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2014 PRoGRess RePoRt - Eat Well. Play Hard. Binghamton!
2014 PROGRESS REPORT Brendan Laurie, Eilishe Lopez, Nykail Jones, and Trevaughn Moye (also pictured on the cover). Contents A Community Experiment. . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 From the Farm to the Family Kitchen. . . . . 4 What’s Cooking? Something Delightful . . . . 6 Just for Kicks. . . . . . . . . . . . 8 How to Earn a Bike. . . . . . 9 Walkable, Bikeable Streets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Good Gardens Make Good Neighbors. . . . . . . . 13 Lessons Learned, and a Look Ahead. . . . . . 15 Structure of the Coalition. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Message from Klee board chair and executive director Several years ago, the board of the Conrad and Virginia Klee Foundation decided to take a new approach to grantmaking. Rather than simply respond to requests from local nonprofit organizations, we wanted to identify community needs that demand particular attention, and craft grant programs to address them. One issue that rose to the top of our list was childhood obesity. In 2012 Klee issued a request for proposals (RFP) for a multi-year, collaborative program to help improve the health of families in our community through a focus on nutrition and exercise. As far as we know, this was the first time a foundation in Broome County had invited proposals for a carefully defined approach to address a specific community issue. HEALTHY LIFESTYLES COALITION : 2014 Progress Report The result of our RFP is the Healthy Lifestyles Coalition and its pilot program, Eat Well. Play Hard. Binghamton! The Coalition launched this program in October 2012. Klee’s $300,000 grant will support it through 2015. We are now about halfway through the grant period. As the Klee Foundation and the project leadership discuss possible improvements for the second half of the program, the Foundation is pleased to offer this progress report on Eat Well. Play Hard. Binghamton! In the following pages, we describe what the Healthy Lifestyles Coalition has accomplished so far and celebrate its successes, reflect on challenges and lessons learned, and look ahead to goals for the future. Lawrence Anderson, Judith C. Peckham, Board Chair Executive Director Watson Ave St Fr Fuller St St lle r N Moe N Louisa St N Ely St Rd Elizabe th St Ave k B l lt Av e Ol d Ball Law Roo seve ar P son R St Brom ley Ave on t Dr Dr Dr ce e ra vd Ely Miller St Newton tate S Old Lenox Ln Brandywine Hwy Dr e is nr Su r Te A Community Experiment 11 Old St ate Rd Chena in g r Gle nw D l da Elm Dr Ot sin d oo dR e in o Dr Adams a El s Iri se Ro Maiden Ln Pk N Broad St ngo St Riverv ie Harding Ave Eat Well. Play Hard. Binghamton! Ferndale Dr Upper Taft Ave N Broome St Taft Ave NM oelle r St Highland Ave Brandywine Hwy Orchard Rd Wayne Av e ll e g e D r w Rd Co nd R d Dr Cutle r Po Lt VanWinkle Manor Dr S Linda Dr Blanch Broad St Travis Ave Brick Ave State St Ct ard Av e emember the last time you promised to lose Ri Ple a san t Ct dg eR Amsbry St d five pounds, or get more exercise, or eat more Mulberry St Linden St fresh fruits and vegetables? Staying healthy is a Be vie rS Dennison Ave t Be vie challenge for everyone, especially in an era when many rS tB Bevier St THEODORE rg Ave ton ROOSEVELT of us do most of our work sitting down, travel mainly in Clay SCHOOL Green St PHELPS cars and spend hours aheweek inAvefront of television and Clifton Lock n wo o Ogden St PARK d St Defo Rd Thomas r es computer screens. Cary St t St lic y Hill St Spel No rc rt h A Bi ve Staying healthy is especially hard for busy families. Sturges S 81 Co Dr nt Whiting St lley View iC t LaG Va the Healthy Lifestyles Coalition (HLC) Bingham St That’s why Qu ran e e n St ge CARLISLE St Moffatt Ave Pen n y APARTMENTS B started Eat Well. Play Hard. Binghamton! (EWPHB). ump Rd n ch C ge St Prospe Fre d i R t ct St Pac M Abbott St Morgan St kar E Junior Dr dS r St Wilcox St t We Sthought that with the right resources and a little Jones eym ou St r St Grant St M Allen St Gray St n roe St St help, a community could take its health into its own rd CHERI Irving Ave fo l if C LINDSAY St Frederick St E Frederick May S PARK hands. Adults would learn how to shop for and cook t Cypress St in St Catherine St Eincludes Frankl The pilot area LEE BARTA e St Griffis St E Catherin nourishing meals for their children and themselves. COMMUNITY BINGHAMTON Moody St Field St CENTER St neighborhoods whose RIVER TRAIL George Kids would spend more time walking, running, riding Cl St in e to children attend Wil the liam St at n St St Lyon St bikes and playing sports. Neighbors Elm would getGaibetter nes St Munsell St Theodore Roosevelt Lydia St Binghamton City acquainted and look after one another. Robinson St School Districts Meado Sta r School. rA w St Phelp ve s Murphy A St Ave Gold St From the start, we have believed that people Wales Ave Doubleday St Ch ton Ave Bur ar l Dicki ott nson eS St should take the lead in improving the health of their t Eldredge St e Av ald Phelps Ave own families. “We want residents to feel that they own on D N Depot St Erie St E Mc Go Ma C et S Depot St he Gerar thein Stproject, and have feel empowered totomake St Ave nS Thorpthem d t St Gerar Balcom Ha Lewis St d Ave Ave en de lS change in the community,” says Amelia LoDolce, E Clinton St t ch ub er tS Ru t t health initiatives manager andNortHLC manager at t th v ry S eS H en h St Pin en n Ave ve Delava COMMUNITY COALITIONS: re A o Web s United Way of Broome County, the lead partner altim e v B A Gary St t rt S Cou in the Healthy Lifestyles Coalition. What are they? Groups of residents and service organizations St Gates St ster Web St Collegea Can community really take charge of its Court St Brg Ave t Kenne S dy St working together to tackle local problems. ga ley ato kE Sar H aw P ar us own health? There was only one way to find out: Dewey Ave mb Ave y lu inar t Sem S Co Chap son el Pl Jack Sem t S inary n How do they work? By connecting residents with a variety of e ve s St we Davi would test the theory right where people live. Av e Beld King Av le A e St Lis Eato na n Pl h an S que oln Ave Linc Stuart St Sus St The Coalition decided to focus its