The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control is partnering with the Alzheimer’s Association South Carolina Chapter, The American Heart Association and Eat Smart Move More South Carolina to raise awareness about Alzheimer’s disease and brain health.
DHEC and its partners will collaborate on a campaign that encourages people to Take Brain Health to Heart. A key element of the effort is a pledge – which can be found at www.scdhec.gov/brainhealthpledge – that encourages residents to keep their body, heart and brain healthy. The campaign is designed to educate and mobilize South Carolinians to protect their brain health by being more active, eating better and taking other steps. Research has shown that smoking, obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes may contribute to cognitive decline. It has also found that unhealthy eating, lack of physical activity and brain injury may affect the health of the brain.
This is an important message in South Carolina, whose population is getting older. While Alzheimer’s and dementia are not a normal part of aging, getting older is the greatest risk factor for dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. According to the Alzheimer’s Association’s 2016 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures report, 84,000 people over the age of 65 are reported to be living with Alzheimer’s disease in South Carolina. By 2025, that number is expected to grow to 120,000, according to the SC Alzheimer’s disease registry report. South Carolina has one of the fastest-aging adult populations in the country, ranking in the top 10. That population is expected to increase to 1.1 million by 2029, resulting in one in five South Carolinians being over age 65.
South Carolina is one of seven states to receive funding to reduce stigma, promote early diagnosis and address risk reduction factors associated with cognitive decline, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. The effort is funded by a collaborative that includes the Alzheimer’s Association, the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Over the next few months, DHEC, the Alzheimer’s Association, the American Heart Association and Eat Smart Move More will jointly focus on messaging regarding heart and brain health and cognitive decline.
The campaign will feature a centralized DHEC Brain Health webpage. Each partner organization will have a link to the page, which will include health education materials, social media messages and a call to action in the form of a pledge about healthy lifestyle changes. People who visit the page and take the pledge will be entered into a monthly drawing for a Fitbit, beginning this month and ending June 30. Please visit the webpage at www.scdhec.gov/brainhealth and take the pledge.
Over the past 10 years, Eat Smart Move More South Carolina (ESMMSC) has been facilitating positive change across the state by being a convener of partners and by providing technical assistance to communities. However, this could not have happened without the guidance and support of partners like Susan Collier, a registered dietician and Community Systems Team member at the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC), Midlands Region.
Collier served on the SC Obesity Prevention Efforts group, which worked on the first SC State Obesity Plan, which guided ESMMSC’s work in the formative years. She was also one of the first members of the ESMMSC Steering Committee and Board of Directors. Also, she served as co-chair of the first Communications and Marketing Committee and was instrumental in the development of the organizational brand, including the logo and website.
This year we celebrate ESMMSC’s 10th Anniversary. What thoughts and emotions come to mind when you think about that?
First, I can’t believe that it’s been 10 years! It’s exciting to see the work of ESMMSC being implemented across the state. Seeing the efforts that started 10 years ago continuing and facilitating positive change across South Carolina says so much about how successful this first decade has been.
What were your visions during your service? There is no simple solution to our obesity rates in South Carolina, and changing those statistics requires diverse and nontraditional partners coming together to work collaboratively. I think I envisioned ESMMSC playing an important role in those collaborative efforts by drawing partners together and providing tools and guidance to enable them to achieve greater success.
What do you see as ESMMSC’s biggest accomplishments since 2007? ESMMSC has had several successes over the last 10 years, but since I work for DHEC at the local level, I believe the effort to reach our local communities through the establishment and support of local ESMM coalitions is one of the biggest accomplishments. This has enabled our local communities to partner with ESMMSC and have a direct impact on the health of South Carolinians. It has also had a very positive impact by bringing local, diverse partners to the table to address access to healthy eating and physical activity.
Where would you like to see ESMMSC in 10 years? I would like to see ESMMSC continuing to work collaboratively with partners on the state and local level to decrease our obesity rates while improving the health of our citizens. It would be wonderful to see the obesity rates in both adults and children in South Carolina begin to decline.
