National grant awarded to Bonner County

When it comes to eating a healthy, balanced diet, a person who has easy access to a supermarket that offers fresh fruits and vegetables might not have to look further than their own will to decide to prepare a healthy meal. But for someone who might only have a convenience store nearby, healthy food choices might be scarce or non-existent.

Food deserts are communities where affordable, nutritious foods are unavailable. More than 23 million people live more than a mile from a supermarket and many small corner stores stock mostly pre-packaged, processed foods. For people without a car who are among those 23 million, obtaining fresh foods is often challenging, making it less likely that they will be able to eat healthily and prevent obesity and disease.

The Bonner County population is dispersed in nine separate cities, 11 separate unincorporated communities and one census-designated place. Although all of these areas have unique needs, a general theme connects them. In general, the residents are low-income and suffer from a high rate of obesity/overweight. With 19.43 percent of Bonner County children age 0-17 living in households with income below the federal poverty level, it is not surprising that the barriers to access to health services and healthy foods and beverages are tremendous. These barriers have likely contributed to the fact that 33.8 percent of adults aged 18 and older have a Body Mass Index between 25.0 and 30.0 which is designated as overweight. Over one quarter (25.2 percent) of Bonner County adults are clinically obese with a BMI of greater than 30. If you assess a population with a high BMI, a high cholesterol level (40.53 percent of the population) and elevated blood pressure (29.8 percent) and you combine that with the barriers to access to health services and healthy foods and beverages, you have a dangerously strong correlation with a population wide increased incidence of heart disease. Heart disease remains the number one killer of men and women in the United States of America.

The Panhandle Health District’s WIC Clinic provided services to 162 women and 484 infants/children on average each month last year. Sixty-nine percent of those participants have family incomes at or below the poverty level. The Idaho Department of Health data reports an increased prevalence of nutrition risks for women serviced by the Sandpoint WIC clinic. On average 50 percent are overweight and 45.5 percent have high maternal weight gain, although 35.5 percent report consuming diets low in calories and/or essential nutrients. Another interesting yet concerning statistic is that 28.5 percent have a history of fetal or neonatal loss. An event that could be influenced by early access to medical care. For the children in the WIC program their increased risk comes from a reported dietary intake that does not meet their nutritional requirements while no dietary supplements are being given to the child to meet the deficiency.

The resources in Bonner County to assist this population are significant although fragmented. Although there are 6 grocery stores in the county, transportation to these stores remains a barrier to many citizens. According to FARA 2010 data, there are areas within the county boundaries where over 50 percent of the population has limited food access. While 3 Farmers’ Markets are active in the county, only 1 accepts SNAP and none of them accept WIC (AMS Jan 2016). For students in the public schools there is access to free/reduced price lunch. Of the 3513 children in the Lake Pend Oreille School District on March 31, 2016 46 percent qualify for free and reduced lunches.

Currently, the Panhandle Health District 1 is implementing a project to increase access to healthy foods in Bonner County, ID, as part of a $190,000 grant from the National WIC Association. A coalition of 35 + concerned citizens has begun meeting once a month on Tuesdays at noon to share experiences, knowledge and skill and to guide the implementation of this grant. The membership is professionally diverse including representatives from the health care sector, schools, grocery stores, non-profits, legislators, business owners and concerned community members.

Projects initiated by the coalition thus far are equally diverse and include community gardens, community to health-care provider linkages, prescription pads for non-pharmaceuticals and a “Healthy Foods” program. All projects will be available to all community members to use to help decrease their risk of chronic disease.

This is part of a larger public health initiative driven by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The Directors of Health Promotion and Education (DHPE) and the Society of Public Health Education (SOPHE) also received awards from the CDC to support Bonner County’s Coalition for Health and other awardees with training and technical assistance.

Creating a healthier community requires the cooperation of local businesses, the city, and determination of its residents to make good choices. The newly formed CPHMC project coalition, “Bonner County Coalition for Health”, is comprised of community members with connections, skills and resources to offer in solution to the above identified needs.

Let’s level the playing field for all our residents and provide better access to healthy foods so everyone has a chance to live a healthier life. By working together we can improve the health of Bonner County residents!

Information: Grant Manager, Nanci Jenkins, MS,RDN, LD at 208-415-5121 njenkins@phd1.idaho.gov