What will it take to get the numbers down?

The Healthy Eating Active Living Collaborative of Beaufort County has several ideas in mind to bring down rates of diabetes, heart disease and obesity.

One in three people in Beaufort County is obese. The HEAL Collaborative is currently working on a map of places in the county where people can exercise, access health care, play and find nutritious food. It is a first step to building awareness about health resources that are already available for free or at low cost.

The HEAL Collaborative brings together Beaufort County Schools with Beaufort County Community College, Eagle’s Wings Food Pantry, Resourceful Communities, Beaufort County Public Health Department, People for a Better Aurora, along with other community partners. The Kate B. Reynolds Foundation is funding the project as part of the Healthy Places NC initiative.

While obstacles like poverty and the rural character of the county can make accessing healthy eating and active living opportunities difficult, the HEAL Collaborative hopes to raise awareness about existing resources that are already available. With partners in towns such as Aurora and Pantego, the project hopes to reach all county residents.

The map in development has walking trails, food stands, recreational opportunities and health clinics. The idea is to connect all of these resources so a person attending the college, visiting the health department or waiting at the laundromat can see places to play and find healthy food.

Calvin Allen, director for Rural Forward NC and a facilitator for the group, said that since the project started they have tripled the number of participating partners. Allen said that strong leadership is often the factor that makes or breaks a project like this.

“That coordination of effort, and that level leadership where people are willing to step in and say, ‘I will take this on.’ That often is one of the major barriers and Beaufort County has taken that on in strides,” he said.

He spoke highly of the efforts of BCCC to take on healthy living.

“This community college is a real statewide model. They have taken this idea of getting our community healthier. They’ve put a walking trail in, but then they took it on as a way of being. We’ve seen it trickle up and trickle down. You’ve got the board of trustees saying, ‘Let’s make it easier for students and faculty to work out during the day.’ That’s huge. You’ve got students and staff using the walking trail and tracking their miles. You don’t see that everywhere. That really speaks to Beaufort County Community College’s role as one of the leaders in the community,” Allen said.

BCCC has received grant funding for two positions related to the HEAL Collaborative. It now has a coordinator for the Beau-Fitt program, Sonia Armstrong, who not only puts on activities on campus, but has also engaged with the human resources department at the City of Washington to bring the program to its employees. BCCC hopes to bring Beau-Fitt to Beaufort County Schools and the Grace Martin Harwell Senior Center.

Grant funding has also allowed healthy eating community outreach coordinator Bill Booth to set up both individual gardens and six community gardens across the county to increase access to healthy food, especially for older and low-income residents. Booth also assists Ruby’s Garden at Asbury United Methodist Church and the Aurora Community Garden.

The collaborative hopes that continuing to connect parks, playgrounds, clinics and farm stands, while expanding walking and biking infrastructure and summer lunch programs, will start to bring down the rates of diabetes, obesity and heart disease.