project primarily resources and training opportunities. nt mo ng Ave St La Hardi Hall on the North Side of Binghamton, specifically on ve lin A k n Co t rop Ave rS t tu nd S ca theLathneighborhoods served Ayres by Theodore Roosevelt Seco De d St Bennett Ave e Why a coalition? Av Elementary School. We chose this neighborhood in t Lucy St Brg w l C t ia or ie S Mem rv vid Iva Da Fa Johnson Ave Dr Evans St Riversidesome serious challenges part because its residents face Hancock St faces problems, the people who live there • When a community Grand St when it comes to healthy living. t cent St tS Vincent Ct Vin ou must be involved in crafting solutions. ok Lo ay The U.S Department of Agriculture defines the sW illip Ph Campbell Road Ct Parsons St D e r g Ave Rid North Side as one of four “food deserts” in Broome McN amara • Service organizations have resources and know-how to help k Pl Esther Ave a St Charles Rd many County. Food deserts are communities where arth e M n Ho lm residents work on those solutions. Za wo Newton Ave St Clarence St Stone residents live on modest incomes, and where there • You don’t Phi move a mountain by letting individuals or nn Ave are no grocery stores. On the North Side, more than e Av l chip little pieces away on their own. Tackling 70 percent of people live more than a mile from a James St organizations Cornel Vestal Ave n Rd Manier Ave Pensto supermarket or grocery. That’sall aAvebig obstacle to healthy a big issue takes a partnership. od Rd nd Edgewo fton Blvd Ke Edna Ave eating, especially for people who don’t own cars. d Dr Midwoo Morris St St Christo • pher The biggest challenge is not getting started, but sustaining Stone Rd Ave Aldrichtrouble Many families have connecting with Maple Ave ve A d the changes the coalition achieves. har community agencies that offer the support they need, Ric Guilfoyle Ave Sheldon St says Carolyn Wheeler, social worker at the Teddy Bear d Ave Ave erland D r old St N Grisw r St Bl vd Gaylord St t hw oo Dr St ct Wa y spe Pr o St on 63N ute 3 St th a o M e Hom R Stanf o rd Burr Ave Espial Dr Vista Ave St Isbell St ou O St Espial Dr Farview Ave L il lia n D r Park Ave ce St am WH Mill Rd st Ct e cre dR Cre www.kleefoundation.org • 1 d rce ek Rd rle Dr Ha n Pi e Spring Ln Ro w e Ave T imb Sto n Pennsylvania Ave r Pie ve rr A Bu L o c ke Dr it The Circu l Ave Dr Oneonta St Rexleigh St Unadilla St Ave Kane Ave Spurr Ave a Ave Ro m Co Collier St State St r St ton S t Washi ng S Wa t e St Route 363S ct Ave y m er ci al Al Wall St St Oak in St Chap A ve Montgomery St Ro lis St Prospe ton S t Cente r St Water St Washi ng t Waln ut St State St Elizab eth S Front St Math er Edw ards St Arth ur St Whitney Ave Robert St Walter Ave Beman St St a te St Chenango Pleasant Ave St W N Way St t St t dall S Cran t Perr y St Murr ay St t ins S Ru ra Camden St Sherwood Ave Cohoes St St Unadilla St Woodland St Burlington Lanesboro St Pratt Ct Indiana St Rd Worcester Mary St k Av Morga n Balston St Overland Dr Afton Rd Medford St Montour St St Decatur St to r Delmar St Macon St t oc Pr dS rena pk Tom od Oswego St Way Geneva St Westerly Corbett Ave St Upper Vine Broo n St r dfo eA t Alfred St P ierc e Seneca St Pearl Ave Columbia Ave rne Rd t es Be Th S go John St Hall St Telegraph St Mill St Euclid Ave Genesee Ave Rollins St n St High St Livingsto Birch St g Hawtho Ga Homer St Hayes St enin t Hemloc St Grand s St d t St St Ots kS t Br S Washington St Cros d ton R Pl Duke St t er C t t kins eS p Tom win eS or Mo Bald t om Bro Afton St Iva Ave rg Bond St tB rd S erfo ic Var S ge han Exc e Duane Av Rd S ins Ruth Chestnut St Cran dall S St en ce Fl or Everet ve Sai n t ri tC al yr il A Av e Maple St Spruce St Mygatt St Ronan St e t yS Ind us St Glen Ave er e Milford St Glen Ave St Mason Ave rd Ave Riverside a Ho w pk St St St t Vine St Tremont Ave New St oe Ballard St Bigelow St Gaylord St Mason Ave Howard Ave Moeller St Andrews Ave Louisa St Oliver St m To an ant roll S ge han Exc Brg State St New St l d Rd Rush Ave kfie Allendale Rd o Bro Mitchell Ave Ivan h e Fairview Av Fellows Av Broad Ave Griswold St Alice St Ave pm Liberty St Cha ves t St S tte y Stu e Fay Jay C ar St a ry ten C en Ave rtle My t ta te St te S S Sta Oak St Denton Rd orth R Edgebrook Rd Ellsw y or Brandywine ay Saint John Ave Campbell Rd Vermont Ave Hotchkiss St Sherwoo r a Mn Mari H ick Liberty St gW lin Asbury Ct Millard Ave Avon Rd Laurel Ave Stratford Pl Lourdes Rd St e Corbett Av L Liberty St in Wind ve Hudson St Cedar St Clarke St St St y Ave Moore Ely St Valley St Karlada Dr Markay Ct Oak St nle St Ellen Dr Ln y Charles St Mendelsohn Beethoven ore Dr North Sh llam Ha G l en d Dr lle Moe Melcher St Bevier Ct ep St Emerson Pkw Jarvis St Charles St Berlin St Colfax Ave Holland St Wilson St BINGHAMTON Health Clinic, a United Health Services facility inside the Roosevelt School. A widespread housing problem, caused by irresponsible landlords, also takes a toll, she says. “If the houses are not kept up to code, and they’re not safe, our families end up moving quite a bit.” As is often the case in food deserts, a significant number of children in the Roosevelt district carry more weight than is considered healthy. We hope that a community-wide effort to promote good nutrition and exercise will help these children cut their risk of serious problems such as Type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Along with its challenges, this area has some terrific assets to support a campaign for better health. For example, it offers good recreational space at Cheri A. Lindsey Park, including a baseball field, basketball courts, a swimming pool and a skate park. Staff members at Roosevelt Elementary School are taking an active role in the HLC. Pictured from left to right are: Carolyn Wheeler, UHS clinical social worker in the Teddy Bear Health Clinic; Katie Hecox, school nurse teacher; David Chilson, school principal; and Allison Smilnak, guidance counselor. Not shown, Sherri Reed UHS nutritionist/ dietician. Community Focus Groups Held Healthy Lifestyles Coalition Formed Jan 2012 Jul 2012 Youth Bureau Launches Summer Program at Lee Barta Community Center Baseline Data Collection Begins at Roosevelt & Benjamin Franklin Schools Soccer Clinic at Roosevelt School Binghamton Farm Share