Faribault, Martin & Watonwan Counties Kick-Off SHIP 3!

Local wellness efforts receives boost from Statewide Health Improvement Program grant

SHIP works to build a foundation of good health for all Minnesotans.

 

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) announced Monday that it has awarded $545,607 in Statewide Health Improvement Program (SHIP) funds for two years to Human Services of Faribault and  Martin Counties in collaboration with Watonwan County Human Services (Faribault, Martin and Watonwan Counties SHIP). These funds will support community wide efforts to improve health though increasing the availability of active living, healthy eating and tobacco-free environments.

"SHIP is the most successful program I have been involved with that brings the community together. This has truly been a success for Watonwan County," says John Baerg, former Watonwan County Commissioner and current SHIP Community Leadership Team Member.

Launched in 2008 as part of Minnesota’s bipartisan health reform effort, SHIP works to help Minnesotans live longer, healthier lives while building healthy, vital communities.  SHIP encourages healthy eating, active living and avoiding commercial tobacco by working with school, communities, workplaces, and healthcare to make healthy choices easier. Statewide, the 2013 legislature supported SHIP with $35 million for fiscal year 2014 and 2015, and now SHIP funding will be available statewide once again. When SHIP began four years ago, it was statewide with $47 million over two years; however, in 2012 and 2013 SHIP received a 70 percent cut and the 15 million allocated only covered about half the state, which included Faribault, Martin & Watonwan Counties.

“We’ve been fortunate to have continued SHIP funding since the program began,” says Faribault, Martin and Watonwan Counties SHIP Coordinator Chera Sevcik, “We are excited to have this opportunity to take our ideas and work to the next level.”

Faribault, Martin and Watonwan Counties SHIP will be able to begin new projects across the region, while continuing its existing community health improvement work, such as:  

·         Working with the Active Living Coalitions in Blue Earth, Wells, Butterfield, St. James, and Madelia to implement policies and practices that create active communities by increasing opportunities for walking and biking.

·         Partnering with our local school districts to improve healthy eating & physical activity during the school day for both students and staff.

·         Partnering with multi-unit housing managers/owners to adopt and implement smoke-free policies inside apartment complexes.

 “We know from research that to really make a real, long-lasting change in the rates of physical activity, healthy eating and tobacco exposure and use, we need to help communities make it easier for their people to succeed,” says Michelle Larson, Interim Director for the Office of Statewide Health Improvement Initiatives, the home for SHIP at MDH. “That is why working with communities has been a cornerstone of SHIP since its inception.”

Grants were awarded to community health boards across Minnesota, which are made up of one or more counties and cities. Faribault, Martin and Watonwan (FMW) Counties SHIP received both implementation and innovative grant awards, allowing our partners to build on its existing health improvement work. The implementation grants are aimed to work with communities, schools, worksites, healthcare and childcare organizations to improve opportunities for healthy eating, physical activity and reduce use of and exposure to tobacco. In addition to the implementation grant work, FMW SHIP also received two innovative grant awards. The first will be to develop a multifaceted, coordinated approach to improve the health of our senior citizens in Martin County. The project includes increasing access to healthy foods, specifically fruits and vegetables for seniors, increasing access to walking and biking and other evidence-based programs aimed to help senior citizens live longer, healthier lives in their communities.  The second project is to work with the community of Madelia to implement a sugary-beverage reduction campaign, similar to what has been done in other communities around the country. This includes implementing policies and practices to reduce consumption of sugary beverages, which have been directly linked to the obesity epidemic.

“We are thrilled to continue our work we started four years ago. SHIP has meant a lot to our community, and we know we have only just begun,” said Sevcik.

NEW for SHIP Partners in Faribault, Martin & Watonwan Counties

You can access documents from the informational meetings, health care meeting and partnership documents such as the letter of intent by clicking here!

Area Schools attend training on Physical Activity during the School Day!

Nine area schools attended a training in June with a focus on improving opportunities for physical activity during the school day. The day started off with Principal Gary Anger from Red Pine Elementary School in Eagan, MN. Gary talked about how his school has really championed wellness initiatives and how school administrators can really helped foster and encourage wellness as part of a school lifestyle. SHIP Supervisor Chera Sevcik provided an overview for attendees on the connection between academics and physical activity. Research continues to demonstrate the more physical activity provided to students, the better the test scores, academic outcome, attention spans and behaviors. Several research studies have been done which show this connection and were shared with the group. Scott Kelly from the Public Health Law Center (PHLC) provided an overview on developing gold standard wellness policies and discussed how schools can work towards good policy change. Several resources were shared from the center and schools are able to access the PHLC at no charge for consultation on their school wellness policies. The training ended with an overview of what schools can expect in SHIP 3 and a brief discussion of the timelines and funding available. About fifty participants attended the training including school physical education staff, school nurses, principals and superintendents, food service directors, community education directors and school teachers.

