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Learn more about the 2020-2021 RWJF Culture of Health Prize-winning communities and how they are working to advance health, opportunity and equity for all.

Many people in Rowan County, N.C., don’t have access to healthy foods – so Jon Barber, a local food advocate and farmers market owner, is bringing the fruits and vegetables to them. A non-profit venture in the county trucks a mobile farmers market to food deserts, giving people who have little to no transportation options the opportunity to buy healthy foods, sometimes right outside of their...

Members of Oscoda County’s CHOICES partnership were well aware of the challenges facing their rural Northern Michigan community. What they needed to understand was what resources they already had. “We needed to focus on what we have and not on what we don’t have,” said Jan Schleicher, certified health coach and co-chair for...

Every five years, all counties in Iowa are required to perform a health needs assessment, then submit a detailed health improvement plan to the state department of public health. This year, health officials in Muscatine County were excited to have a new set of data to incorporate into their planning — the detailed information from the 2010 County Health Rankings.

A movement has taken hold in Florida’s Pensacola area. Businesses, hospitals, local government and public health officials, educators, nonprofits, community health centers, faith-based groups, and community members have joined together to form Live Well Northwest Florida. Collectively, they focus on three priorities: tobacco use, healthy weight, and...

The North Carolina Alliance for Health’s mission is to advocate for policies that promote wellness and reduce the state’s incidence of tobacco use and obesity. Its first focus was to advocate for an increase in the state’s cigarette tax, and when that was accomplished in 2005, it turned its focus to smoke-free...

Nazeera Dawood, former health promotion manager of Georgia’s Fulton County Department of Health and Wellness in Atlanta, is passionate about her work. When the county’s interfaith coalition invited her to speak about health, she eagerly showered them with “BMIs and other numbers.” “I don’t know what you’re talking about…” members told...

When fifth grade North Carolina teacher Laura Fenn faced the dual reality of dwindling P.E. and recess time and increasing pressure to maximize her classroom instruction, she got creative. Fenn developed The Walking Classroom to get her elementary school students up and moving without sacrificing their learning. Five years later, the national award-winning nonprofit program is used...

In some areas, corner stores are the only retail food option accessible to nearby residents. Working with corner stores to carry more fresh produce and other healthier food options is one strategy to increase access to healthy foods in food deserts and low income neighborhoods. Five years ago, the City of Bridgeport’s Health Department, working with Southern Connecticut State University and...

A plan for action is a roadmap for achieving your goals. It comes to life when it includes clear, measurable goals, timelines, and accountabilities for accomplishing the work. With many multi-sector workgroups and successful programs and policy wins across several health focus areas, the Greater Flint Health Coalition (GFHC) had a proven track record for developing strategic action plans that...