Pilot Launched Work Plan Research and Development Jan 2013 HLC Formation Jul 2013 1st Year of HLC Project Development and Planning Award Announcement Request for Proposals Announced Lee Barta Community Center is Reopened by United Way Amelia LoDolce, HLC Manager Hired Fresh Cycles Steering Committee Refounded First I Love My Block Event Held Phelps Park Committee Formed 2 • HEALTHY LIFESTYLES COALITION : 2014 Progress Report UHS & CCE Launch North Side Cooking Classes Fresh Cycles Classes Begin (Postponed in December) The Teddy Bear Health Clinic, whose staff includes a nurse practitioner and dentist along with Wheeler, is one of only two such school-based health facilities in the Binghamton School District. It provides primary care, preventive services and health education, such as the children’s gardening and nutrition program that Wheeler runs in the summer. “That’s a huge asset, having people on staff in the school who are focused on the kids’ health, beyond the teachers, who already have so much to do from day to day,” says LoDolce. Another important asset is the resident-led North Side Neighborhood Assembly, which brings neighbors together to collaborate on local issues. “We already had some residents who were demonstrating strong leadership,” says LoDolce. The Coalition was eager to work with them. Learning in Motion Trainings Held at Roosevelt School Fresh Cycles Classes Re-Launched by United Way Training for Life Fitness Class Launched Cooking Commandos Program Launched Summer Program at Lee Barta Community Center Members of the community played an important role in shaping EWPHB. Through a series of focus groups led by researchers from Binghamton University, we learned what local residents consider a healthy lifestyle and what obstacles get in the way of achieving one. Their insights helped to shape the programs we would offer. While promoting better health in the community, the Healthy Lifestyles Coalition is tracking which aspects of the program work best and drawing lessons from the obstacles we meet along the way. At the end of the three-year pilot, researchers in Binghamton University’s Decker School of Nursing at Binghamton University will conduct a thorough evaluation. Ultimately, we hope to create a model that other communities can use to create healthy lifestyles initiatives of their own. ■ Physical Activity Supporting Services Community Pride The Healthy Lifestyles Coalition model involves a multi-pronged approach. Cooking and Nutrition Food Access Second Season of Binghamton Farm Share Jan 2014 Jul 2014 Projects Jan 2015 2nd Year of HLC Projects Safe Routes Surveys Conducted with Parents Jul 2015 Analyze and Report Second I Love My Block Event Held Complete Streets Walking Audit Conducted Promise Zone Weekly Parent Cafes at Lee Barta Community Center Begin We invite more residents of Greater Binghamton, along with nonprofit organizations, to get involved in the work of the HLC. To learn more about the Healthy Lifestyles Coalition and EWPHB, please visit our web site (www.eatwellplayhardbinghamton.com) and our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/eatwellplayhardbinghamton). Construction of Phelps Park Community Garden Youth Bureau Launches Afterschool Program at Lee Barta Community Center www.kleefoundation.org • 3 Food From the Farm to the Family Kitchen W ith no full service grocery on the North Side, residents have few options for finding healthy food in the neighborhood. So the HLC decided to bring them veggies straight from local farms, by developing the Binghamton Farm Share program, a project operated by Volunteers Improving Neighborhood Environments (VINES) and Cornell Cooperative Extension of Broome County, two HLC partners. Based on a model called “community supported agriculture” (CSA), Farm Share lets a resident buy a portion of a local farmer’s harvest. Each week, from June through November, the customer gets a box filled with vegetables, and sometimes with fruit as well. To meet the needs of residents, Binghamton Farm Share gives the CSA concept a few new twists. For example, while most CSAs ask subscribers to pay the entire cost of a share up front, Farm Share takes payments bi-weekly or monthly, says Farm Share coordinator Rebecca Heller-Steinberg. The cost ranges from $14 to $30 a week, but not everyone pays full price. “We have discounts available for folks who are income-eligible,” she says. “We also accept SNAP, formerly known as food stamps.” In 2013, residents picked up their shares at the Roosevelt School and Carlisle Apartments, and in a neighborhood in Binghamton’s West Side that lacks a grocery store. In 2014, the program added pickup points at the Lee Barta Community Center, two locations in Center City and at the Otsiningo Farmers’ Market, making seven locations in total. While offering locally-grown produce in convenient locations at affordable prices, Farm Share also gives customers a chance to experiment with new foods. “It got me to try things I’d never had before—kale, chard, collard greens, turnips, eggplant,” says customer Barbara Marks. Staff at the pickup site shared recipes and provided taste tests and demonstrations, giving Marks ideas about how to prepare the unfamiliar vegetables. 4 • HEALTHY LIFESTYLES COALITION : 2014 Progress Report “One of the comments we got was, ‘I’ve increased my family’s intake of vegetables and my grocery bill went down.’” Rebecca Heller-Steinberg Farm Share coordinator, VINES Farm Share made a real difference in her diet, Marks says. “I was eating fresh vegetables almost daily, whereas normally I don’t do that.” When it came time to pick up her next share, if she still had produce left from the previous box, she froze it. “So I had vegetables through the winter as well.” About 80 households bought shares in 2013, although not everyone participated the whole time, Heller-Steinberg says. “At the peak of the season, we were distributing 30 to 35 shares per week.” In 2014, the program is distributing more than 100 shares weekly. In the first year of Farm Share, 80 percent of members said they ate more vegetables during the program than they had before, and 100 percent said they had learned to eat or prepare new vegetables. According to a customer survey, people who stayed with the program