St. James School Recess Run improves mile run times in phy-ed!

 

St. James Northside Elementary School phy-ed teacher Marcia Eggen has spent the last year encouraging classrooms to be more active. In addition to providing active classroom resources on a monthly basis to all teachers, she encouraged classrooms to participate in the Recess Run challenge - which meant everyday, the participating classrooms would take their students outside and run - in the snow, rain or sun. Two classrooms faithfully participated in this challenge every day and the results are nothing short of amazing! Students mile run times were recorded in the fall as a baseline and then again in the spring. Of the students participating in the challenge, 92% had decreased their mile run times from the fall to the spring, with some students cutting their mile run time in half! The kids reported  that the challenge made them feeling better, running easier and was a lot of fun! In addition to improving student's physical health, research also shows that moving students more throughout the school day improves their mental capacity and improves classroom attentiveness and behavior issues. Northside also recently decided to increase physical education minutes next year! Great job Marcia and Northside Elementary!

City of St. James Kicks Off Employee Wellness Program with Wellness / Walking Challenge

The City of St. James kicked off their first wellness challenge on Monday, June 17th.  During their first week they had over half of their staff participate in the challenge. With SHIP funds they were able to purchase pedometers for each employee to encourage them to participate in the challenge by walking each day during work hours. The challenge entails for every mile they walk outside of work or on breaks they receive a point, if they visit their local fitness center they will receive 2 points and if they participant in healthy events (screening days or lunch and learns)  by the City of St. James they will receive bonus points! To start off the walking challenge they hosted their first screening day. This included utilizing city ambulance staff and volunteers to conduct free blood pressure and glucose reading assessments. If staff members blood pressure or glucose readings were not within a normal range they were referred to local resources for help in managing their health. Those staff members who participated in the screening were eligible for bonus points in their wellness challenge. Over half of the City Staff was screened at this event! The City looks forward to seeing this challenge continue throughout summer!

The City of Wells Gets ACTIVE!

In support of a new City Proclamation encouraging the citizens of Wells to be physically active and eat healthy, the Wells Area Active Living Coalition is sponsoring a 4 Week Healthy Lifestyles Challenge. Even blizzard-like conditions didn't stop nearly 90 citizens from attending the kick-off event and signing up for the challenge at the Wells Community Building on Wednesday, May 1st. Those attending the kick-off received helpful information from the American Heart Association, American Lung Association, Bike Safety, Wells Area Chamber of Commerce, The Grind, Workout 24/7, USC Schools SMART, SPARK and school nutrition, USC Community Education, Safe Routes to School, LANA the Iguana and I Am Moving I Am Learning Early Childhood curriculum.  Bolton & Menk provided a walking map with 6 routes with varying mileage. Delicious and healthy snacks were provided by Wells Marketplace. Registration remained open through May 8th, where an additional 75 participants signed up to participate!

 

Participants in the Challenge received a fact sheet discussing the value of healthy eating and physical activity and a daily log to check off their successes in the following categories:

• No smoking
• 5+ fruits and vegetables
• 64oz water
• 30 minutes of cardiovascular activity
• Stress Management
• Weight Maintenance

The Challenge will end May 29^th 6-8 pm at Half Moon Park with a drawing for prizes and awarding of t-shirts at 7pm for all who check off a minimum of 50 items on the challenge sheet.  Participants are encouraged to bring a healthy picnic lunch and take a walk around the park.

 

 

 

 

Garden Court Apartments in Winnebago Holds Successful Resident Presentation

 

 

Garden Court Apartments in Winnebago implemented a smoke-free building policy that will cover 36 apartments within the building, common areas and the 25 foot perimeter of the building on May 15, 2013.  E-cigarettes are also included in the definition of tobacco products. 

Lois Busse, Apartment Manager for Garden Court Apartments is very excited to be able to provide safe and a healthy environment for its 40 residents.  Busse stated “We knew that we had overwhelming support from our residents to go smoke-free.  The survey we conducted this past winter indicated that over 90% wanted our apartment building to be smoke-free or had no preference.  We also have support from the Theis and Talle, Inc, who is the company that owns our building.”