I’d like to extend congratulations and thanks to the many people who have been a part of ESMMSC on both a state and local level. They have helped to facilitate the policy, system, and environmental changes needed to make the healthy choice the easy choice for South Carolinians.
Founded in 2007, ESMMSC is one of the first non-profit organizations of its kind in South Carolina, focusing on both healthy eating and active living. Its roots date back to 1999 when the South Carolina Coalition for Promoting Physical Activity formed and received nonprofit status in 2000. After changing its name to ESMMSC in 2007, the organization merged with the SC Coalition for Obesity Prevention.
Business is booming in many South Carolina towns and cities thanks to local infrastructure projects that have made communities more pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly. Ten municipalities, featured in a new report released today by Eat Smart Move More South Carolina, have noted millions of dollars in returns on investments, not to mention more active citizens. In Stronger Economies Through Active Communities: The Economic Impact of Walkable, Bikeable Communities in South Carolina, small business and municipal leaders are seeing large returns on investments in health.
In one such case, the cities of Easley and Pickens jointly built a 7.5-mile multi-use, paved rail trail, called the Doodle Trail, to provide citizens with a safe place to be active. Since its completion in 2015, both cities have experienced business growth, and Pickens’ hospitality tax revenues grew 12%. Property values near the trail are also on the rise.
“The Doodle Trail in Easley supports our business,” said Cindy Maxey, owner of Upcountry Outdoors, LLC. “Our bike shop would not have opened if it had not been for the trail.”
According to Pickens Mayor David Owens, the Doodle Trail meets all of their needs. “Our residents needed to be active and healthy, and we also wanted to bring people into Pickens to visit our community. We just needed a place to do all that.”
Many small businesses in the featured communities are experiencing economic growth, and municipalities have seen increased property values, more private investments, and a rise in tourism. Importantly, citizens also are using these resources to lead more active lives.
The 6.5-mile Spanish Moss Trail, which links the City of Beaufort to Port Royal, has become a popular attraction for tourists and residents, serving 36,500 people in 2015. The city advertises the trail in its marketing campaigns, and local hotels lend bikes to guests for use on the trail. The local outfitters store has also seen an increase in sales.
Beginning in 2005, Charleston-area leaders and advocates designed a 32-mile pedestrian and bike route called Battery2Beach that connects the Charleston Battery to nearby beaches. A 2011 cost-benefit analysis determined that the route would generate $42 million annually by drawing more tourists.
Through a series of tax incentives and private investments, the City of Columbia has revitalized Main Street, improving sidewalks, landscaping, and adding decorative lighting and signage. Countless new restaurants and businesses have opened, drawing many pedestrians and cyclists.
After a $3.5 million investment in street and sidewalk repairs to revitalize downtown and connect neighborhoods to trails and parks, the City of Florence has become a hot spot for private development and new business growth. Property values have nearly tripled, and rents downtown are on the rise.
Greenville County constructed the Swamp Rabbit Trail, a 21-mile rail trail that stretches from Travelers Rest to Greenville. The trail draws more than 500,000 visitors each year and generates $6.7 million in tourism-based revenue. Both Greenville and Travelers Rest have seen many new businesses open that are supported by trail users, and existing businesses have seen increases in sales/revenue up to 85%.
The City of Hartsville invested $2.8 million in sidewalk repairs along College Avenue, a corridor that connects Coker College to the downtown area, and in a pocket park at Mantissa Alley. The sidewalk improvements, which are still underway, are expected to foster new business growth by increasing foot traffic downtown, and the pocket park has already attracted two new shops.
Through a public-private partnership, the City ofRock Hill created several public recreation venues at a mixed-use development along the Catawba River. Among them are the Piedmont Medical Center Trail, which draws an average 12,000 visitors each month, and two Olympic-caliber cycling facilities. One 3-day event in 2016 created approximately $2.5 million in direct economic impact from hotel stays, restaurant sales and other purchases.