enjoyed the experience. “Pretty much everybody said that they ate or learned to prepare a new-to-them vegetable,” Heller-Steinberg says. “A lot of people said that their vegetable intake increased.” Getting a large box of produce of different kinds on a regular basis helped people learn more about nutrition and change the way they cooked, she says. At the same time, some said that Farm Share helped them reduce their grocery bills. Some parents in the program said at the outset that most of the vegetables would probably not appeal to their children, Heller-Steinberg says. But the kids surprised them. “There were a number of vegetables in the shares that the kids were not only willing to eat grudgingly, but were actually excited to eat,” she says. “I think that experiencing how different a really fresh vegetable can taste—versus something that’s been sitting in the supermarket for two weeks, or something that’s canned—made a difference.” ■ www.kleefoundation.org • 5 What’s Cooking? Something Delightful “We regularly hear, ‘I tried that recipe, and my family really liked it.’” Rachel Parson nutrition educator, Cornell Cooperative Extension H ealthy lifestyles begin at home. If you understand nutrition, if you know your way around a food label, if you can cook with wholesome ingredients, that’s good news for everyone in your household. Two HLC partners are bringing the drive for good health into neighborhood kitchens with a series of cooking and nutrition classes that started in September 2013. Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) and United Health Services (UHS) hold the classes in a variety of convenient locations around the neighborhood, showing attendees how to shop smart and turn healthy foods into tasty meals. “We talk about nutrition, food safety, how to read a food label, how to stretch a food dollar and everything in between,” says Rachel Parson, a nutrition educator with CCE. One important lesson involves understanding the sugar content on a beverage label. “A 16-ounce can of Pepsi has about 55 grams of sugar,” she says. “That’s 13 and a half teaspoons!” Students also put each day’s lesson into practice by preparing a recipe. For example, they might cook 6 • HEALTHY LIFESTYLES COALITION : 2014 Progress Report potato soup from inexpensive ingredients and then compare its contents to dry-mix or canned potato soups. “Ours has more nutrition and a lot less sodium,” Parson says. Thanks to funding from the HLC, participants who learn to make a recipe in class also receive free groceries, so they can make the same dish at home. Students who complete all six classes in the series can move on to qualify as Cooking Commandos. The Cooking Commando program is designed to build a corps of local residents who can teach healthy eating and cooking skills to other residents. Students in that program take four hours of training in safe food handling, ending with a test. They prepare meals for community events and continue their training so they can lead demonstrations for family and neighbors. “We also have monthly or bimonthly workshops with guest chefs, engaging the students in learning different types of ethnic cooking that they have shown interest in,” says Judi Salton, program educator at CCE. The cooking classes and Cooking Commando program provide a great way to get involved in the community and gain some new knowledge and experience, says North Side resident Ebony Jackson Smith. Already an experienced cook when she enrolled, Smith credits the classes with enlarging her culinary horizons. “I tasted tofu,” she laughs. Although skeptical at first, she was pleasantly surprised by a chocolate pudding recipe based on that ingredient. “It tasted exactly like chocolate pudding, and it was delicious,” she says. She also learned how to cook with new vegetables, such as bok choy. As a Cooking Commando in training, Smith enjoyed the chance to cook for a local program for foster children, and for the 2014 I Love My Block event. She looks forward to completing the course, she says. “Then I will be demonstrating a recipe of my own.” ■ “I think the focus on nutrition is excellent for this neighborhood, since we only have convenience stores and convenience foods available most of the time.” Ebony Jackson Smith Cooking Commando in training Baked Kale Frittata 1 bunch of kale (3 cups chopped) 1 large onion (1 cup chopped) 1 teaspoon vegetable oil 1/4 cup water 5 eggs 1/2 cup skim milk 1/2 cup grated low-fat cheddar cheese 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper Nutrition per serving: 110 calories, 50 calories from fat, 5g fat, 1.5g saturated fat, 155mg cholesterol, 330 mg sodium, 7g carbohydrates, 1g fiber, 2g sugar, 110% Vitamin A, 70% Vitamin C, 15% Calcium, 8% Iron. Preheat oven to 375°. Coat a 9-inch round baking pan with vegetable cooking spray. Wash and chop kale. Chop onion. Heat oil in a large frying pan on medium-high. Add the onion and sauté for 3-5 minutes until soft and brown. Stir in kale and water. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat and allow to cool. In a large bowl, combine eggs, milk, cheese, salt, and pepper. Blend in kale mixture. Pour mixture into baking pan. Bake 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit for 2-3 minutes. Slice into wedges and enjoy. Makes 6 servings. Source: GET FRESH! Division of Nuturitional Sciences, Cornell University and Cornell Cooperative Extension, 2001. www.kleefoundation.org • 7 e x erc i se Just for Kicks “Play makes kids happier.” Dan Smith development officer and sports and leagues team leader, Broome County YMCA and leader of the after school soccer clinic at the Roosevelt School. I n our increasingly sedentary culture, the lure of the screen poses a special hazard for the young. Kids who get wrapped up in video games, movies and online conversations often forget about the pleasures of outdoor play. If a community lacks sports programs for kids, that just compounds the problem. This was the situation in 2013 when the HLC asked the YMCA of Broome County to develop a free after school soccer clinic at the Roosevelt School. Budget cuts make after school activities scarce in the Binghamton district, says Dan Smith, development officer and sports and leagues team leader at the Y. “It was