Making it Better: Minnesota's Health Improvement Log
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View this as a webpage
Feb. 8, 2018
Food Access Funds Available
Good Food Access Program
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture
is accepting grant applications for projects designed to improve
access to affordable, nutritious and culturally appropriate foods for underserved communities in low- and
moderate-income areas.
The funds are available through the Good Food Access Program and information, including a list of eligibility
requirements, are found on the MDA website.
Applications due March 14.
Additional funds are available for grocers and small food retailers to purchase equipment or to make
physical improvements to increase the sales of affordable, nutritious and
culturally appropriate foods. For more information, please visit this MDA link.
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Mini grants available
Every Kid Healthy™ Week is an annual observance designed to celebrate schools’ wellness
achievements. Schools are encouraged to discover ideas in how to get involved in finding solutions to childhood obesity, including: sound
nutrition, regular physical activity and health-promoting school programs.
The Every Kid Healthy website has plenty of information and resources on this topic.
Also, the Minnesota Action for Healthy Kids wants to assist schools with
their Every Kid Healthy Week celebrations by providing mini grants to
selected schools. For information, please contact Ann Kisch.
Applications due by
Wednesday, March 19.
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Recording posted online
The webinar, held Feb. 7, provides a
brief overview of the work OSHII staff did on researching and drafting three
strategies for SHIP grantees to confront the opioid addiction and overdose epidemic.
Here is the link to the recording of the SHIP Opioid Draft Strategies webinar.
Tips and strategies
To assist SHIP grantees in preparing for, and executing, successful bi-monthly calls, a series of tips will be provided over the next several weeks. These were recently developed by the SHIP Community Specialist team to help create a culture of efficient, effective and collaborative calls.
Week 1:
- Follow
all the directions on the call form. Answer all questions that apply.
- When
was your last bi-monthly call on these strategies? Be sure to report on all the
strategy specific work that has occurred since your last call.
Next week, we will feature more tips. If you would like the complete document, please email your Community Specialist.
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Evaluation request
Thank
you for attending the SHIP grantee Winter Regional Meetings held throughout the state.
Please take the following survey to let us know your thoughts on the meeting you attended and the topics of Intentional
community engagement and strategic tobacco work. The results will be used to help MDH better plan for upcoming trainings and technical assistance opportunities.
The survey is found on this MDH link.
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Calendar of Events
Tobacco Control Webinar
Date: Wednesday, Feb. 14
Time: 2
p.m. – 3 p.m.
This webinar provides information on a variety of online
resources that anyone in tobacco control will find of use. Presenters
will highlight a collection of legislative and health data found on the CDC’s
State Tobacco Action Tracking & Evaluation (STATE) system website and the
Office on Smoking and Health’s Interactive Data Dissemination Tool OSHData, and
show how this wealth of state and local information can help inform
tobacco control policy activity and initiatives.
This Public Health Law Center website provides
registration information.
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 In Eden Prairie, improvements to the People Reaching Out to People (PROP) food shelf not only were pleasing to the eye by improving how fresh foods were displayed, they were also welcomed by pantry visitors.
It began several months ago with the idea to expand and improve
its Pantry, a self-choice area within the facility. There were funds for construction, but
the facility needed help filling the new space with supplies to display and promote healthy food
choices such as shelving, baskets and signage. SHIP supported these efforts and was instrumental in helping create a bright, inviting space for its Pantry patrons, including the sign you see pictured, welcoming visitors in eight different languages.
PROP has a number of regular clients, including an older
Russian couple who typically left all communications to the woman while her husband remained silent. That changed when the new signage went up. While the man still said nothing, upon
noticing the new sign he poked his wife, pointed to the sign and smiled in
response to the Russian “welcome” visible to visitors.
PROP proved a small change can be a welcome one, making a big impact and going a long way to help people feel included and accepted.
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