GET THE WORD OUT!

Now is the time to be letting your legislators know the importance of SHIP and to fully fund these projects.  The Governor did include SHIP funding in his proposed budget so now is the time to let your state legislators know that YES! We need to keep this in the budget!  Let's share our stories about projects and the success that we are seeing.  SHIP projects are important to the health of our communities and to combat the rising cost in health care because of obesity related issues that are preventable!  Lifestyle changes are easier done when you have an environment and community that supports these efforts and SHIP funded projects are doing that with providing sustainable environmental, policy and system changes allowing the Healthy Choice to be the Easy Choice!! 
 

Here are some of the projects that are going on in your communities!

Live Wright Grants

During the first year of SHIP grants being available.  Live Wright has made significant progress implementing evidence-based systems and environmental change strategies that improve nutrition and increase physical activity across communities, schools, work sites and health care settings.  These efforts lay the groundwork for improvements in the health of Minnesotans and reductions in health care costs.  There has been nearly $300,000 invested in improving the health of our local communities and schools with local grantees donating over $62,000 to accompany their award.

Community Gardens

Improving Community Nutrition: reaching up to 25,203 residents in the cities of Buffalo and Monticello.  Highlights include implementing 4 community garden projects to improve community access to fresh fruits and vegetables.

• Buffalo Presbyterian Church: $4,300
• City of Buffalo-Gary Mattson Park: $5, 975
• Opening Doors Garden Club: $36,000
• Monticello Resurrection Lutheran Church: $5,180

Schools

Improving School Nutrition reaching at least 2,160 students at three schools in two districts, Buffalo/Hanover/Montrose and Monticello.  Highlights include increasing access to healthy foods for students through learning gardens, classroom gardens and Farm to School initiatives.

• Discovery Elementary "Grow Lunch" Project: $3,000
• Monticello Farm to School: $17,500
• Pinewood Learning Garden: $1,000

Increasing School Physical Activity: reaching 3,867 students in all four schools within the Monticello School District.  Highlights include providing bike racks to all four schools in the Monticello School District to increase space available for students to store bikes as an incentive to bike to school.  In addition the Monticello Safe Routes to School Project will increase opportunities for students to safely walk and bike to school.

• Monticello Safe Routes to School: $17,110

Parks & Trails

Increasing Community Physical Activity: reaching up to 119,353 residents of Wright County.  Highlights include approving eight mini-grant proposals to support the development of multi-modal transportation, incorporation of complete streets terminology into local road design, and updating park/trail or bike way plans to increase opportunities for walking and biking ad access to community recreation facilities to support active communities.

• City of Buffalo Park/Trail Plans: $20,000
• City of Buffalo Trail Markers & Kiosks: $7,206
• City of Monticello Park/Trail Plan: $52,500
• City of Albertville Trail/Sidewalk Plan: $11,766
• City of Delano Park/Trail Plan: $19,500
• City of Annandale Park/Trail Plan: $19,500
• City of Howard Lake Park/Trail Plan: $17,940
• Wright County Trail/Bikeway Plan: $46,910