Healthy Lifestyles

5-2-1-ALMOST NONE INITIATIVE: This is a program that promotes healthy eating and physical activity by helping parents, teachers and kids remember the recommendations. Eat at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day. Limit leisure screen time (television, phone, computers, tablets, etc.) to 2 hours or less each day. Get 1 hour or more of physical activity each day. Drink almost no sugar-sweetened beverages each day.

COMMUNITY WELLNESS CHALLENGE: This is a month-long wellness challenge designed to help you develop and maintain healthy habits and overall well-being.  The emphasis is on purpose, nutrition, activity and mindfulness.  The toolkit was created so employers, churches, organizations, groups and anyone looking to inspire a healthier lifestyle can run the challenge on their own.

LOCAL FOOD STUDY for Bartholomew & Jackson Counties: Using proceeds donated by the Cummins Marathon in 2013, Ken Meter, a consultant with Crossroads Resource Center in Minneapolis, completed a local food study of Bartholomew and Jackson Counties including a study of the state of Indiana’s food economy. His research indicates that if the region’s residents purchase $5 worth of food every week directly from the growers in Bartholomew and Jackson Counties, about $31 million of new farm income would be generated for our area. “A food system should build health, wealth, connection and capacity in a community,” Meter says. Ken Meter updated the study for the 2016 Local Food Summit.

FOOD INSECURITY COALITION: As an active member of the Bartholomew County Food Insecurity Coalition we have distributed thousands of food assistance brochures throughout in Spanish and English. The most up-to-date version of the brochures can be found here: https://www.access-ability-nonprofit.com/food-assistance. The Coalition works with the local hot meal site coordinators to help with menu planning, food safety, nutrition education, and use of local foods.  They also assist with the dissemination of SNAP benefits at the Columbus Downtown Farmers Market.  This includes the double bucks program, which enables SNAP beneficiaries to obtain two dollars worth of food for every one dollar spent in SNAP benefits. 

Purdue Extension Food Link 

SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL (SRTS): Safe Routes to School (SRTS) programs use a comprehensive approach to make school routes safe for children to walk and bicycle. The Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation (BCSC) Transportation Department, community leaders, and parents are working on improving routes and encouraging more children to walk and bike safely at the schools in our community.

THE COLUMBUS BIKE CO-OP: Healthy Communities supports the Columbus Bike Co-op, which is a not-for-profit community bike garage that is open to the public. Located in the basement of the United Way building (1531 13th St., Columbus, IN), the Co-op exists to make bicycling an accessible and sustainable means of transportation and recreation for all residents of Bartholomew County.

KIDS FUN RUN: In order to promote physical activity in children, Healthy Communities partners with the Columbus Running Club and the Mill Race Marathon to organize the Annual Kids Fun Run. The schools with the highest percentage of finishers receive a gift certificate to purchase physical activity equipment.