Santa Barbara County supervisors have adopted a Healthy Eating Active Living (HEAL) resolution, making Santa Barbara the second California county to officially support initiatives to improve residents’ health via HEAL.
Susan Klein-Rothschild, public information officer for the county health department, said the HEAL campaign commits to providing county residents with healthy options, everywhere from vending machines to city sidewalks.
“When people have places to walk, have places to bike, they walk and bike more,” Klein-Rothschild said. “When I can go to the store and it’s close enough to my home to walk or bike, I do that instead of taking the car.”
But this isn’t always the case for residents who live in relatively unsafe neighborhoods, health care program coordinator Trina Long said.
“When people don’t have a sense of safety, because there’s a lot of gang violence and drug activity that’s happening in our parks, people don’t feel safe to go outside,” Long said. “They don’t feel safe enough to allow their children to walk or ride their bikes to school. Some of these simple ways to get some physical activity in, the environment may not support because of outside factors.”
Long said HEAL will set the foundation for organizations, policy makers, and businesses to focus on changing the environment for future neighborhoods, taking into account barriers that keep some residents from physical activity.
Meanwhile, HEAL policies have begun with small changes, such as restocking the vending machines in county parks and buildings with healthier alternatives to the usual sugary drinks and treats.
“When people do have healthier options, they will make healthier decisions,” Klein-Rothschild said.
Long said in the future, at least half of the vending machines’ stocked snacks will be healthier.
“In the past it would just be normal sodas, cookies, pastries—those types of items that don’t have much nutritional content,” she said. “Now there’s some guidelines taken from the American dietary guidelines in trying to accrue more water, 100-percent juice, nuts, granola, and other things that are a little bit healthier.”
Another potential HEAL initiative could focus on starting farmers markets in neighborhoods where local grocery stores don’t offer fresh fruits and vegetables, Long said.
“And a lot of farmers markets don’t have the technologies to take people’s food stamps right now,” she said. HEAL policies will aim to provide farmers markets with the necessary technology to begin accepting food stamps in addition to cash.
Klein-Rothschild said HEAL’s ultimate goal is to make healthy options inclusive for all county residents.
“The HEAL resolution puts forth and promotes health for our entire community,” she said. “It says that we want healthy eating and active living for all members of our community, which will raise everyone’s health.”
This article appears in Feb 11-18, 2016.