Category: News

Residents Advocate for a Sustainable and Equitable Local Food System

Since its founding in 2019, the Montgomery County Food Council’s Community Advisory Board (FSCAB) has been a vessel for engaging the voices of county residents who are currently, or have in the past, experienced food insecurity. Members help to support the Montgomery County Food  Council’s mission to create a robust, sustainable, equitable local food system. 

The FSCAB allows members to provide their insight and feedback on the implementation of the county’s Food Security Plan, which outlines strategies and recommendations to reduce the number of food insecure residents in the county. In addition to participating in skills-building trainings on topics such as community engagement and advocacy, FSCAB members share their perspectives on food access barriers as well as develop policies and action items to fight hunger in their communities.

Board members, such as founding member and passionate mental health advocate Rhona Reiss, draw on their lived experience to guide the implementation of the Plan’s recommendations by the Food Council and its partners. “As a food pantry recipient, I saw a need for healthier food options for our community. After expressing these concerns to the Food Council as a board member, I immediately saw greater integration of fresh fruits and vegetables,” said Reiss.

In addition to suggesting that the food banks provide more nutritious foods, Rhona has also advocated that prepared foods be available. At present, a SNAP recipient is unable to use food stamps to purchase prepared foods at the supermarkets or grocery stores. This means that a person with a physical, cognitive, or mental challenge cannot get a rotisserie chicken or a cooked pizza, and many of the food banks do not provide prepared foods.

Rhona believes that this regulation discriminates against people with disabilities, many of whom are unable to assemble a meal from raw ingredients. “Many seniors are in this category. Persons with cognitive and mental challenges are often unable to organize the preparation of a meal. It would be so much easier for these folks to use their benefits for prepared foods,” said Reiss.

The Community Advisory Board, composed of 13 residents from around Montgomery County engages in a variety of activities. Last year members received a community engagement training from IMPACT Silver Spring and an advocacy training from the Office of Community Partnerships. This year, members have met with county council members, state, and federal legislators as part of a Maryland anti-hunger delegation and testified on a SNAP bill in Annapolis.

The Montgomery County Food Council is currently funded by the Healthy Montgomery Transforming Communities Initiative. For more information about the Community Advisory Board or to support with a donation click here.

About the Transforming Communities Initiative

The Healthy Montgomery Transforming Communities Initiative (TCI) is a partnership between the Institute for Public Health Innovation (IPHI), Trinity Health affiliate Holy Cross Health, the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services, and numerous other government and community partners.  Montgomery County, Maryland is one of eight locations selected by Trinity Health for investment through their national TCI grant program.

TCI is an innovative, collaborative funding initiative established by Trinity Health, one of the largest multi-institutional Catholic health care delivery systems in the nation. Grant recipients, in collaboration with a community coalition(s), implement and support evidence-based and innovative policy, systems and environmental change strategies to reduce obesity, promote tobacco-free living and address social influencers of health. TCI leverages health system funding, community partnerships, local match dollars, capital loan dollars, and national technical assistance resources to improve community health.

How The Food is Medicine Program Is Reducing The Burden of Diabetes Among Residents of Montgomery County

The links between diet and diabetes are clear — good nutrition is an effective form of prevention and balanced, predictable meals are essential to diabetes management. In Montgomery County, over 60,000 residents are food insecure – meaning they lack reliable access to sufficient and nutritious food. This makes the management of chronic disease especially difficult, largely among low-income residents served by Montgomery County’s safety-net health care programs including Montgomery Cares and Care for Kids.

Food is Medicine offers a way to bridge the gap between local safety-net health systems and food access, reducing the burden of diabetes and other chronic illnesses. The program integrates food insecurity screenings into health care visits and case management, combined with clear pathways for food assistance and nutrition education referrals by Community Health Workers (CHWs).

The Food is Medicine program has connected over 2,000 individuals like Olanike to food assistance services and local food pantries. The program also offers individual and group nutrition classes as well as regular, family-friendly, healthy cooking demonstrations to diabetic & pre-diabetic residents. Sixty-five percent (65%) of diabetic and pre-diabetic patients that have received this intensive intervention experienced weight loss and improved their glycemic control, reducing their long-term health care spending.

Food is Medicine was funded by the Healthy Montgomery Transforming Communities Initiative and the Business Leaders Fighting Hunger. For more information about the program or to support with a donation click here. 

