Thirty families in the University District neighborhood surrounding UALR can receive free individual raised garden beds on Saturday, June 4, thanks to a Growing Healthy Communities effort to help residents increase their access to healthier foods while helping them be more physically active.

The garden give-away and a May 26 “how-to” workshop is part of statewide effort to battle obesity by the Arkansas Coalition for Obesity Prevention (ArCOP).

“Like the majority of communities across our state and the nation, the University District community suffers from an obesity epidemic that threatens not only the health of our citizens, but also our economic productivity,” said Janea Snyder, an instructor in the UALR Department of Health Sciences. “I want to help families overcome obstacles to good health by creating a community environment where the healthy choice is the easy choice.”

In order to qualify for a garden, residents must register between May 6 to May 20 and attend the mandatory garden training session from 7 to 8 p.m. Thursday, May 26. Register by contacting Snyder at 501-952-3211 or by email at udresidents@gmail.com.

Snyder wrote the proposal for the University District that was one of 10 statewide designated as Growing Healthy Communities. The initiative is designed to help communities enact policy and other changes to make healthy lifestyle choices more accessible.

Other members of the University District’s Growing Healthy Communities team are Assistant City Manager Bryan Day, Beth Phelps of the County Extension Service, Little Rock Police Chief Stuart Thomas, Dr. Donna Quimby, chair of the UALR Department of Health Sciences; John Brush of Hometown Health Improvement; Julie Hall, director of the University District Educational Network; Lynn Lincoln of the Midtown Health Alliance, Margo Bushmiaer of the Little Rock School District, and Little Rock Mayor Mark Stodola.

The team participated in a three-day immersion training session in March at the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute on Petit Jean Mountain. Activities and training sessions covered topics that included:

• “Integrating Land Use and Transportation to Create Sustainable Urban and Rural Areas,” presented by Dan Burden, executive director of the Walkable and Livable
  Communities Institute

• “Policy and Environment,” by Leon Andrews of the National League of Cities

Other sessions discussed access to healthy foods, early childhood and schools, communications, and workplan development.

In addition to the UALR-University District group, the other communities selected for the Growing Healthy Communities training and grants are Dallas County, Desha County, Faulkner County, Monroe County, Nashville, Ark.; Scott County, Siloam Springs, Ark., and Springdale, Ark.

The Arkansas Coalition for Obesity Prevention is a statewide organization made up of more than 70 organizations, businesses, agencies and institutions, with a mission to improve the health of all Arkansas communities by increasing physical activity.

Growing Healthy Communities is a project developed by ArCOP in 2009 as a collaborative effort funded by the Blue and You Foundation for a Healthier Arkansas, the Arkansas Department of Health’s CDC Cooperative Agreement, UAMS Partners for Inclusive Communities, and the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute.