Ulster County Selected for State Program to Combat Obesity and Related Diseases

Ulster County Selected for State Program to Combat Obesity and Related Diseases
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ulster County Receives New York State Department of Health Grant to Fight Type II Diabetes and Obesity through Environmental Changes and Focused Education Effort

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ulster County (CCEUC) has been awarded a $1 M, five year Creating Healthy Places to Live, Work and Play grant from the New York State Department of Health to address the incidence of obesity and Type 2 diabetes in Ulster County through policy and environmental change and focused educational campaigns.

CCEUC as lead agency is partnering with the Ulster County Department of Health, the Community Heart Health Coalition, Gilmour Planning, the Kingston Land Trust, and the City of Kingston Parks and Recreation Department to develop and implement these changes. The initial target communities for this project are the City of Kingston, the Village of Ellenville and the Hamlet of Phoenicia. Some of the initiatives of Creating Healthy Places to Live, Work and Play include: improving signage of parks in the City of Kingston; developing Complete Streets policies for Ellenville and Phoenicia; working with childcare centers in the three target communities to increase healthy eating and reduce “screen time” for youth; encouraging schools to adopt healthier after school snack policies; developing and sustaining community gardens in Kingston, Ellenville and Phoenicia; and launching a “Eat Local Now” mobile farmers’ market that bridges the gap between healthy food “deserts” in the target communities with the supply of fresh, local food sources in the county.

Ulster County is a diverse region that features rural farmland, a small city, several incorporated villages and numerous hamlets, and even a few bedroom communities from which residents commute to New York City. And like all communities throughout New York State, Ulster County residents are not immune from the effects of the obesity epidemic and its related diseases such as Type 2 diabetes. “The traditional approach of educating our populace has shown limited effectiveness,” says Lydia Reidy, executive director of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ulster County. “The rates of obesity, in both children and adults, have continued to trend upward over the last four decades despite best efforts to teach individuals appropriate behaviors to keep themselves healthy.

This project will allow us to more precisely target our education efforts while changing the parameters of the field in which residents live, work and play.”

The Creating Healthy Places to Live, Work and Play was purposely designed to build and expand on the Healthy Kingston for Kids (HKK) project, which was granted to CCEUC last year by the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation. HKK focuses on reversing childhood obesity in Kingston through environmental and policy change. Both projects are lead by Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ulster County.

“The juxtaposition of CCEUC’s HKK project with this initiative will act synergistically, not only expanding and enhancing project reach and impact, but cross-fertilizing lessons learned to improve outcomes for both programs,” explains Mary Marsters, Director of Programs with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ulster County. “Moreover, applying a measure of sharpshooting education while clearly structuring the environment will result in behavioral changes toward more healthy living options.”

A date will be announced shortly for a press conference to take place at the CCEUC Education Center in Kingston.

For more information about the Creating Healthy Places project, contact Mary Marsters, CCEUC Director of Programs at 845-340-3990 ext. 329 or email mem398@cornell.edu

For more information about CCEUC community programs and events call 845-340-3990 or visit us online at www.cceulster.org or follow us on www.facebook.com