Health Focus Area: Adequate, Appropriate, and Safe Food and Nutrition

What is Adequate, Appropriate, and Safe Food and Nutrition?

Adequate, appropriate and safe food and nutrition means the regular and sufficient consumption of nutritious foods across the life span, including breastfeeding, to support normal growth and development of children and promote physical, emotional and social well-being for all people.

 

Why is Adequate, Appropriate, and Safe Food and Nutrition activity included in Healthiest Polk County 2015? 

Poor nutrition can lead to overweight and obesity, putting people at risk for chronic health conditions including diabetes, cardiac disease and joint problems. In most recent measures, 36.4% of Polk County adults are overweight compared to 37% statewide and 22.6% of Polk’s population is obese.  According to CDC, one measure of nutrition is fruit and vegetable intake. Polk County adults report below average intake of fruits and vegetables with only 20% reporting sufficient intake, compared with 23% statewide. Polk County’s rate of low food security (quantity and/or quality of food due to limited budgets) rose from 34% in 2002 to 54% in 2007 compared to the state increase from 44% to 51%. Very low food security (food insecurity with hunger) rose from 13% to 15%.

 

What are our overall nutrition goals?

  1. By December, 2015, people in Polk County will eat more nutritious foods and drink more nutritious beverages through increased access to fruits and vegetables, decreased access to sugar sweetened beverages and other less nutritious foods, and supported, sustained breastfeeding
  2. By December, 2015, all people in Polk County will have ready access to sufficient nutritious, high-quality, affordable foods and beverages
  3. By December, 2015, Polk County will reduce rates of overweight and obesity.

 

How will we know we are making progress?

  • Indicator 1 – Percentage of Polk County adults (age 18 or older) eating less than 5 servings of fruits and vegetables/day will decrease from 80.5% to 75% (Source: UW Population Health Institute County Health Rankings as measured by BRFSS)
  •  Indicator 2 – Percentage of WIC program infants ever breastfed will increase from 76.1% to 82%; percentage of exclusively breastfed at 3 months will increase from 28.8% to 32%; percentage of breastfeeding duration of at least 6 months will increase from 36.4% to 40%; and percentage of breastfeeding duration of at least 12 months will increase from 10% to 15%. (Source: WI Department of Health Services as measured by PedNSS)
  • Indicator 3 – Number of Polk County Farmer’s Markets that accepts payment from Electronic Benefit Transfer will increase from 2 to 3 (Source: Polk County Nutrition and Physical Activity Coalition measured by local fresh fruit and vegetable audit)
  • Indicator 4 – Percentage of WIC Farmer’s Market program vouchers  redemption  will increase from 36% to 45% (Source: Polk County WIC Project 69 – ROSIE Reports)
  • Indicator 5 – Percentage of Polk County households reporting low food security will decrease from 54% to 50% and percentage of very low food security will decrease from 15% to 13% (Source: WI Department of Health Services, Report on Food Security in the Wisconsin WIC Population)
  • Indicator 6 – Percentage of Polk County adults who are obese will decrease from 22.6% to 20% and overweight/obese from 59% to 55% (Source: UW Population Health Institute, County Health Ranking as measured by BRFSS)
  • Indicator 7 – Proportion of Polk County children aged 2-4 years old in the WIC program who are obese will decrease from 10% to 9% and overweight from 13.3% to 11% (Source: WI Department of Health Services as measured by PedNSS) 

Who are the key stakeholders?

What can Individuals & Families do?

  • Become informed and educated on healthy nutrition
  • Develop and/or promote personal and family nutrition challenges related to:
    • Decreased consumption of sweetened beverages
    • Increased consumption of fruits and vegetables
    • Decreased food portion size
    • Increased mealtimes at the table with no T
    • Increased preparation of meals with family and/or friends
  • Participate in community coalitions or partnerships

 

What can Organizations & Institutions do?

  • Teach food preparation skills in multiple settings such as farmer’s markets, grocery stores, worksites, schools, food shelves, family table program , with an emphasis on low-income and local foods when appropriate  
  • Provide in-store grocery presentations on a variety of topics such as “Shopping on a Budget”
  • Provide social support to breastfeeding women/families
  • Train food service staff regarding nutrition, taste, and presentation of foods
  • Educate parents of school-age children regarding school breakfast and lunch requirements
  • Provide breastfeeding information to healthcare providers and worksites to better support breastfeeding families
  • Develop nutrition programs that provide access to accurate  information through nutrition experts such as personal counseling and worksite/school presentations
  • Sponsor nutrition information at health fairs/screens at worksites and medical centers
  • Use local foods in the menus at medical centers, nursing homes, senior dining sites, schools, child care centers and restaurants
  • Encourage local business leaders to develop a culture of healthy eating for employees through an incentive-based wellness program
  • Create appropriate lactation rooms in worksites
  • Participate in community coalitions or partnerships
  • Track nutrition-related data and distribute among partners to better measure and evaluate progress of nutrition programs
  • Encourage schools and licensed day cares to adopt policies that exceed national/state requirements regarding their breakfast and lunch programs
  • Include youth leadership opportunities within nutrition/ wellness programs
  • Encourage employers to include coverage of breast pumps in their health insurance plans
  • Encourage worksites, day cares, and medical centers to enact breastfeeding friendly policies

What can Community & Systems do?

  • Collaborate to create and/or distribute a quarterly nutrition newsletter available for use in multiple settings such as worksites, schools, medical centers, health department, community organizations and media
  • Provide nutrition education via community TV networks
  • Develop a resource toolkit for groups establishing community/ school gardens
  • Educate communities on becoming “Breastfeeding Friendly”
  • Educate the public on advocacy opportunities that impact nutrition policy
  • Support community/school gardens and other programs that promote local foods, such as Share the Bounty
  • Participate in community coalitions or partnerships
  • Track nutrition-related data and distribute amongst partners to better measure and evaluate progress of nutrition programs
  • Encourage food shelves to adopt policies that will:
    • Decrease barriers to food program participation
    • Increase access to healthy foods
    • Limit access to unhealthy foods

§  Accept SNAP and WIC coupons and EBT cards at farmer’s markets