About Transforming Communities Initiative

The Healthy Montgomery Transforming Communities Initiative (TCI) is a partnership between the Institute for Public Health Innovation (IPHI), Trinity Health affiliate Holy Cross Health, the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services, and numerous other government and community partners.  Montgomery County, Maryland is one of eight locations selected by Trinity Health for investment through their national TCI grant program.

TCI is an innovative, collaborative funding initiative established by Trinity Health, one of the largest multi-institutional Catholic health care delivery systems in the nation. Grant recipients, in collaboration with a community coalition(s), implement and support evidence-based and innovative policy, systems and environmental change strategies to reduce obesity, promote tobacco-free living and address social influencers of health. TCI leverages health system funding, community partnerships, local match dollars, capital loan dollars, and national technical assistance resources to improve community health.

The Toolkit Aims to Provide Schools with the Resources Necessary to Successfully Implement Local Wellness Councils and Improve Wellness

Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) is excited to announce the release of the MCPS School Wellness Toolkit. Montgomery County Public Schools partnered with the Healthy Montgomery Transforming Communities Initiative (TCI) to develop this toolkit in order to provide a comprehensive, step-by-step guide to the creation of local school wellness councils. These local wellness councils guide schools to identify their wellness needs and develop goals to enhance student health and well-being.

The school wellness toolkit will help assure that schools are compliant with the MCPS Wellness Policy/Regulations, which focuses on promoting physical and nutritional health, social-emotional well-being, and ensures that schools are compliant with U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) requirements.  Language in the MCPS Wellness Regulations states that each school must have a  local school wellness committee as well as the inclusion of a component of wellness in each school’s School Improvement Plan (SIP).  The toolkit provides technical guidance as well as a link to hands-on individual support as needed.

MCPS is the first public school system to develop such a toolkit in the state of Maryland. Currently, there are over 110 local school wellness councils established in MCPS. To learn about their accomplishments click here.

Funding for the toolkit was made possible by the support of Trinity Health, Health Montgomery TCI, the Healthcare Initiative Foundation and the Maryland Community Health Resources Commission. 

About the Transforming Communities Initiative

The Healthy Montgomery Transforming Communities Initiative (TCI) is a partnership between the Institute for Public Health Innovation (IPHI), Trinity Health affiliate Holy Cross Health, the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services, and numerous other government and community partners.  Montgomery County, Maryland is one of eight locations selected by Trinity Health for investment through their national TCI grant program.

TCI is an innovative, collaborative funding initiative established by Trinity Health, one of the largest multi-institutional Catholic health care delivery systems in the nation. Grant recipients, in collaboration with a community coalition(s), implement and support evidence-based and innovative policy, systems and environmental change strategies to reduce obesity, promote tobacco-free living and address social influencers of health. TCI leverages health system funding, community partnerships, local match dollars, capital loan dollars, and national technical assistance resources to improve community health. 

The Montgomery County Department of Transportation’s Story Map is Helping Montgomery County Students Stay Safe and Active this School Year

As part of the Healthy Montgomery Transforming Communities Initiative (TCI), the Montgomery County Department of Transportation launched a brand-new, online-based web application also known as a Story Map aimed to be used as an informational resource for the County and its schools. The Story Map is a part of the Safe Routes to School Initiative which aims to increase the number of students in Montgomery County who walk or bike to school. Safe Routes to School is one of five strategies of the TCI. 

The online Story Map highlights several schools, centralizing information from all their main events and activities in one, user-friendly location. The resource also helps families locate routes and identify areas that require improvements.

By making this resource available, the Montgomery County Department of Transportation hopes that it will bring much-needed information – such as walking and biking routes, toolkits, pedestrian education, and safety trainings – to families and youth.

“Bike safety, support at Open House, and other evening events with our community were so beneficial to connect our work between home and the broader community. We are so thankful for your education of our students in the safety of riding bikes as they have likely been doing a lot of bike riding during COVID-19,” said Elise M. Burgess, Principal of Sally K. Ride Elementary School.

For more information on Safe Routes to School and to view the Story Map visit: www.montgomerycountymd.gov/DOT-PedSafety/srts/storymap.html.