nice to be able to give these kids more physical activity and play, and more structure, during that time.” The Y was a natural fit to run the clinic. It already had the necessary equipment, and several staff members serve as coaches for Binghamton High School’s varsity soccer team, Smith says. “So we had staff who had the expertise and years of experience.” The clinic took place over three weeks, starting in October 2013. Twice a week, an average of about 8 • HEALTHY LIFESTYLES COALITION : 2014 Progress Report 55 children from grades 1-5 met with instructors from the Y, right after school, for an hour of skills training and play. Divided into smaller groups by grade level, the kids spent the first part of each session learning a different skill, such as dribbling, passing, shooting, heading or playing a position. “We’d start off with warm-up stretches and then get on to whatever skill we were learning that day,” says Smith. Along with each warm-up came a quick lesson on the muscles and bones involved. Next came practice. “We’d go through some drills, and then we’d finish each day with a little scrimmage.” At the end, the kids gathered in the cafeteria for a healthy snack and some impromptu nutrition education. Some students who took part in the threeweek clinic had never played soccer before, says Smith, adding that he enjoyed seeing kids gain confidence while learning new skills. Several of them also had the chance to take on leadership roles. “Some of the kids were able to pick up the skills a little faster. We used them to demonstrate and to help teach the other kids,” he says. Keyaan Smith (no relation to Dan Smith) came to the clinic with some previous soccer experience: he played several years ago in a city-sponsored program at MacArthur Park, on Binghamton’s South Side. At the Roosevelt School, he remembers brushing up on basics such as dribbling and passing. “I’m pretty sure I became a better player,” he says. The program’s schedule was a particular plus, says Keyaan’s mother, Ebony Jackson Smith. “It got the kids out of the house a number of times a week.” It was also good that Keyaan could play soccer in his own neighborhood, she adds. “It made him more confident in his playing, because he was already familiar with the kids he was playing with.” As stringent educational standards put more pressure on even the youngest students, an opportunity such as the soccer clinic provides a valuable way to let off steam, says Jackson Smith. “Overall, you could see the kids were happier.” If a chance arises to run another soccer clinic at Roosevelt, Keyaan says he would recommend it to other kids. “It’s a good way for kids to stay healthy and energetic, to play outdoors and get some fresh air.” ■ How to Earn a Bike T en year old Brendan Laurie wants a bike. “Maybe I would ride it to school,” says the Roosevelt School fourth grader. He used to have a bike, but it broke, and in any case he’s getting taller. It’s time for a new ride. Brendan spent the spring of 2014 earning a bike of his own through Fresh Cycles, a program designed to put more youth on wheels by teaching them to repair and maintain used bicycles. Started in 2008 by the city of Binghamton’s Youth Bureau, Fresh Cycles ended in 2010. When HLC moved into the Lee Barta Community Center in 2013, local residents started to ask about future plans for the program, which had been housed in the basement. According to a 2011 story on DiscoveryNews.com, cycling is good for your heart, muscles, waistline, lifespan, coordination, mental health and immune system. www.kleefoundation.org • 9 “The assistants, instructors and students all see eye to eye about the benefits of having bikes that work well and open opportunities for exploration, play and a healthy life.” Shams Harper volunteer instructor, Fresh Cycles Based on this demand, the HLC decided to revive Fresh Cycles, with sponsorship from United Way of Broome County. In April 2014, two volunteer instructors, three assistants and five students started meeting every other Wednesday in the Barta Center’s bike-crammed basement for lessons on repair, maintenance and safety. “First we fixed the chain, next we fixed the tires, and then the brakes,” says Brendan of the first three lessons in the five-session course. Other classes in the series focus on gear maintenance, tune-ups and bicycling safety. Brendan’s group also took a ride from the Barta Center to Otsiningo Park and back, to test out the bikes and practice safety techniques. 10 • HEALTHY LIFESTYLES COALITION : 2014 Progress Report Students who complete the “Earn A Bike” program get to keep the bikes they work on. Considering the cost of buying one new and maintaining it, that’s a major benefit, says Shams Harper, one of the volunteer instructors. Like the instructors and assistants, the kids in the class love the idea of cycling, he says. “The students obviously feel that biking is a fun thing to do and a great way to get their energy out and explore their neighborhoods.” Many of the bikes used in the program are abandoned or unclaimed models donated by the Binghamton Police Department. “We also get bikes from individual donations,” Harper says. Young people in the neighborhood have shown tremendous interest in the Earn A Bike program, which serves participants up to about the age of 20, Harper says. He looks forward to welcoming more volunteer instructors and assistants, who could help Fresh Cycles offer more of the five-session courses. Along with Earn A Bike, Fresh Cycles instructors and assistants also operate a bike repair workshop in the Barta Center’s basement. They fix some of the donated bikes to sell for fundraising purposes, or to donate to other non-profit organizations that share the HLC’s devotion to promoting a healthier lifestyle, Harper says. “We also fix bikes that people in the community bring in, or that some of our students and volunteers already have. For more information on the National Complete Streets Coalition, see www.smartgrowthamerica. org/complete-streets. For more information on Safe Routes to School, see www. saferoutesinfo.org/. Harper hopes to see more women and girls get involved in the program, and to see more students stay involved as assistants or instructors. “After they earn a bike, they can use