HEALTHY EATING AND ACTIVE LIVING
HEAL Program Coordinator
P: 740.652.2840
Bethany.Carson@fairfieldcountyohio.gov
USDA’s MyPlate Kitchen has healthy recipe options that you can use daily! Sugary drinks contribute to type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and obesity. Try some healthier drink options like tea, sparkling water, or 100% fruit juice.
Regular physical activity is important because it helps to maintain weight, reduce high blood pressure, reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety, and more. Some great ways to incorporate some daily physical activity are taking the stairs instead of an elevator, walking or biking to work when the weather permits, actively playing with your children, and light gardening/yard work.
Lancaster Community Garden
FCHD is excited to announce Lancaster’s new community garden at the Lancaster Camp Ground! The garden contains six garden beds that have been rented out by community members, as well as one garden bed being used for educational purposes by the county’s Women, Infants & Children (WIC) program.
The garden was made possible through generous donations from community partners, as well as the Healthy Eating and Active Living (HEAL) program that FCHD participates in through the Ohio Department of Health. HEAL is a program that aims to increase healthy eating and active living opportunities. The community garden was created as part of FCHD’s efforts to increase access to fresh food in the Fairfield County, as the most requested HEAL initiative by the community in 2023.
FCHD is currently looking for volunteers to help maintain the educational garden plot. If you are interested in helping, reach out to Bethany Carson.
Registration for the 2025 gardening season has not opened yet, but if you are interested you can contact Bethany Carson to be contacted when it does.
A huge thank you to our community partners who contributed to the garden: Lancaster Camp Ground, Troop 95 of Bremen, Kirkbride Land and Snow Management, OSU Extension, Keller Market House, The Senior Hub, Lancaster Fairfield Community Action Agency, Fairfield County 2-1-1, Canal Winchester Human Services, Habitat for Humanity of Southeastern Ohio, Fairfield County Board of Developmental Disabilities, Google, Canal Winchester Human Services, Fairfield County CERT, The Workforce Center, The City of Lancaster, The Commissioners Office, Lancaster Fairfield County Chamber of Commerce, Southeastern Correctional Center, and Fairfield County WIC.
Healthy Fairfield County Coalition
In 2023, FCHD established the Healthy Fairfield County Coalition with a mission to ensure Fairfield County is healthy by promoting healthy eating and active living and a purpose to increase healthy eating and active living opportunities throughout the county.
For more information or if you would like to join the coalition,
please contact: Bethany Carson, MS, OCPSA
Resources
- • Visit MyPlate to learn what eating healthy means for you in the life stage you are in. MyPlate provides budget-friendly recipes, education on healthy eating, and allows you to set goals for healthy eating.
- • Healthy Eating for a Healthy Weight
- • Defining a Healthy Diet: Evidence for the Role of Contemporary Dietary Patterns in Health and Disease
- • Physical Activity for a Healthy Weight
- • To learn more about physical activity and the amount recommended for you visit, Physical Activity - WHO
- • Learn more about the estimated health impacts of physical activity from Walk. Bike. Ohio
- • Find a list of local Farmer’s Markets, Food Access Resources, Parks and Recreation, and more.