The City of Spartanburg partnered with Partners for Active Living (PAL) to widen sidewalks, install bike lanes and extend existing trails. PAL also created the state’s first bike-share systems, including BCycle. The city has already seen significant economic benefits, including many new downtown businesses. Approximately 6,500 BCycle riders have made over 11,000 trips around the city since 2011.
The City of Walterboro is in the process of renovating the connector loop to I-95, which will include sidewalks, bike lanes, street lamps and decorative lighting. The loop is designed to draw tourists from the highway to Walterboro’s attractions, including the Great Swamp Sanctuary, a popular destination for walkers, cyclists and school groups. With as many as 85,000 motorists using I-95 on busy days, Walterboro stands to benefit significantly from increased tourism as a result of this project.
Many other communities across South Carolina have had success in creating built environments that promote active lifestyles, and in doing so have seen economic and fiscal benefits. The ten communities highlighted in this report range in size, region, and demographics, and their efforts can serve as models of success for other communities in the state. To learn more about what South Carolina communities are doing to promote healthy, active lifestyles, visit www.esmmsc.org.
By Hannah Walters, MPH, Senior Manager for Policy and Community Initiatives
On Tuesday, April 4, nearly 40 partners from around the state gathered in Columbia to learn how to create healthy, more inclusive communities for people living with disabilities. Co-hosted by the SC Disability and Health Project and Eat Smart Move More SC (ESMMSC), the day-long training was led by experts at the National Center for Health, Physical Activity and Disability (NCHPAD).
Attendees learned how to use the Community Health Inclusion Index (CHII)—a set of tools to help communities assess the inclusivity of their healthy living resources—as well as how to identify and prioritize strategies to make their communities more accessible. For example, maintaining and repairing paths and sidewalks as well as ensuring transportation stops are in accessible, safe locations are two important strategies to ensure all individuals—particularly people with disabilities—can travel safely and access services.
Currently, one in four adults in South Carolina has a disability. Adults living with disabilities are three times more likely to have heart disease, diabetes, or cancer, and are more likely to smoke, be obese, and be inactive. ESMMSC is committed to working with our partners to help remove barriers for people with disabilities to create healthier, more inclusive communities in our state. For more information contact Hannah Walters at hannah@eatsmartmovemoresc.org.
By Jamie Gibson, Hub City Farmer’s Market SNAP Champion
The Hub City Farmers Market (HCFM) in Spartanburg, SC, works to increase the supply, demand, and access to healthy, locally-grown food by providing low-income residents two ways to make the most of their SNAP benefits. One of the ways that we increase access and affordability for low-income residents of Spartanburg County is by offering two SNAP-matching nutrition incentives at our market. The incentives come in the form of a Double SNAP match of up to $40 each market day and the SC SNAP Healthy Bucks match.
Double SNAP Program for New Customers: On customers’ first visit, they can get up to a $20 match. On the second visit, they can get up to a $30 match. On their third visit and all future visits, they get a dollar for dollar match. Returning customers receive a full match at every market visit!
Healthy Bucks Program: Spend $5 in SNAP and get $10 in tokens for fruits and vegetables from HCFM and the SC Department of Social Services.
Local farmers benefit from these programs through an increase in customers and sales. By providing these nutrition incentives, we put more money into their pockets and into our local economy. For the 2016 season, this equated to over $42,000.
One of the great things about using SNAP at the farmer’s market is that our SNAP customers can buy more than just fruits and vegetables. HCFM has other SNAP-eligible products like bread, cereal, sauces, spices, jams and jellies, meat, fish, poultry, dairy products, and even seeds and plants that produce fruits and vegetables.
We encourage all markets throughout South Carolina who are interested in creating a Double-Bucks program to contact our organization or seek out informative resources that are readily available from other markets across the country. SNAP at the farmer’s market really is win-win for the market, the farmers, and the SNAP customers.