About the Transforming Communities Initiative

The Healthy Montgomery Transforming Communities Initiative (TCI) is a partnership between the Institute for Public Health Innovation (IPHI), Trinity Health affiliate Holy Cross Health, the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services, and numerous other government and community partners.  Montgomery County, Maryland is one of eight locations selected by Trinity Health for investment through their national TCI grant program.

TCI is an innovative, collaborative funding initiative established by Trinity Health, one of the largest multi-institutional Catholic health care delivery systems in the nation. Grant recipients, in collaboration with a community coalition(s), implement and support evidence-based and innovative policy, systems and environmental change strategies to reduce obesity, promote tobacco-free living and address social influencers of health. TCI leverages health system funding, community partnerships, local match dollars, capital loan dollars, and national technical assistance resources to improve community health.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan Signs Bill Raising Tobacco Sales Age to 21

We did it! After months of hard work from the Tobacco 21 campaign and its partners, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan signed a bill that raises the legal age for purchasing tobacco products to 21 years of age.

Thanks to you and our partners in this fight, the American Lung Association, along with American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, and the American Heart Association, Maryland now becomes the 13th state to ban the purchase of tobacco products to young people aged 21 and under.

The Tobacco 21 effort in Maryland was funded in part by a grant from the Healthy Montgomery Transforming Communities Initiative (TCI), a collaborative funding initiative established by Trinity Health, one of the largest multi-institutional Catholic health care delivery systems in the nation. The Healthy Montgomery TCI is a partnership between the Institute for Public Health Innovation (IPHI), Trinity Health member Holy Cross Health, Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services, the Healthy Montgomery Steering Committee, and numerous other government and community partners. TCI seeks to promote healthy behaviors and prevent chronic disease.

Young people in Maryland will now have a better chance of staying off tobacco products for good. Studies show that the younger you start, the longer you keep at it – 95 percent of adult smokers began before age 21.

It is clear that our efforts are contributing to stamp out smoking for teenagers and young adults under 21 throughout this nation. This week, Texas announced it is getting closer to raising the age for tobacco purchase. Walmart also announced it would raise the age limit across all its stores nationwide.

The Transforming Communities Initiative looks to continue combating tobacco use and curbing obesity to improve health in Maryland and throughout the nation.

Transforming Communities Initiative (TCI) is an innovative, collaborative funding initiative established by Trinity Health, one of the largest multi-institutional Catholic health care delivery systems in the nation. Grant recipients, in collaboration with a community coalition(s), implement and support evidence-based and innovative policy, systems and environmental change strategies to reduce obesity, promote tobacco-free living, and address social determinants. TCI leverages health system funding, community partnerships, local match dollars, capital loan dollars, and national technical assistance resources to improve community health.

28 Mini-Grants Awarded to Montgomery County Public Schools to Support Local School Wellness Councils

Through the Healthy Montgomery Transforming Communities Initiative (TCI), IPHI is partnering with Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) to provide technical assistance and funding to create and maintain a healthy school environment through the formation of local school wellness councils (LSWC). LSWCs are comprised of a group of school staff, administrators, parents, and others who work together to identify goals and create and implement action plans to enhance student health and wellbeing.  Through this partnership, over $26,000 in mini-grant funding was awarded to 28 schools during the 2018-2019 school year.  Grant funding is being used to support student access to healthy foods, nutrition education, increase physical activity, develop school gardens, and enhance initiatives to support mental health. To date, MCPS is the only school district in the state of Maryland to dedicate a Director of Student Wellness Initiatives to support this important work.

Since 2016, IPHI and MCPS have partnered to support LSWCs.  A TCI-funded School Wellness Coordinator (SWC) working with MCPS has supported Wellness Champions by providing resources, connections to community partners, individualized technical assistance, and guidance regarding the implementation of school action plans.  Last year, a cohort of 15 pilot schools were recruited and provided with resources and technical assistance from the SWC.

Based on evaluation findings, the project has made significant progress to improve opportunities for physical activity and healthy eating in schools and enhance the school climate to support health and wellness.  Sample actions facilitated by LSWC’s to improve wellness included: providing extra recess time, offering fitness classes, implementing walk to school days, implementing flexible seating, providing mindfulness lessons, providing vegetable gardening, offering cooking lessons, and implementing strategies to promote healthy snacking. In the past year, over 46 schools have formalized LSWCs.

For more information on the TCI, visit www.institutephi.org/heatlhymontgomerytci