Katherine Seals, Jamila Freightman, Ruthie Losavio and Denise Holston

In rural Louisiana, food insecurity, poverty and obesity rates are often higher than national and state averages. These challenges make it difficult for residents to access nutritious food and safe communities for physical activity and active transportation, increasing the risk of preventable diseases like Type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Addressing the policies, systems and environments that affect health is crucial to reducing obesity rates and improving the quality of life in Louisiana. However, small towns face significant resource constraints, making these changes a challenge.

The LSU AgCenter Healthy Communities initiative, through cooperative extension, is dedicated to making Louisiana towns healthier places to live, work, learn and play. The initiative helps communities identify local food access and physical activity needs. Local coalitions then work together to ensure healthy food and physical activity are safe, accessible and affordable for everyone.

In 2018, the LSU AgCenter Healthy Communities team was awarded funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for the five-year High Obesity Program (HOP). The program aimed to improve nutrition and physical activity environments in six rural Louisiana parishes with obesity rates over 40%: Assumption, East Carroll, Madison, Morehouse, St. Helena and Tensas. Through the High Obesity Program, the AgCenter Healthy Communities team employed multilevel, community-driven approaches to promote healthy behaviors and improve health outcomes for residents.

From 2018 to 2023, the program improved access to healthier foods by establishing or improving farmers markets and by expanding the acceptance of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Seniors Farmers Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP) benefits at these markets. These improvements potentially impacted more than 30,000 people, which is nearly 40% of the total population of the parishes served.

For example, after two years of community input and planning, the Tensas Healthy Communities Coalition launched a new produce market in St. Joseph in July 2023. This market accepts SNAP and SFMNP benefits, providing low-income residents with the opportunity to spend their benefits locally. Local growers also benefit from having a new outlet to sell their products, creating an economic development opportunity for the parish.

Food access improvements also extended to local food pantries and commodity distribution sites. Eleven community sites adopted nutrition standards to ensure the healthfulness of foods served and distributed, potentially impacting 7,752 people. One example includes Louisiana’s first parishwide school food pantries, Lena’s Closet. In 2022, the St. Helena Healthy Communities Coalition partnered with the St. Helena Parish School District and Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank to launch Lena’s Closet Food Pantries at each school in the parish. These pantries feature nutrition standards and a client-choice model, which help them feel more like grocery stores and ensure healthful options are available to students and their families. This initiative has the potential to impact 3,765 community members.

Another major focus of HOP is improving access to physical activity by making active transportation, like walking and biking, safer and easier. Healthy Communities coalitions, led by AgCenter Nutrition and Community Health (NCH) agents, collaborated with local leaders to develop Complete Streets plans to make transportation safer for all road users, including pedestrians, bicyclists and people in wheelchairs. These plans were formally adopted by local government agencies to secure future funding for infrastructure that supports active transportation. Over the course of the five-year program, approximately 32 miles of pedestrian routes and 24 miles of bike routes were addressed through new and improved policies and plans. These efforts are expected to impact 25,000 people through future improvements.

More than $4.25 million in outside funding was secured across all six parishes to support physical activity enhancements and implement Complete Streets plans. For instance, the Assumption Healthy Communities Coalition worked with local youth to help Assumption become the second parish in the state to pass Complete Streets plans for communities with fewer than 5,000 residents. The local police jury passed plans for two small towns, ensuring that the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (LaDOTD) will be aware of community needs during highway maintenance. These plans will address more than 5 miles of bike and pedestrian routes, improving access to physical activity for approximately 4,816 residents.

Another example of community collaboration is the East Carroll Healthy Communities Coalition's partnership with the parish police jury, sheriff’s office and local youth leaders to implement a connectivity plan around Kendall’s Park in Lake Providence. The group painted crosswalks to connect a nearby apartment complex and school to the park, upgraded park equipment and installed a blessings box where community members can donate and pick up shelf-stable foods. The community now plans to repair sidewalks surrounding the park as part of their larger Complete Streets connectivity plan.

Beginning in 2023, the HOP program expanded to six more parishes: Claiborne, St. Martin, Winn, Catahoula, Washington and Terrebonne. The Healthy Communities team will continue to use community-driven, collaborative approaches to make healthy living more accessible and improve the overall quality of life for rural Louisiana residents. Learn more about Healthy Communities at www.LSUAgCenter.com/HealthyCommunities

Katherine Seals is a research coordinator the LSU AgCenter School of Nutrition and Food Sciences, and Jamila Freightman is the CDC High Obesity Program manager for the AgCenter. Ruthie Losavio is the communications coordinator for the AgCenter Healthy Communities initiative, and Denise Holston, an associate professor in the AgCenter School of Nutrition and Food Sciences, leads the Healthy Communities initiative.

This article appears in the summer 2024 issue of Louisiana Agriculture.

A woman shops for groceries at a food bank. Photo by Ruthie Losavio

Graphic by Ruthie Losavio

The East Carroll Parish Healthy Communities Coalition partnered with the parish police jury, sheriff’s office and local youth leaders to implement a connectivity plan around Kendall’s Park in Lake Providence. Provided photo