SHIP staff working with Garden Courts, Bonnie Frederickson, stated, “Lois came to one of our lunch and learn events and wanted us to help them implement a policy.  By working with Live Smoke-Free- a non-profit program that promotes smoke-free apartment living throughout Minnesota-we have the support and resources we need to make this great thing happen at Garden Court Apartments.”  Frederickson stated, “We offered a presentation on April 15 at Garden Court Apartments and had 17 residents attend.  They were surprised to learn about all the damage that secondhand smoke does and what is in secondhand smoke.  Residents are supporting management in this new smoke-free policy.”  Busse noted that cleaning out a unit where the resident has smoked is expensive and is hard to remove the smell of smoke. 

Reba Flanders, a resident at Garden Court Apartments is excited about the policy.  She states, “I feel that making this a smoke—free building would protect me and others from breathing the secondhand smoke that is harmful.  Secondhand smoke affects my sinuses and my lungs.  I should not have to be exposed to these unhealthy conditions that affect my body.  We are looking forward to a smoke-free building for everyone.”

Garden Court Apartments will be working with Frederickson and Live Smoke-Free on the components of implementation including the residents lease addendum (outlines the smoke-free policy), enforcement guidelines, signage options to inform visitors and residents on the new policy, community awareness and promotion of the policy.  A celebration of the Garden Court Smoke-free Building Policy was held on May 15.

Kids Eat FREE This Summer in Windom!

 

Windom Area Schools will be providing Summer Meals for children beginning May 28.  After recently begin approved as a summer meal site, the district will provide nutritious meals for all children ages 1-18 at the Windom Middle School.  Kids can just show up and enjoy a meal that is tasty and nutritious.  Elaine Deutchman, Windom Area Schools Food Service Director said, “We are really excited to be able to offer a nutritious meal for children in Windom.”  The meals will follow Dietary Guidelines for Americans, and the MN Department of Education provides suggested lunch meal patterns, but the choice and preparation is the responsibility of the District.  Deutchman said the kids may be served a Sloppy Joe or a turkey sub sandwich with a variety of fruit and vegetable and milk. 

 

One of the really great things about this program is that any child can participate, and you just have to show up.  There is not registration, so if kids are in the area, they can eat a healthy meal at the Middle School.  All children who are part of community education or summer recreation programs can eat free, if grandparents have grandkids visiting, they can eat free, daycare providers can bring children, and kids who live in the area or who are home without parental supervision can enjoy a nutritious meal and eat free.

 

The meal site will be open Monday through Friday from 11:30-12:30 for all children ages 1-18.  Deutchman said, “We do not need any registration, and parents can come with the children, but we do not provide adult meals, and adults cannot eat off the children’s trays.”  Watch your local paper for more details. 

 

Park Apartments goes Smoke Free!

On April 1st, 2013, a smoke-free policy went into effect at Park Apartments in St. James, MN. The policy includes all units, common areas and provides provisions that exclude tobacco use within 25 feet of the building. Linda Blackstad, Executive Director for the St. James HRA/Park Apartments felt it was essential to provide education to the residents on the benefits of the new policy. "The health and wellbeing of our residents is our top priority. A smoke-free building is safer and contributes to a better living environment" she said. An educational session as held on January 16 with several residents in attendance. They were surprised to learn about the 4000-7000 toxic chemicals in secondhand smoke and want others to know they are breathing in these chemicals when around smoke.

 

 

 

 

Starting April 1st. Park Apartments in St. James are telling residents to put out their cigarettes. The adopted policy bans smoking in all apartment units. Residents will be allowed to smoke on the patio and about 25 feet from the front door.Bonnie Frederickson says, "It creates a healthier and safe living place for the residents." Frederickson is a registered nurse and now works as a community specialist with the local SHIP project. During today's workshop she explained how secondhand smoke has more than 4,000 chemicals which can affect heart and respiratory functions.

The apartment staff says they forward to this change not only for the health benefits but also because the turnover will be much faster and cheaper. They say it can cost up to $3,000 to fix up a unit if the renter was a smoker. Linda Blackstad says, "When we have a smoker who is moving out we have often have to pull the carpet, scrub all the woodwork and we paint and it gets expensive the blinds everything needs to go out."

