042538-6/SHIP+Newsletter.pdf

Making Tracks.....

Here in cold country, we tend to hibernate (along side the bears) during the winter months. I've often been heard telling my son when asks to play outside "It's too cold out today, how about we stay inside and read, or color, or play with toys?." I remember very well playing outside in the cold and snow as much as I could when I was little. A time when the sounds of kids sledding down the snow piles, making snow forts or snowmen were normal any day of the winter. I'm sure I am not alone - and that many parents can be heard telling their children the same thing these days. What changed? Is it colder outside now than 20 years ago (doubtful!) or, are we just more lazy? Maybe we are just so attached to our TVs and computers or fear our ipod's would ruined if dropped in the frozen tundra? I am sure there are many factors that have led us to become more sedentary during the winter months - but our SHIP staff made it a goal to show the community (and myself) that there are fun things to do outside in the winter!

We set out on our mission to provide opportunities for our communities to become more aware of winter-time activities and ways to utilize our parks and trails during the winter months. We worked with our friends at Community Education to plan events which will promote out parks, while letting people try out new winter activities. We called up the folks at the Prairie Ecology Center in Lakefield and had them come over to do some snowshoeing in Fairmont and Blue Earth. Not only did the staff from the prairie ecology bus provide snowshoes for people to try, they also provided a Naturist to answer questions about animals, plants and Minnesota Winters.

We planned ice skating days in Butterfield and St. James (but those events had to be canceled due to the February thaw a few weeks back). Below you will find pictures of the brave community members who showed up to make tracks in Cedar Creek Park. (NOTE: we will post photos from the event in Blue Earth soon! :)

Click the link for more photos!

(NOTE: you will be directed to our facebook page).