Healthy Eating & Active Living
Everyone should be able to eat healthy and be active if they choose to.
What's the problem?
Environments that support a healthy diet and physical activity are not spread equally throughout Cuyahoga County .
In Cuyahoga County, there is an unfair burden of poor health among our low-income, under-resourced communities, specifically communities of color, youth, and older adults, largely due to patterns of sprawl and population shifts. Over the past few decades, many people have moved away from the city and inner-ring suburbs, known as the urban core. As people have moved away from these places, many of the businesses and services once available to support healthy eating and active living moved as well. Residents who remain in the urban core often find themselves living without grocery stores, green spaces, and other places to exercise safely. But these issues are not limited to urban areas; other impoverished areas across the county also lack of sidewalks, bike lanes, parks, and healthy food retail options.
Why does it matter?
Everyone in Cuyahoga County deserves equitable access to fresh food resources and safe places to be active.
Where people live should not dictate their ability to eat healthy or to be physically active. Consuming healthy foods and increasing physical activity are essential for good health. A focus on nutrition and physical activity has the potential to impact all residents in Cuyahoga County, especially those who currently face barriers to being healthy.
What are we doing about it?
HIP-Cuyahoga is creating opportunities for healthy eating and active living across Cuyahoga County
|Healthier choices are getting easier to find in neighborhood stores and supermarkets||Local schools and churches are opening their doors for people to be active in their community|
|Healthcare providers are writing “prescriptions” for fresh produce to help patients control their blood pressure||Streets and neighborhoods are being designed, redesigned and built to encourage walking and biking|
|Schools and farms are partnering to provide locally grown foods, and teach children about where food comes from||Improving safety and providing supports so that more children safely walk or bike to school
Safe Routes to School
HEAL partners worked to pass a healthy Farm Bill in 2018. Click here for more information.
More than 123,000 residents have greater access to healthier food options in their neighborhoods because 22 corner stores have added fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grain bread and pastas, low-fat dairy products and other healthy items through the Good Food Here program.
Through the establishment of shared use agreements with neighborhood facilities, more than 108,500 residents living within a half mile may gain greater access to physical activity and educational opportunities.
More than 550 residents with high blood pressure have received healthy eating and chronic disease management education and resources through the produce prescription (PRx) for hypertension program
Since 2007, HIP-Cuyahoga partners have received funding through several rounds of funding through the Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) grant awards to address inequities and reduce the burden of chronic disease in Cuyahoga County. Visit the Cuyahoga County REACH page to learn more.
HEAL Subcommittee Impact Map
This map shows the Good Food Here stores and shared use facilities established through HIP-Cuyahoga efforts as well as participating farmers’ markets.
These efforts are being lead by our Healthy Eating & Active Living subcommittee under the guidance of the following anchor organizations and individuals:
The Prevention Research Center for Healthy Neighborhoods at Case Western Reserve University
Erika Trapl, PhD
Assistant Professor, Epidemiology and Biostatistics
Associate Director, CWRU Prevention Research Center for Healthy Neighborhoods
The Prevention Research Center for Healthy Neighborhoods at Case Western Reserve University (PRCHN), initially funded in 2009, is one of 26 Prevention Research Centers funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The PRCHN was selected to serve as the anchor due to its ongoing involvement in food access and youth physical activity projects.
The Cuyahoga County Board of Health
Michele Benko, M.S., R.D., L.D.
Program Manager, Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH)
The Cuyahoga County Board of Health (CCBH) prioritizes population based approaches to improve healthy eating and active living for Cuyahoga County residents, especially those who experience barriers to healthy living. The CCBH manages and participates in several programs aimed at improving healthy eating and active living.
Alliance for a Healthier Generation
Asian Services in Action
City of Cleveland
Cleveland Department of Public Health
Cleveland Metropolitan Housing Authority
Cleveland State University
Cleveland Municipal School District
Cutting Boards Academy
Cuyahoga County Board of Health
Cuyahoga County Planning Commission
Empowered and Poised
First Suburbs Consortium
The Food Trust
Greater Cleveland Metroparks
Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority
Invest in Children
Louis V. Stokes Veterans Affairs Hospital
MetroHealth Medical Center
Mow and Sow Grow
Mt. Sinai Health Care FoundationNeighborhood Family Practice
Neighborhood Leadership Institute
Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency
Office of Marcia Fudge
Ohio State University – Cuyahoga Extension
Safe Routes National Partnership
Saint Clair Superior Development Corporation
Saint Luke’s Foundation
Strategic Solutions Partners
Tremont West Development Corporation