the skill sets they gained to teach other students, or even teach people in the community outside the program how to take care of bikes and introduce them to biking as an aspect of a healthy lifestyle,” he says. Brendan doesn’t need anyone to teach him about the virtues of the BMX bike he’s been working to make his own. He just wishes that Fresh Cycles could meet every day. “Then I would already have my bike.” ■ c o mmu n i t y Walkable, Bikeable Streets W hen it’s convenient and safe to move around outside, people just naturally get more exercise. That’s why the HLC included the Safe Routes to School and Complete Street programs in EWPHB. Both based on national initiatives, Safe Routes to School and Complete Streets encourage governments to make small, inexpensive changes in city streets that contribute to a better environment for travel on foot, by bike or in a wheelchair. The national programs have proven that certain kinds of street designs prompt healthier behaviors, says Mary McFadden, supervising public health educator with the Broome County Health Department, a partner in the HLC. Examples of enhancements governments can make are: creating bicycle lanes or marking streets to show that cyclists are sharing the road; repainting “We have to look at interventions that have proven effective.” Mary McFadden supervising public health education director, Broome County Health Department www.kleefoundation.org • 11 “Not only are you considering the automobile, but you are also considering the pedestrian, the bicyclist, the public transportation user, etc.” crosswalks to make them more visible; and eliminating hazards that keep children from walking to school. Early in the EWPHB initiative, the Health Department surveyed parents to learn why some of them wouldn’t let their kids travel to the Roosevelt School on foot. “Their number one issue was safety,” says McFadden. For example, students walking from the Binghamton Housing Authority’s Carlisle Apartments must use a walkway under the Brandywine Highway, crossing two highway entrances. In June 2014, the HLC brought in Mark Fenton, a renowned walkability expert, to lead a “walking audit” on the North Side of Binghamton. Accompanied by Mary McFadden supervising public health education director, Broome County Health Department 12 • HEALTHY LIFESTYLES COALITION : 2014 Progress Report officials from Binghamton’s public works department, the New York State Department of Transportation, the Binghamton Metropolitan Transportation Study and other stakeholders, Fenton pointed out features that might pose hazards to children walking to school. For example, one wide, busy street lacked crosswalks, and there were no bicycle lanes for the many kids who ride bikes to school, the park and elsewhere in the neighborhood. Fenton also suggested enhancements—such as planting street trees and cleaning up vacant lots—that would improve the environment for pedestrians while supporting economic development. It wouldn’t take new programs or extra funding to implement principles of the Safe Routes to School and Complete Streets programs on the North side, says McFadden. City officials simply need to incorporate pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly principles into existing street improvement projects. “They need to make sure that the planning department is talking to the engineers and the public works people with those design guides in mind.” City of Binghamton government officials who took part in the walking audit said they would be happy to make the kinds of changes Fenton recommended. For example, projects to repave State and Chenango Streets in 2015 could include improvements that will make the area safer and more accessible for people using all modes of transportation. ■ Good Gardens Make Good Neighbors C ommunity spirit can do a lot to promote good health. When you live on an attractive block, among people who know and care about you, you feel comfortable sending your kids out to play. If someone gets sick or needs extra help, neighbors stand ready to assist. On June 8, 2013, more than 80 residents of all ages, from five North Side blocks, joined forces to help create the kind of streets where people can thrive. As volunteers with the EWPHB and North Side Neighborhood Assembly’s program called “I Love My Block,” those neighbors cleared away trash and planted herbs, perennials and annuals. The Healthy Lifestyles Coalition provided the plants, mulch and gardening equipment. While beautifying the street, volunteers had a chance to chat with neighbors they’d seen on the block but hadn’t really met before, says Janet McHenry, a Cary Street resident and facilitator for the North Side Neighborhood Assembly. As a block captain for the event, McHenry recruited neighbors to participate in I Love My Block. People from five houses signed up in advance. But as work got underway, the bustle drew other people over. “They saw what was happening and they asked, ‘Is it too late to join?’” she says. In total, neighbors from eight houses on McHenry’s block took part. Because McHenry and some of her neighbors have tiny front yards that don’t get much sun, they decided to plant around the trees in the utility strip that runs past their homes. “That makes a really nice connection down our side of the street,” she says. Carolyn Wheeler also saw I Love My Block draw new interest at the last minute. When families who hadn’t pre-enrolled came over to check out the action, some asked if they could have plants for their homes. There wasn’t enough greenery for all the newcomers, she says. But then people started offering to share plants that were coming up in their own yards, Wheeler says. “I thought, wow—that’s what building a community is all about!” A volunteer at I Love My Block, Wheeler is the “What started as planting flowers blossomed into communitybuilding.” Carolyn Wheeler clinical social worker, Teddy Bear Clinic, Roosevelt Elementary School www.kleefoundation.org • 13 “‘I’m going to talk to you every day, because now I know your first name, and maybe I know a little about you after spending some time with you digging in the dirt.” Janet McHenry I Love My Block block captain social worker in United Health Services’ Teddy Bear Clinic at Roosevelt Elementary School. Like McHenry, she saw the event draw neighbors together. For example, one participant mentioned that she often checks in on an elderly woman on her block. Hearing that, another neighbor offered to do the same on different days. She also offered to pick up groceries for the older woman. Pitching in for neighborhood beautification helped Wheeler connect with adults in the lives of the kids she serves at Roosevelt, she says. Every summer, Wheeler runs a free gardening program for students at the school. As of early June last year, flyers advertising that program hadn’t drawn much response. But once the adults met Wheeler, and worked side by side with her in the soil, some of them hurried to sign up their children. 