Live Healthy Baldwin is a community-wide initiative in Milledgeville, GA, to reverse the childhood obesity epidemic among at-risk children. The purpose of the initiative is to increase opportunities for healthy eating and physical activity. The project provides Baldwin County with access to healthy and affordable foods. They also hope to develop a community that supports forms of active transportation, such as bicycles.
Led by Dr. Damian Francis, Assistant Professor at the Department of Health and Human Performance at Georgia College, Live Healthy Baldwin is immersed in the community. They continue to meet organizational goals, develop relationships and instill change. One initiative that helps continue the forward movement is a mobile food truck that delivers free food each month to the community through the Collins P. Lee Community Center.
Along with the mobile food trunk, Dr. Francis, along with volunteers from Georgia College’s School of Nursing, set up a table to conduct blood pressure checks and distribute health information. HealthMPowers Community Engagement Specialist, Kristina Hyland, discovered the monthly setup and knew HealthMPowers had to be involved. Now, HealthMPowers sets up within the car line to disseminate health-related information and conduct taste tests using the Harvest of the Month.
