Community Wellness Pantry Provides Healthy Solution in Monroe
In Monroe, Louisiana, a community garden grew into something much bigger thanks to the Children’s Coalition for Northeast Louisiana, LSU AgCenter, and other local partners. After seeing how hard it was for nearby residents to get healthy food, the group decided to create a free produce pantry. With support from local AgCenter SNAP-Ed and 4-H agents, the pantry became a reality, offering free fresh produce and canned goods with no questions asked. The pantry was built and decorated by 4-H youth and installed near a bus station and shelter where it's easily accessible to those in need. It officially opened with a ribbon-cutting and support from many community leaders. Now, the team hopes to keep the pantry stocked and expand it to offer even more items to help families and individuals in their community.
Improving Health and Wellness through Zoo Partnership in Rapides Parish
The LSU AgCenter SNAP-Ed program and the Alexandria Zoo teamed up to help low-income families access healthy activities. Many families in Rapides Parish don’t have safe places to exercise, and zoo admission can be too expensive for those using SNAP benefits. To address this, the AgCenter worked with the zoo to create SNAP Family Day, which lets qualifying families visit the zoo for free once a month. During these events, families enjoy cooking demos, nutrition lessons, and fun activities. The program was so successful that it became permanent and now includes special events like Healthy You at the Zoo and new features like a StoryWalk and painted stencils. This project is helping families live healthier lives and could be used at other zoos across Louisiana.
High Obesity Program Has High Impact in Rural Louisiana
In 2018, the LSU AgCenter Healthy Communities team received a $5 million, five-year CDC High Obesity Program (HOP) grant. Our team used that funding to address health disparities related to nutrition and physical activity in six rural parishes with obesity rates over 40%: Assumption, Tensas, Madison, East Carroll, Morehouse, and St. Helena. The infographic below illustrates the overall impact of our work from 2018-2023, including generating over $4.8 million in additional outside funding to support food system and physical activity enhancements in our target parishes.
Removing Red Tape for Complete Streets Projects in Small Rural Communities
Walking and biking are two of the most common forms of physical activity. With rural obesity and physical inactivity rates higher than the state and national averages in Louisiana, building complete streets, which provide safe avenues for exercise and active transportation like walking and biking, can help rural Louisiana residents be more physically active. However, many small towns face large barriers when it comes to improving bike and pedestrian infrastructure. To address some of those barriers, the LSU AgCenter Healthy Communities team worked with the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) and the Center for Planning Excellence (CPEX) to make complete streets funding more accessible for rural communities. As a result, Transportation Alternatives Program applications for communities under 5,000 residents increased more than 500% in just one funding cycle.
Addressing Long-Standing Rural Food Pantry Needs in Louisiana
Food pantries in rural Louisiana face
significant challenges building capacity and bridging nutritional gaps for
their clients. To address these challenges, the LSU AgCenter Healthy Communities team assessed
needs, set nutrition standards, purchased cooling and storage equipment, and
provided hands-on support to food pantries in 6 rural parishes: Assumption,
Madison, Morehouse, St. Helena, Tensas, and East Carroll. As a result, 13 food
pantries are equipped to serve healthier foods to 7,580 clients in rural Louisiana.
SNAP Match Program Helps Increase St. Helena Farmers Market Customer Base by 112%
Market match programs provide dollar
for dollar matches on eligible foods for customers using nutrition assistance
benefits like SNAP or FMNP. Market match programs generate more business for
local farmers while empowering low-income shoppers to buy more fresh local
foods by increasing their purchasing power. Within just six months of launching
their SNAP match program, the St. Helena Farmers Market experienced a whopping
112% increase in average customers per market. Since then, the market has grown
to an additional market day and
https://greauxthegoodla.org/has
received continued support for market match through Louisiana’s new state
funded Greaux the Good program.
Rural Community Convinces Dollar Store to Stock Fresh Produce
The small town of Crowville, LA
has one corner store, one restaurant, and one dollar store – but no grocery
store. Before Summer 2022, Crowville residents who wanted fresh fruits and
vegetables had to travel to neighboring Winnsboro. Thanks to a group of
passionate community leaders, the local Dollar General now features fresh
produce, healthy snacks, and healthy shopping resources from the LSU AgCenter’s
Geaux Shop Healthy program. The produce section is so popular, the store restocks twice a week and still sells out.
Louisiana Charitable Food Summit Seeks Solutions to Food Insecurity
Louisiana has some of the highest
food insecurity and obesity rates in the country. While food pantries across
the state work hard to provide a reliable source of nutritious foods to clients,
their communities’ needs often outpace their capacities and resources. To help
build a stronger, more resilient network of support for Louisiana residents
experiencing hunger and food insecurity, the LSU AgCenter Healthy Communities
team hosted the first biennial Louisiana Charitable Food Summit in May 2023. Nearly
150 attendees came together to learn, network, and share best practices and
resources. Since the summit, the AgCenter has begun hosting quarterly
networking calls to continue tackling common challenges within the
charitable food system.