14 • HEALTHY LIFESTYLES COALITION : 2014 Progress Report After their hard work, the volunteers celebrated with a picnic at Phelps Park (formerly State Street Park), with lunch prepared by the CentenaryChenango United Methodist Church. “They made a wonderful meal,” McHenry says. As the neighborhood prepared for round two of I Love My Block in 2014, the streets that had enjoyed spruce-ups the year before were still looking good. And people who had met for the first time at that event were still saying hello around the neighborhood. “It definitely improved the relationships and the comfort level we have with each other,” says McHenry. “As well as making the street look pretty.” ■ What’s Next? Lessons Learned, and A Look Ahead A s we said at the outset, the Healthy Lifestyles Coalition designed Eat Well. Play Hard. Binghamton! to answer a question: Given some help in removing obstacles, can a community make changes to improve its own health? To answer that question, we need measurements. How healthy were lifestyles in the community before EWPHB? Has anything changed? The HLC already has the first set of figures in hand. In spring 2013, an evaluation team from Binghamton University conducted a survey of three groups of area residents—children in grades 3-5, their parents or guardians and a random sampling of people in the neighborhood. Questions focused largely on diet and physical activity. To compare the North Side with a neighborhood that isn’t part of EWPHB, the team conducted the same survey on the east end of Binghamton’s South Side—a neighborhood that faces many similar challenges. The team will repeat those surveys in both neighborhoods once a year for the duration of the project, says Pamela Mischen, professor of public administration and director of the Center of Applied Community Research and Development at Binghamton University. Then it will use the collected data to evaluate EWPHB. Comparing results on the North Side and the eastern South Side, the researchers will measure how much impact the program has made on the community. “We’ll look for changes in behavior when it comes to exercise and eating,” says Mischen. The team will also watch for changes in children’s body mass index (BMI) measurements over time, although such improvements tend to take several years, she says. “You would expect knowledge change to happen first, followed by behavior change and then the outcome of the BMI.” Along with Mischen, the evaluation team includes Yvonne Johnston, Celeste Keefe and Sarah Thompson of BU’s Decker School of Nursing, plus numerous students and volunteers. Lessons Learned So Far The researchers will start diving into the data in 2015. Eventually, they will publish papers based on their evaluation, allowing other communities to benefit from the experience of EWPHB. But the HLC is already evaluating the project in other ways. While preparing this report, the HLC leadership and the Klee Foundation were also holding a series of meetings to discuss topics such as which have been the strongest programs so far and what changes the program needs as it moves ahead. Even at this halfway point in the pilot, the HLC has learned some lessons worth sharing with others: “One of our goals is to create a coalition that can keep working beyond this project and beyond this neighborhood.” Amelia LoDolce HLC manager Lesson 1 It’s hard to get people involved. Each of the HLC’s programs has attracted enthusiastic participants. The soccer clinic drew them in significant numbers, and more youth want to join the Fresh Cycles Earn A Bike course than the program has spaces to offer. But some of the other programs brought in fewer people than we’d hoped. For instance, the HLC tried twice to organize a women’s walking group, but it never got off the ground. The cooking classes draw a good response overall, but residents have trouble fitting all six sessions into their schedules. Despite experiments with time and location, and with incentives such as gift cards for participants, it is still a challenge to get more residents involved in EWPHB. The HLC will keep looking for ways to make it easier for residents to participate. www.kleefoundation.org • 15 Lesson 2 Residents and program partners have different scheduling needs. One of the HLC’s basic goals is to get residents directly involved in shaping EWPHB. But it has been hard to bring residents together with participants from our partner organizations. “Our nonprofit partners want to meet during the day, but residents can not necessarily do that: a lot of them are working,” says LoDolce. Holding separate meetings for residents and partners would not solve the problem: people from the two groups need to sit down together to build working relationships. The HLC continues to look for a workable solution. Lesson 3 Leaders don’t always emerge on a timetable. We hope that more residents will take on leadership positions in the HLC. Before that happens, though, participants will need to invest more time in developing trust and mutual respect. Lesson 4 Bureaucracy is always with us. Even when you have a great idea for a program, with enthusiastic leaders and strong neighborhood support, you might have to tangle with red tape before you get things moving. The Fresh Cycles program is a case in point. When the HLC decided to revive what used to be a cityrun program, someone needed to take out liability insurance, but it wasn’t clear who should step up. The City of Binghamton owns the Lee Barta Community Center, which houses Fresh Cycles in its basement. The