Residents who are supportive of this policy are not only looking out for their own health, but for the health of their friends and family that visit them. Kay Lang says, "I think it's great, other people who smoke heavily, they are not going to their it's so great, but I can't worry about them. I want to make sure when my grandsons come here they aren't inhaling smoke."

In addition to the tenant education, a celebration was held to kick-off the smoke-free policy at Park Apartments in April!  Here are some photos from the event! 


 

Freedom From Smoking Facilitator Training Offered to Medical Providers

 

 

CJFMW in its effort to strengthen the tobacco cessation skills of health care providers and reduce tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke, an American Lung Association (ALA) “Freedom from Smoking” Facilitator Training was held in St James on Tuesday, March 26, 2013.  This day long training provided tools to help smokers develop a plan of action leading to quit day and providing the support they need to remain smoke-free.

The trainer was Erin Simmons, Program Manager, from ALA of Minnesota.  Registration materials were sent to area health care providers in the five county region.  SHIP offered to pay the tuition of $100 per person for those attending.  Three health care providers- 1 health coach from Sanford Jackson, a private psychological counselor, and a LPN from the Windom Area Hospital attended along with one MSU Community Health Intern and Bonnie Frederickson, CJFMW SHIP Community Specialist.  Each person attending received the training, a comprehensive facilitator manual, and sample participant packet. 

Those that attended commented on the value of the training and how it will better equip them with the skills and materials to work with their clients who use tobacco and want to quit.  Attendees were very appreciative of having our SHIP project offer this program and hope it can be offered again so more health care providers can attend.  They also thanked Erin Simmons for sharing her skills and insights to implement the program in the settings where we work.

Growing interest in gardens at Fairmont Elementary School!

On Wednesday March 20th, Fairmont Area Schools held a Youth Wellness Council meeting and our main focus was Community and School Gardening. Fairmont Area Schools has created a Youth Gardening Program and we felt the Youth Wellness Council would be the perfect group to kick start this program! We asked the students how they felt about gardening and the excitement began! The students came up with a long list of flowers and vegetables that they would like to garden. A Master Gardener from the U of M Extension came to the meeting to help discuss what can be gardened within Minnesota and provided many tips and tools for gardening in small plotted boxes! It was fun to see how excited the students became when we brought up the topic of gardening and how familiar they already were with the different types of seeds. Our next meeting we are hoping it will be warmer so we can place the plots down on school grounds!

Madelia ECFE Hosts LANA/IMIL Parent Night!

 

 

 

 

 

On February 12^th Madelia ECFE hosted a Family Fun Night. Families who participate in Madelia ECFE were invited to attend the Family Fun Event. This night was filled with activities from the LANA (Learning about Nutrition through Activities) and IMIL (I am Moving I am Learning) programs. Families who participate in Madelia ECFE were invited to attend the Family Fun Event. SHIP hosted two trainings last summer on these curriculums to help improve nutrition and increase physical activity among childcare settings. Madelia ECFE showed how affective these trainings were and how implementation of these curriculums has been sustainable. Traci Henry of Madelia ECFE set up stations for Parents and their children to taste test recipes from LANA. They had a bagel station with veggies and fruit but the biggest hit was the sweet potato smoothie! Once taste testing was completed the IMIL activities began! Parents and Children were dancing and moving all around. We had one facilitator comment “I don't know who enjoyed it more....the kids or the adults."

 

Here is the Sweet Potato Smoothie Recipe! 

(Tastes like Pumpkin Pie!)

2 tbsp. OJ

1 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt

1/2 cup mashed canned sweet potatoes

1/8 tsp. cinnamon

 

Mix in blender, makes 4-1/2 c. servings.

Jump Rope for Heart at Southwest Star Concept Schools!

 On February 14, 2013 many of the students at Southwest Star Concept Elementary School in Heron Lake were dressed in red, not only because it was Valentine ’s Day, but also to commemorate Jump Rope for Heart.  Southwest Star Concept Elementary School hosted Jump Rope for Heart activities in cooperation with the American Heart Association.    This was the 15th year the school has participated, and the elementary students raised $2348 to support the American Heart Association’s work to fight heart disease.  In addition to their fundraising, the students participated in jump rope activities.  Kindergarten through fourth grader students got their hearts racing at jump rope stations and in contests, where one student jumped rope nearly 300 times without stopping.  The fifth and sixth grade students worked together in groups for a couple weeks developing jump rope routines.  On Valentine’s Day, those students presented the routines to the student body and community members who came to watch.  Posters that the students made were hung throughout the school to express the importance of heart health and exercise. 