Youth Leaders Help Make Streets Safer in Assumption Parish
Local youth leaders played an instrumental role in making Assumption the second parish in the state to pass complete streets plans for communities under 5,000 residents. Complete streets are roadways designed to serve the needs of all road users including pedestrians, bicyclists, people with disabilities, and motorists. These new complete streets plans can help reduce the risk of traffic deaths and promote economic vitality in Assumption Parish.
LSU AgCenter nutrition agent
Jessica Randazzo partnered with St. Martin Parish Government to bring
StoryWalks and fitness signs to parks across the parish. The fitness signs
feature distance markers, simple exercise prompts for all fitness levels, and health
messages while the StoryWalks® offer an innovative way to get people of all ages
moving by combining literacy with physical activity. The first round of StoryWalks®
and fitness signs were installed at 9 parks in the parish with plans to expand to
more parks in the future.
Louisiana’s First Parish-Wide School Food Pantry Launches in St. Helena
Students in St. Helena Parish experience
poverty and food insecurity at higher rates than both the national and state
averages. To help ensure that students and their families have reliable access
to food, the St. Helena Parish School District teamed up with LSU AgCenter
Healthy Communities and the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank to launch the
first-ever parish-wide school food pantry in Louisiana. Now 1,173 students and
their caregivers can use the grocery store style food pantry completely free of
charge.
Rural Community Center Transforms into Community Food Hub
Food access and food insecurity are old problems getting new solutions in Morehouse Parish thanks to a partnership between the LSU AgCenter Healthy Communities program and the Robinson-Williams Community Center (RWCC). Beginning in 2020 when the AgCenter helped RWCC become a regionally recognized food pantry, the partnership has grown to include a community garden, a Farm Fresh Meals after-school program, Grow a Row to Share donor and distributor status, and a SNAP authorized farmers market.
HYPE Youth Coalition Receives $25K Grant for Youth and Community Development
The East Carroll Parish Healthy
Young People Empowerment (HYPE) coalition received a two-year, $25,000 grant
from the National 4-H Council and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in 2022. The
grant was used to send HYPE members to youth leadership summits in Washington, D.C.
and purchase playground equipment for a community development project started
by the coalition.
Grow a Row to Share Connects Home Gardeners with Food Pantries
Fresh fruits and vegetables are
often in short supply at local food pantries. To help get more fresh produce
into the hands of Louisiana residents experiencing food insecurity, the LSU
AgCenter Healthy Communities team developed the Grow
a Row to Share program. The program connects home gardeners and local
farmers with charitable food organizations like food pantries. During the first
6 months, 8 pilot sites distributed 1,103 servings of fresh produce. That’s
enough for over 275 people! The program launched statewide in March 2023 and is
currently open to any home gardeners, farmers, or charitable food sites in Louisiana.
Painted Stencils Provide Safe Alternative to Playgrounds During COVID-19
Children need 60 minutes or more
of physical activity each day to stay healthy. However, in 2020, students across
Louisiana were unable to use outdoor playground equipment during the school day
due to COVID-19 safety precautions. To ensure that students still had access to
fun physical activity, LSU AgCenter nutrition agents teamed up with community
partners to stencil painted play spaces across the state.
Shreveport Community Health Hub Becomes More Accessible to Residents with Disabilities
The Mooretown Community Faith
Garden serves as a local community health hub for residents of Shreveport,
Louisiana. In May 2021, a steering committee consisting of staff and volunteers
from the LSU AgCenter, Mooretown Community Faith Garden, We Grow Together
coalition, and LSU School of Allied Health came together to install a
communication board, garden tool practice station, a sensory garden with
fragrant herbs, and game stations including non-verbal hopscotch and a number
stomper at the community garden. With the addition of more inclusive features, adults
and children with disabilities can now feel more welcome to enjoy community assets
available at the garden including fresh produce, preventative healthcare, physical
activity, and community involvement.
Virtual Walking Group Helps People Stay Active During COVID-19 Pandemic
During the COVID-19 pandemic,
social distancing made previously established exercise groups difficult or
impossible to maintain. As a result, LSU AgCenter nutrition agents in Ouachita Parish
started a “Workout Wednesday” virtual walking group to provide adults with
online accountability partners when they could not exercise together in person.
The group met twice a month on Wednesdays to follow an indoor walking routine, hear
healthy eating tips, and watch cooking lessons. According to a survey with 60 participants
from the program, 100% of respondents said they were more motivated to be physically
active after a virtual session and 75% were very likely to be physically active
on their own after participating in the group.
St. Mary Parish School Gardens Foster Adventurous Eating and Life Skills
Research shows that garden-based learning
improves nutrition awareness, life skills, school achievements, social
connections, and health and wellness among students (Source:
Cornell University). These advantages are especially important in parishes
like St. Mary with higher-than-average rates of childhood poverty and food
insecurity. Thanks to support from community grants and school and AgCenter
staff, students at J.S. Aucoin Elementary and Franklin Junior High are full
steam ahead with garden-based nutrition lessons.