United Way of Broome County—the HLC’s lead agency—leases the Center’s first floor for EWPHB, but not the basement. After some discussion, officials at United Way agreed to carry the insurance—which, fortunately, turned out to be fairly inexpensive. That decision cleared the way to revive Fresh Cycles. Looking Ahead As the HLC embarks on the second half of the EWPHB pilot, members plan to work more intensely on efforts in the Roosevelt School. The implementation of the new Common Core standards has put schools under tremendous pressure, and that has made it challenging to implement some of the projects planned at the school. It seemed inappropriate 16 • HEALTHY LIFESTYLES COALITION : 2014 Progress Report to ask educators to take on yet another project. In recent months, the HLC has joined with Roosevelt staff in a committee that meets every two weeks. The committee’s purpose is to develop a plan for new health-oriented activities in school. One element of that plan will be more nutrition education, with a special emphasis on school lunches. Too many kids turn up their noses at the whole wheat pizza crust and fresh fruits and vegetables that Broome-Tioga BOCES recently added to school lunches in our region, says LoDolce. “What the kids are getting on their plates is really great, but they might not want to eat it.” The new initiative will try to overcome that resistance. The HLC will also continue to support the Roosevelt School’s vegetable gardening initiative, LoDolce said. Despite the challenges that the HLC continues to face, residents who want to embrace a healthier way of life are gaining useful strategies and tools from EWPHB. We are pleased to see them take advantage of these opportunities. One of our goals for the second half of the program is to see more participants take on roles as leaders. In the long term, we hope residents will take ownership of the program, transforming it into a neighborhood institution with the potential for long-term impact. We are confident that the HLC’s experience with EWPHB will generate useful insights for communities that want to launch similar programs. When the Klee Foundation grant for EWPHB concludes in 2015, the Foundation will issue a second report on the project’s achievements and lessons learned. In the meantime, we invite more residents of Greater Binghamton, along with nonprofit organizations, to get involved in the work of the HLC. And we certainly welcome inquiries from people in other communities. To learn more about the Healthy Lifestyles Coalition and EWPHB, please visit our web site (www.eatwellplayhardbinghamton.com) and our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/ eatwellplayhardbinghamton). ■ Structure of the Coalition The chart below shows the structure of the Healthy Lifestyles Coalition as it was first proposed. That structure is currently under review and potentially up for revision. Many partners, formal and informal, make EWPHB possible. They include nonprofit organizations that lead programs, churches that host those events and activites, and volunteer residents who promote and assist with them. The Coalition has formed committees to work on specific focus areas (i.e. Cooking and Nutrition, Physical Activity, School Activities, Food Access). This allows us to engage many organizations and individuals in the project, while managing the work in smaller group settings. Klee Foundation Funding for the Coalition’s pilot project comes from the Conrad and Virginia Klee Foundation. United Way of Broome County, Inc. Contractors HLC Manager Evaluation Team Steering Committee* *Steering Committee includes: City of Binghamton; Broome County Department of Health; Binghamton Housing Authority; Binghamton University; Binghamton City School District; Theodore Roosevelt Elementary School; North Side Neighborhood Assembly; United Way of Broome County Healthy Lifestyles Coalition North Side Neighborhood Assembly Partner Organization Committee** Youth Advisory Committee **Partners at inception include: Binghamton Boys & Girls Club; Broome County Arts Council; Broome County Council of Churches; Broome-Tioga BOCES; Center for Agricultural, Development and Entrepreneurship (CADE); Catholic Charities of Broome County; City of Binghamton; Cornell Cooperative Extension of Broome County; Eni; Family Enrichment Network; Lourdes Hospital; Mothers & Babies Perinatal Network; Rural Health Network of South Central New York; United Health Services; United Way of Broome County; WSKG; Volunteers Improving Neighborhood Environments (VINES); YMCA of Broome County. Project Teams www.kleefoundation.org • 17 Conrad and Virginia Klee Foundation, Inc. 84 Court St., Suite 500 Binghamton, NY 13901 Making Grants Since 1957 For more about the Conrad and Virginia Klee Foundation, go to our website www.kleefoundation.org or contact us at 607-722-2266 or Email: [email protected]. Resource List Complete Streets: www.smartgrowthamerica.org/complete-streets Conrad and Virginia Klee Foundation (RFP): www.kleefoundation.org The Healthy Lifestyles Coalition came together in mid2012 to help improve the health of children and families in our community, beginning with a pilot project in the neighborhoods within the Roosevelt Elementary School district in Binghamton. The Coalition represents local government, local school districts, higher education, media, nonprofits, for-profit companies, and neighborhood residents who are all interested in working collaboratively to address barriers to healthy living. Through efforts to make fresh produce available at an affordable price, new and expanded cooking and physical activity programming, improved public safety, public policy changes, and more, the Coalition aims to make healthy living a fun and easy choice for people of all ages while improving the overall quality of life in our community. Cornell Cooperative Extension (Recipes): www.fnec.cornell.edu/Recipes/Home.cfm EWPHB Calendar of Events: www.eatwellplayhardbinghamton.com/events EWPHB Face Book: www.facebook.com/eatwellplayhardbinghamton Healthy Lifestyles Coalition: www.eatwellplayhardbinghamton.com North Side Neighborhood Assembly: www.facebook.com/NorthsideAssembly Safe Routes to School: www.saferoutesinfo.org VINES (Farm Share): www.vinesgardens.org/farmshare