 

The event is a good reminder for children to stay active, keep their hearts pumping vigorously and to have fun with exercise.  Donna Cook, Physical Education Teacher at Heron Lake-Okabena Elementary hosted the event and was proud of the children and their jump rope routines and fundraising efforts.  Cook is leading the efforts at the HLO Elementary to increase physical activity among all children and to develop a comprehensive physical activity program within the district.

WIC Helps Children Play 60 Minutes Every Day!

The Women, Infant and Children (WIC) programs in Cottonwood, Jackson, Faribault, Martin and Watonwan counties are working to reduce obesity among children by increasing physical activity, encouraging better nutrition and reducing screen time. In partnership with SHIP, WIC will be distributing activity kits to promote physical activity. The program is modeled after the evidence based curriculum programs that address childhood obesity- I Am Moving, I Am Learning (IMIL) and Learning about Nutrition through Activity (LANA). WIC nurses will distribute a series of four activity kits on a quarterly basis to families with children ages 3-4 years old. The kits contain resources and tools for children to be more physically active and to help parents find creative, innovative and low-cost ways to be active with their children. Some of the tools and resources included are refrigerator magnets with a list of parks, pools, playgrounds and Community Ed and Recreation (CER) programs in their county, a narrated music CD called “Music Moves Me”, parent brochures to combat common food dilemmas, brochures that offer creative and imaginative play ideas, as well as some tools to engage children in play, such as sidewalk chalk, ribbon wands, beach balls and rhythm sticks.

 

The goal of the initiative is to encourage children to participate in 60 minutes of physical activity every day, and to reduce sedentary behaviors and screen time among 3-4 year olds. WIC hopes that the physical activity will begin to create behavior change among families and children at an early age. By encouraging families with small children to build the foundation for an active lifestyle, children will reduce their risk for chronic disease and eliminate risk factors that contribute to chronic disease. Research shows the earlier physical activity is established with kids, the larger the impact on curbing obesity. WIC is just one step in the comprehensive plan to influence physical activity and health eating among children. Children will also be exposed to IMIL and LANA through childcare, and also be influenced to be physically active and eat well after starting Kindergarten through SHIP at School strategies!

Madelia Moves Towards A More Walkable Community!

Since its inception this past Fall, Madelia Active Living Coalition has moving full speed towards a more walkable/bikeable community. The committee, which includes a broad community membership, is looking at several ways to improve pedestrian travel throughout the city of Madelia. Here are some highlights of their progress:

-          Partnering with community members and the local school district to develop a SRTS program which includes development of a community-led walking school bus program as well as completing a needs assessment to ensure adequate number of crossing guards, painted crosswalks and safety mechanisms, such as removing on-street parking on Main Street next to the school.

-          After completing their walkability assessment, the coalition learned there has been no sidewalk construction in the community in over 80 years, resulting in unsafe conditions for pedestrians. As a result, the group has identified 3 different routes through the community they plan to create a “sharrow” or shared roadway to encourage more safe pedestrian travel. In addition, the group will work with the city to ensure adequate street light to improve safety.

-          The assessment also identified a lack of bike parking and the group plans to improve bike parking as well as bike education in partnership with the school district, law enforcement, hospital and Coughlan publishing company during National Bike to School Day in May.

-          Partner with the county to develop a 5-10 year trails plan connecting the community with the county trail system.

-          Partner with Chamber of Commerce to develop a path across the park to ensure community members have more direct access to community assets (such as the pool).

Downs Food Group Employees Moving More and Eating Healthier!

 

Downs Food Group/Tony Downs Foods (DFG), a large poultry processing plant located in Watonwan County who employs a large minority workforce, has been busy making huge strides towards creating a healthier worksite for hundreds of employees. Downs Food Group is not new to encouraging healthy lifestyles with their employees. Over the past several years, health education has been provided each month to employees as well as ensuring employees have a tobacco free environment by implementing a tobacco-free grounds policy. SHIP funding allowed the worksite to implement more comprehensive, evidence-based strategies to improve employee health and wellbeing. These strategies include establishing wellness committees in each processing plant who oversee and provide suggestions to improving employee wellness. DFG has also recently adopted a comprehensive wellness policy which includes healthy vending, healthy catering and breastfeeding support for employees, tobacco-free grounds policies and cessation support and encouragement of community partnerships to improve physical activity opportunities for employees as well as encouragement of walking and biking to and from work.

