The next meeting for the Howard Team of the NE IA Food & Fitness Initiative will be Wednesday, May 21 from  6:00-8 pm at the Laura Rose Lobby at the hospital in Cresco.  The agenda is available on the website at www.iowafoodandfitness.org – click on County Planning Teams.

This month Matt Kabliska from the County Public Health Department will be giving a presentation on linking the health of our community with local healthy food and active living.   He will be sharing information on the Key Informant Interviews conducted in each county in February. 

 The participants in the survey were asked to give input concerning the health status of county residents. Some of the questions included information on health concerns, availability of health providers, food security and strengths and weaknesses of the health care provided in each of the 5 counties surveyed. The public health agencies are collecting information to create a “baseline of health status” in each county because there is currently no single source of information available to report health statistics. The baseline of health would be used to report increased health benefits of county residents in conjunction with the activities of the NE IA Food & Fitness Initiative.  A discussion on the potential opportunities for health improvement will occur with county team members providing input on linking public health with local food and active living.

This monthly meeting is part of the Northeast Iowa Food & Fitness Initiative.  Our vision is to make Northeast Iowa a unique place where all residents and guests experience, celebrate and promote healthy locally grown food with abundant opportunities for physical activity and play EVERY DAY. Healthier people make stronger families and vibrant communities.

 Counties included in this initiative are Allamakee, Clayton, Fayette, Howard, and Winneshiek.  Complete minutes of all the county meetings are posted at www.iowafoodandfitness.org. 

 The public is invited to attend the meetings.  For more information about this initiative, contact  Charlie Baier at  563-547-3001 or  Matt Kabliska at 563-547-2989 or  Ken Paxton at 563-547-3434.

skb 5/5/2008