Jamie Gibson is the SNAP Champion at the Hub City Farmers Market. She works to increase SNAP participation and create innovative programming which can be used to increase SNAP participation at farmer’s markets across South Carolina. She can be reached at jgibson@hubcityfm.org or (864) 585-0905.
One of Eat Smart Move More’s (ESMMSC) core values is partnerships, something that is needed to implement and sustain healthy eating and active living initiatives throughout the state. The founding members recognized this core value and pulled together their resources to form a sustainable organization that would drive these initiatives into the future.
One of ESMMSC’s founding partners and inaugural Board of Directors members, Lynn Dabney Hammond, knows the importance of partnerships in the development of an organization and the direction of its work. In 2007, she was the SC Healthy Schools Program Director at the SC Department of Education, and in charge of implementing the CDC School Health Cooperative Agreement, which focused on improving physical activity and nutrition among school-age youth in the school setting.
Hammond was also one of the original members of the SC Coalition to Promote Physical Activity’s (SCPPPA) Board of Directors. She served on the SC Obesity Prevention Efforts (SCOPE) group, which was chosen to develop the first SC Obesity State Plan. These two groups merged to form Eat Smart Move More South Carolina, and Hammond was on the transition team. Her experience and background in physical activity helped establish partnerships that would establish ESMMSC as a reputable organization and leader in healthy eating and active living.
We recently talked to Hammond about ESMMSC’s 10th Anniversary:
This year we celebrate ESMMSC’s 10th Anniversary. What thoughts and emotions come to mind when you think about that?
It is hard to believe it has been ten years! Some of us have been serving on SCPPPA, SCOPE, and ESMMSC for longer. It is good to know that the organization has continued to move forward and to provide support to communities across the state to make the healthy choice the easy choice.
What were your visions during your service?
My vision was that ESMMSC would be the convening organization in the state for setting a vision for obesity prevention, particularly childhood obesity. It would become the entity that could engage both public and private organizations and funding to support making policy, systems, and environmental changes that would help South Carolinians make the healthy choice the easy choice! While government agencies can bring resources, including best practices and funding, they cannot do it all alone! ESMMSC, as a private non-profit, has the opportunity to bring together the various partners, create synergy with a shared vision and collective outcomes to reverse the trends in childhood and adult obesity.
What do you see as ESMMSC’s biggest accomplishments since 2007?
Piloting a community change model that could be replicated in other areas of the state has been one of the biggest accomplishments. This was accomplished with funding from BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina Foundation for the Colleton Let’s Go! Project. Also, the development and support of local community coalitions are other great achievements — six of which are now using lessons learned from the Colleton project. Community change can be supported by many at the state and regional levels, but the work and ownership has to come from the local community for it to be successful and sustainable.
Where would you like to see ESMMSC in 10 years?
I would like to see ESMMSC continue with its mission to combat obesity through policies, systems and environmental changes by partnering with state-level organizations and with local community coalitions, maintaining the focus of the organization on obesity prevention using effective and sustainable approaches, and staying the course! I would also like to see it be a convener of multiple private and public sector resources to create the synergy of effort and common outcomes to accelerate the reversal of obesity in the state.
“Congratulations to the board and staff and all those people who make up ESMMSC! Stay the course and true to the mission and vision of making the healthy choice the easy choice in SC!” Lynn Dabney Hammond is currently the South Carolina FitnessGram Coordinator at the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity.
Founded in 2007, ESMMSC is one of the first non-profit organizations of its kind in South Carolina focusing on both healthy eating and active living. Its roots date back to 1999 when the South Carolina Coalition for Promoting Physical Activity formed and received nonprofit status in 2000. After changing its name to ESMMSC in 2007, the organization merged with the SC Coalition for Obesity Prevention
The City of Columbia is taking a comprehensive approach to vending and food service at its facilities, meetings and events to improve the quality of health for its employees and all citizens.