To help implement this policy, DFG partnered with Anytime Fitness to reduce gym membership rates for employees. Additionally, DFG also partnered with a personal trainer to provide a fitness challenge. DFG also partnered with their local vendor to ensure 50% of the foods provided in the vending machines were healthier choices.

Moving forward, DFG is exploring the availability of offering stretching programs to reduce repetitive motion injuries; planning more wellness activities including more family oriented events and exploring ways to improve access to healthy foods through gardening and mobile farmers markets.

Congrats to DFG for helping to make Watonwan County a healthier place to live and work!

Food Policy Council Learns About Safe Food Handling and Licensing

 

 

The South Central Food Policy Council (FPC) met January 22, 2013 in Jackson.  Jan Kelly, Southern Area Food Inspection Supervisor from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture addressed the topics of licensing, license types, and safe food handling practices. The information was requested as the continues to work towards their goals of promoting local growers and increasing access to local healthy foods.  The Q and A opportunity was especially valuable to members as they address policy needed to support the local foods movement.

The five-county food policy council was created in April 2012 to assess, learn and improve the local food environment.  At this meeting ten priority food issues were identified and monthly meetings have been held to learn more and address each issue.

·         Promote local growers

·         Hunger and lack of access to healthy food

·         Food preparation – fast, fresh from scratch

·         Compost education

·         Healthy food at corner stores

·         Identification of community kitchens and processors

·         Schools

·         Local government incentives for young farmers in nontraditional farming

·         Education and marketing

·         New USDA regulations for schools

After learning more about these issues, the FPC plans to  create and offer policy to local decision-makers that will ensure commitments to advancing local, healthy food.

For more information:

www.mda.state.mn.us

Jan.L.Kelly@state.mn.us

linda@ruraladvantage.org

Partnership Supports Playground Activity Plan

 

Windom Area Schools is partnering with their school’s Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO) on a playground improvement project.  The partnership began when the PTO approached the Wellness Committee about collaborating to improve student physical activity opportunities.  Both groups easily agreed that working together to develop activity stations on the playground and to improve the sports equipment would be a perfect partnership.  The Wellness Committee is interested in making sure that all children have the opportunity to be physically active during recess, while the PTO has funds available to financially support the change.

 

The PTO has offered money to help support painting the activity stations, so a plan is being devised to best utilize the space available.  That project will begin in the spring or summer of 2013, once the snow has melted and the weather cooperates for painting.  In addition to the playground painting, the PTO has offered to purchase sports equipment.  The elementary Physical Education Teacher is working to compile a list of equipment to support active recess.  A cart was also purchased to store the sports equipment, and an eager do-it-yourself PTO Dad is building another cart by hand to save money.

 

This is a great example of the collaboration that can develop from two organizations working together with similar goals.  Congratulations Windom Area Schools, we look forward to seeing the results of the Winfair Elementary School playground project!

Local Gardener Works with Employers to Provide On-site Farmer's Market!

Bill Brandt, owner and operator of Brandt Gardens & Greenhouse outside of Lakefield, MN  has sold his fresh produce at area Farmers Markets for many years. Bill has always been frustrated by the limitations of selling at the local Farmers Markets, which include limited hours and days to sell. These limitations often did not allow most people the availability to visit the market due to work schedules. Bill recently partnered with CJFMW SHIP to pilot an innovative idea which includes bringing fresh produce to the people where they work by developing a mobile farmers market service targeting employers. 

For the past few months, Bill has been developing a plan to partner with area worksites to create a delivery schedule to bring his fresh produce to worksites. He has purchased a refrigerated trailer and plans to regularly visit employers who are interested in providing this benefit to their employees. As a result of his use of high tunnels, a mechanism to extend his growing season, employees will have access to fresh produce longer than the traditional Minnesota growing season. He hopes to begin offering lettuce, spinach and kale in April, and then will provide a variety of herbs, fruits and vegetables through the summer months and continue to produce tomatoes, kale, spinach and lettuce varieties into October and November.

In addition to employees, employers will also benefit from the worksite farmers market! Research shows higher consumption of fruits and vegetables helps reduce obesity, a major driver of higher health care costs. People who eat healthy foods reduce their risk for heart disease, diabetes and some cancers. Bringing fresh, locally grown foods helps employees and their families lead healthier lives!

 

If you are interested in a mobile farmers market at your worksite, feel free to contact Bill here..