(03/19/25) WINNSBORO, La. — Community organizers in several of the rural towns and villages that dot Franklin Parish have banded together to improve quality of life in their communities.

New festivals, farmers markets and town events fill the parish calendar. Park improvements draw families to once neglected areas. Grant-funded programs are making the areas more pedestrian-friendly.

These community-wide improvements have been instrumental in helping individuals make their own positive changes, which is at the heart of the LSU AgCenter’s Healthy Communities initiative.

“With healthy communities, it's about building coalitions,” said Quincy Vidrine, LSU AgCenter nutrition and community health agent. “It's getting the right people together at the right table for the right projects.”

The Healthy Communities program aims to make Louisiana towns healthier places to live, work, learn and play by engaging community members to seek out solutions to health barriers.

In Franklin Parish, Vidrine works with a coalition that is strong and seeing success. Nick Poulos, a member of the Franklin Parish Healthy Communities coalition and the executive director of Friends of Crowville, said some of their early initiatives were met with some uncertainty.

“Originally, when we started the farmers markets, the first reaction was, ‘It's not going to make it,’ and then the second reaction is, ‘Well, it'll only make it this time,’” Poulos said. “Now the reaction is, ‘How successful is the next one going to be?’”

Crowville was the first community in the area to receive a $1 million Transportation Alternatives Program grant. The grant is being used to improve sidewalks and pedestrian crossings in the unincorporated community, encouraging walking and biking in rural areas.

When the grant was awarded, other communities in the parish took note and turned to Poulos for advice.

“We knew that when we could figure it out, we had an obligation to share it with the other communities. Just like we did with the TAP grant, just like we've done with the Healthy Communities,” Poulos said.

The town of Wisner and the villages of Gilbert and Baskin are following suit and applying for their own TAP grants which aim to address the needs of all road users, including pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists and people with disabilities.

Heather Carroll, with the nonprofit Grow Gilbert, said residents in Gilbert need accessible sidewalks to move around safely.

“Our sidewalks, what little we have, are crumbling,” Carroll said. “People are crossing five lanes of traffic to get to our businesses.”

In addition to infrastructure and walkability improvements, these communities have also implemented food assistance programs, farmers markets, community gardens and youth cooking classes.

CHOW, which stands for Combatting Hunger on Weekends, is a program that helps purchase, collect, sort, pack and deliver easy-to-prepare foods to youth in need throughout Franklin Parish.

Lisa Kiper, with the nonprofit Wisner Wins, is one of the founding members of CHOW and said teachers are reporting a positive difference in the students receiving the meals.

“If they're not worried about where their next meal is coming from, they can focus on their schoolwork,” Kiper said.

Anecdotal evidence is pointing to a positive shift in these communities, but it takes scientific data to show a real change. Pennington Biomedical Research Center is gathering data in Franklin Parish as part of the Risks Underlying Rural Areas Longitudinal Heart and Lung study.

Kevin Carroll, community engagement coordinator with Pennington for the RURAL study, said the program is looking to determine the underlying health risks faced by residents in rural areas.

"Franklin Parish has some of the worst health statistics in the country. We’re working to change that,” Carroll said.

It will take time, but the longitudinal study could show if the changes being made through Healthy Communities initiatives are having an impact on Franklin Parish residents.

As these changes happen, Vidrine is sometimes on the sidelines, other times at the center. She is part coach, part team member, part fan base. She has helped the communities search for and receive grants. She has worked on establishing community gardens. She teaches wildly popular Kid Chef cooking classes. Her latest endeavor is helping the Magnolia Café and Coffee Shop in Crowville work toward becoming the first restaurant in an unincorporated area in Louisiana to have Eat Fit certified menu items.

Vidrine received training through the Ochsner Eat Fit program on certifying menu items. The Magnolia Café owner Jessica Sinclair is planning low-sodium, grilled items would fit the Eat Fit standard with Vidrine analyzing the items to ensure they meet the mark.

Layton Curtis serves as mayor of the village of Baskin, which lies about 10 miles west of Crowville. He is excited about improving parks and walkability in the parish and adding more community-wide events. At 26, he is one of the youngest mayors in Louisiana and wants to raise his family where health and well-being are prioritized.

Curtis said working with Vidrine has helped him see what is possible for Baskin and beyond.

"Without Quincy, I feel like it would not have been as easy. She has been a guiding force in finding opportunities for us,” Curtis said.

Members of the Franklin Parish Healthy Communities coalition include Kevin Carroll, community engagement coordinator with Pennington Biomedical Center; Layton Curtis, mayor of Baskin; Quincy Vidrine, LSU AgCenter nutrition and community health agent; Lisa Kiper with Wisner Wins; Heather Carroll with Grow Gilbert, and Nick Poulos, executive director of Friends of Crowville. Photo by Tobie Blanchard/LSU AgCenter

Students at Crowville School enjoy their school garden. Photo provided by Nick Poulos

Jessica Sinclair, owner of the Magnolia Café and Coffee Shop in Crowville, is hoping to have the first Eat Fit designation for a rural restaurant. Photo by Tobie Blanchard/LSU AgCenter

Quincy Vidrine, LSU AgCenter nutrition and community health agent, hands out lettuce greens during the Great Lettuce Crunch at Crowville School. Third and fourth graders and special needs adult volunteers planted and raised lettuce. Vidrine and Master Gardeners harvested lettuce for this event, and the greens were served in the school lunchroom for salads and hamburger toppings. Photo provided by Nick Poulos