Underserved Communities Need Healthy Options Too
Seeking Sponsorships to Make a Difference!
In 2018, there are still people living in unhealthy conditions related to the absence of nourishment and fitness due to the lack of knowledge and resources in underserved communities. The Dawn Haley Tour (DHT) is actively looking for Sponsors to support this effort and expand the education to those that direly need it. The Dawn Haley Tour is on a mission to correct the problem, specifically in designated low-income food dessert communities. Dawn is looking to change the landscape by providing natural health alternatives to prevent illness, listen as Dawn Haley describes the characteristics of a food desert, click here to hear her description.
The Aetna Foundation is on a similar path as the Dawn Haley Tour. They’ve stated “America faces a serious health crisis and pointing out that adults have become overweight risking the chance of heart disease, diabetes and other serious conditions. The second leg to this health crisis is that America’s children are adopting unhealthy behaviors as well, that can lead into adulthood (Aetna Foundation, 2018).” What’s similar about these two organizations is that they both focus on nutrition and motion – two critical ingredients to improving health.
The Dawn Haley Tour and the Aetna Foundation are concerned that fresh fruits and vegetables are not always readily available or affordable in low-income neighborhoods who struggle with the logistics of available food sources. In an interview with Mrs. Haley she reveals her desire to get these communities involved with horticultural gardening, a solution that will alleviate some nutritional issues, click here to learn more. Dawn set out to learn from underserved populations in Chicago what their outlook on vertical gardening is. Watch as Dawn Haley and Howard Dabbs discuss the possibilities of the homeless population owning and managing vertical gardens.
Bottom-line, increased access to healthy foods and beverages is key and important to these communities. “The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services: Center for Disease Control and Prevention agrees. So much so, they have begun providing access to healthier food at the retail level, i.e.: grocery stores, small stores, farmers markets, and mobile food operations ( U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 2018)”
Urban planning seemed to be built with the express exclusion of resources offering fresh vegetables. Late in April of this year Dawn Haley twitted about the mission to drive sponsorships to this program and what impact funding will have on these forgotten communities:, take a look https://twitter.com/netgirl411/status/990423282829725696.
The Dawn Haley Tour is eager to get this program underway as she shares sentiments of the Aetna Foundation on encouraging physical activity. She speaks about it in a video Tweeted on Feb 21st of this year, referring to it as a “National Call to Getting Healthy.”
Making a difference in relevant ways seems to be the consensus of like-minded organizations as it relates to nutrition and health. The Aetna Foundation’s campaign slogan is “Reaching people where they live, work and play (Aetna Foundation, 2018),” and the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services: Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The goal is to Create Healthy Habits and Make Better Choices. The Dawn Haley Tour whole hardily agrees with both of these ideology!
References
Aetna Foundation. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.aetna-foundation.org/organization-strategy/program-funding-strategy/healthier-lifestyles-programs.html
Wein, H. Ph.D. (2018). Creating Healthy Habits. National Institutes of Health, News in Health. Retrieved from https://newsinhealth.nih.gov/2018/03/creating-healthy-habits
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. (2018). Increase Access to Healthy Foods and Beverages. Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpao/state-local-programs/nutrition.html