Columbia City Council unanimously approved a new policy designed to increase healthy food options in the City at a regular meeting on Tuesday, February 7. “We know how important it is to have healthy lifestyles, and the food we put into our
“We know how important it is to have healthy lifestyles, and the food we put into our bodies is, of course, a major component of that,” said Mayor Steve Benjamin. “I’m excited that our city will be making changes that help our residents collectively and individually.”
The Healthy Vending and Food Service Policy expands the City’s existing vending machine policy to include food and beverages purchased, sold, served or otherwise provided by the City for its employees as well as guests of any program, event or meeting.
“We know that approximately 32 percent of residents in South Carolina are obese and obesity costs the state $8.5 billion each year in health care costs,” Councilwoman Tameika Isaac Devine said. “This policy will help reduce those numbers, and provide a stronger nutritional standard when it comes to our vending machines as well as the food and drinks that are served at our events, programs and meetings.”
Councilwoman Devine said the policy helps support Council’s new vision for Columbia, specifically the Empowering Our Residents focus area. In January, City Council revealed its Envision Columbia Vision Statement, which is council’s new strategic plan to improve the overall quality of life in the City.
“This policy falls right in line with our goal of changing the culture of health here in Columbia and we can do that by empowering our citizens with the tools they need to be successful.”
he consumption of unhealthy foods and beverages contribute to the development of preventable diseases such as diabetes and heart disease. Improving the healthy options for the City’s 2,300 employees as well as those who visit City facilities and public events will have a positive impact on one’s eating behaviors. To do so, the City has partnered with Eat Smart Move More SC and the American Heart Association in implementing the policy.
“The City of Columbia has been a leader in our state and nation in ensuring employees and residents have access to healthy, affordable foods and safe places to be active,” Eat Smart Move More South Carolina Executive Director Beth Franco said. “This policy builds upon the great work the city is already doing by providing healthier food and beverages choices in city parks, recreation centers, office buildings, and at city-sponsored meetings and events. Eat Smart Move More SC is excited to work with the city to support successful implementation of this policy, and we hope other municipalities in South Carolina follow Columbia’s lead.”
Dr. Anil Yallapragada, Mid-Atlantic Affiliate board member with the American Heart Association, said the association supports the City in its efforts to lead by example and applauds the significant attention and importance placed on community wellness and health.
“American Heart Association’s mission statement is building healthier lives free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke. Working toward that goal, it has been our pleasure assisting council and staff with the City Vending Food Service Policy,” Dr. Yallapragada said.
“Columbia continues to be a leader in our state and nation putting employee health and citizen health first. Once the city implements the comprehensive policy, it will join New Orleans and Washington, D.C. as part of an elite group working to offer better options and increased food and beverage choices not just for city employees, but also for citizens, families, and children who visit public places in our city.”
Highlights of the City Vending Food Service Policy include:
Establishing evidence-based nutrition and food procurement standards that are consistent with the American Heart Association Healthy Workplace Food and Beverage Toolkit Guidance on Vending Machines and establishing evidence-based nutrition and food procurement standards that are consistent with General Service Administration Food Service Guidelines for Federal Facilities for meetings, events, on-site vendors, and cafeterias.
The standards shall be fully implemented by the City within one year for vending machines and three years for meetings, events, on-site vendors, and cafeterias, of the date that the final standards are issued.
Creation of an employee wellness committee that will plan activities to promote good health and serve as a champion for wellness, and monitor compliance of the policy.
Future requests for bids and contracts for the procurement or provision of covered food and beverages by or for City agencies shall incorporate the nutrition and procurement standards.
If you are interested in learning more or would like to adopt a healthy vending and food service policy in your municipality, contact Hannah Walters at Hannah@eatsmartmovemoresc.org.
By Jamie Gibson, Hub City Farmer’s Market SNAP Champion
One of Eat Smart Move More’s (ESMMSC) core values is partnerships, something that is needed to implement and sustain healthy eating and active living initiatives throughout the state. The founding members recognized this core value and pulled together their resources to form a sustainable organization that would drive these initiatives into the future.